Is It Too Early For Mince Pies
Mince Pie News

Is It Too Early for Mince Pies? We Say Absolutely Not — And Here’s Why

Every year, like clockwork, it happens. The leaves barely start turning amber and — BAM — there they are. Nestled between the digestive biscuits and the custard creams, a glorious tower of mince pie boxes has appeared on the supermarket shelf. And every year, someone on social media loses their mind about it. “It’s only … Continue reading Is It Too Early for Mince Pies? We Say Absolutely Not — And Here’s Why →

Mince Pie Recipes

Easy Mince Pies recipe | Delia Smith

Ingredients 1 lb 4 oz (570 g) mincemeat3½ oz (95 g) lard3 oz (75 g) butter or margarine12 oz (350 g) plain flour, plus extra for dustinga little milkpinch salt Share this… Facebook Messenger Twitter Linkedin Whatsapp Gmail Google

Mince Pie Recipes

Classic Homemade Mince Pies

Buttery, golden shortcrust pastry filled with rich, spiced mincemeat — the ultimate British Christmas treat. Simple to make and impossible to resist!

Servings 12

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces plain flour
  • 5.4 ounces cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1.8 ounces icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons cold water
  • 14.3 ounces good quality mincemeat
  • 1 tablespoons milk, for brushing

Steps

  1. Make the pastry: Sift 8 ounces plain flour into a large bowl. Add 5.4 ounces cold unsalted butter, cubed and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in 1.8 ounces icing sugar, plus extra for dusting, then add 1 egg yolk and 2 tablespoons cold water. Mix until the dough just comes together — don’t overwork it! Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge.
  2. Chill the dough: Rest the wrapped pastry dough in the fridge to firm up before rolling.
  3. Preheat the oven: Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan / Gas Mark 6). Lightly grease a 12-hole shallow bun tin.
  4. Roll and cut the pastry: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled pastry to about 3mm thickness. Using a round cutter (about 8cm), cut out 12 circles for the bases and press them gently into the tin. Re-roll the trimmings and cut 12 smaller circles or star shapes for the lids.
  5. Fill the pies: Spoon a heaped teaspoon of 14.3 ounces good quality mincemeat into each pastry case — don’t overfill or the mincemeat will bubble over the edges. Place your pastry lids or stars on top and press the edges lightly to seal. Brush the tops with 1 tablespoons milk, for brushing.
  6. Bake: Bake in the preheated oven until the pastry is golden and crisp. Keep an eye on them from 18 minutes onwards.

Cool and serve: Leave the mince pies to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Dust generously with icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature. Try to resist eating them all at once!

Notes

Tips for the perfect mince pie:

  • Keep everything cold — warm hands and butter are the enemy of good pastry. If your kitchen is warm, chill the bowl too.
  • Don’t overfill — a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat is plenty. Too much and it’ll bubble out and stick to the tin.
  • Star lids are festive and forgiving — they don’t need sealing and look gorgeous dusted with icing sugar.
  • Upgrade your mincemeat — stir a splash of brandy or orange zest into shop-bought mincemeat for a homemade touch with minimal effort.
  • Make ahead — these freeze brilliantly once baked. Reheat at 180°C for 8 minutes from frozen.
Mince Pie News

Is It Too Early for Mince Pies? We Say Absolutely Not — And Here’s Why

Every year, like clockwork, it happens. The leaves barely start turning amber and — BAM — there they are. Nestled between the digestive biscuits and the custard creams, a glorious tower of mince pie boxes has appeared on the supermarket shelf. And every year, someone on social media loses their mind about it.

“It’s only October!” they cry. “It’s not even Halloween yet!”

To which we at Mince Pie Club say: calm down, and have a mince pie.

The Case for Early Mince Pie Season

Let’s be honest — mince pies aren’t just a Christmas food anymore. They’re a season. And that season, glorious as it is, deserves to be savoured slowly, not crammed into the final two weeks of December in a panicked festive frenzy.

Think about it. If you wait until December 24th to start eating mince pies, you’ve got roughly 48 hours before the season is officially over and the Hot Cross Buns move in. That’s not enough time to properly evaluate the pastry-to-filling ratio on twelve different supermarket varieties. (And yes, you absolutely should be doing that.)

