Mince Pies
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Make puff pastry according to recipe No. 1205.
Roll the pastry out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch.
Line good‑sized pattypans with the pastry.
Fill the pattypans with mincemeat.
Cover with pastry and cut off all round close to the edge of the tin.
Bake and finish
Put the pies into a brisk oven to draw the paste up, and bake for 25 minutes, or longer if the pies are very large.
Brush the pies over with the white of an egg, beaten with the blade of a knife to a stiff froth.
Sprinkle the pies with pounded sugar.
Return the pies to the oven for a minute or two to dry the egg.
Dish the pies onto a white d'oyley and serve hot.
If preferred, sprinkle only with pounded sugar instead of glazing.
Re-warm
To re‑warm, place the pies on the pattypans and leave them in the oven for 10 minutes or 1/4 hour.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Pastry (in the method)
- Forms the crisp, flaky case and lid that hold the filling.
- Mincemeat (in the method)
- Provides the sweet, spiced, fruity filling of the pies.
- Egg white (in the method)
- Glazes the pastry, giving a shiny, set finish when dried in the oven.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Adds sweetness and a light sugary crust on top of the pies.
The step that matters
Brush with beaten egg white. Egg white beaten to a stiff froth gives a thin, glossy coat that sets and browns as it dries. Drying it briefly in the oven fixes the glaze so it does not smear when the pies are handled.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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