The early birds among us know the truth: October mince pies are a gift. The shelves are fresh, the stock is new, and you’ve got the whole glorious run-up to Christmas to conduct your research properly.

What the Supermarkets Are Doing Right

Credit where it’s due — the major supermarkets have been upping their mince pie game considerably in recent years. M&S, Waitrose, and Tesco Finest continue to set the bar high with all-butter pastry and generously spiced fillings. Even budget options from Aldi and Iceland have quietly become genuinely impressive, proving that you don’t need to spend a fortune to enjoy a proper mince pie.

This year, keep an eye out for some interesting twists — frangipane-topped varieties have been rising in popularity, and vegan options have gone from an afterthought to genuinely delicious alternatives. The mince pie world is, dare we say it, thriving.

Our Verdict

Mince pies are one of Britain’s greatest culinary traditions. They deserve more than a begrudging four-week window squeezed between Black Friday deals and Christmas dinner prep. So next time someone raises an eyebrow at your October mince pie habit, simply offer them one.

They’ll come around. They always do.

Mince Pie News

Supermarket mince pies will taste even better if you add 2 ingredients | Express.co.uk

There is an easy way to elevate the supermarket mince pie this Christmas and it takes less than 10 minutes to do.

A mince pie at Christmas is a must, and it is quite possible you have already had your fair share this late in the season. So, if you are looking for a new way to enjoy these festive delights, one chef has a way to make the most of those supermarket mince pies.

Source: Supermarket mince pies will taste even better if you add 2 ingredients | Express.co.uk

Mince Pie Recipes

How to: Vegan Luxury Mincemeat | The Hungry Herbivores

Nothing says Christmas time like juicy mincemeat! Us Hungry Herbivores get far too excited when mince pie season approaches. We hit us Lidl and hunt down those amazing mince pies of theirs. But every now and again we love to create our own luxury mincemeat, which is so much nicer than the store brought sugar filled stuff. We’ve created a zesty mincemeat that can be spooned into mince pies, scooped into ice cream or swirled into desserts. The combination of apples, cranberries, raisins, orange and spices ticks all the festive boxes!

Continue reading How to: Vegan Luxury Mincemeat | The Hungry Herbivores →
Mince Pie Recipes

Mince Pies – Raymond Blanc OBE

Serves: 30
Preparation: 20 Mins
Cooking Time: 25 Mins

The mince pie is a British tradition but, although I am a Frenchman, I cannot resist trying to improve on a classic! Its ingredients are traceable to the 13th century when returning European crusaders brought with them Middle Eastern recipes containing meats, fruits and spices. It was in Victorian times that it changed from being a meat-based pie to being the sweet version we love today. It’s easy to get ahead with mince pies in advance of Christmas as the mincemeat mixture may be made a month in advance, and the pies may be made and frozen, then cooked when needed. Or, once cooked, they will keep in an air-tight tin for 5 days; just pass them through the oven to freshen the pastry before serving.

Continue reading Mince Pies – Raymond Blanc OBE →
Mince Pie News

Morrisons and Kellogg’s team up on free ‘breakfast club’ offering | Retail Bulletin

Morrisons has teamed up with Kellogg’s this Easter on a ‘breakfast club’ offering in its cafes where the whole family can request a free bowl of… View Article

FOOD & DRINK

Morrisons has teamed up with Kellogg’s this Easter on a ‘breakfast club’ offering in its cafes where the whole family can request a free bowl of cereal.

Adults and children will be able to choose from a bowl of Cornflakes, Rice Krispies or Coco Pops, with a choice of dairy and non-dairy milk, when they order a ‘Kellogg’s breakfast’ before 11am.

Continue reading Morrisons and Kellogg’s team up on free ‘breakfast club’ offering | Retail Bulletin →

Mince Pie Recipes

Easy Mince Pies

 

This easy mince pie recipe uses shop bought mince pie pastry and mincemeat to make the assembling of these festive delights an absolute breeze! We have also topped our mince pies with a crumble topping, however to make them even easier, simply roll out the trimmings from the pastry and stamp out stars or pie lids instead.

Continue reading Easy Mince Pies →