Treat the family to delicious mince pies with The Batch Lady’s easy recipe
OUR festive preparations continue this week so the run-up to Christmas Day can be relaxed, not manic.
You can’t beat a festive dessert and here are two wonderful treats, mince pies and poached pears, that can be made in advance and stored in the freezer, ready to grab at the last minute. In fact, why not double the recipe for my mince pies so you have extras on hand for when guests turn up?
I love serving them as a little snack with coffee, or as a dessert with ice cream and double cream (yes, both!). Get your Christmas batch on and enjoy.
Mince pies (makes 12)
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 13-15 mins
YOU NEED:
- 411g jar ready-made mincemeat
- 2 sheets pre-rolled shortcrust pastry
- Icing sugar, to dust
METHOD: Preheat your oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Unroll the pastry sheets, keeping them on the parchment they come with.
Using a round pastry cutter, cut out discs that are about 0.5in bigger than the holes in your baking tin. Once you have 12 discs, push each into a hole of the tin. With the second sheet of pastry, take a star-shaped cutter and cut out 12 stars, one to top each pie.
Add 1 heaped tsp mincemeat to each. Do not overfill or it will bubble over. Top each pie with a pastry star, dust with icing sugar then bake in the oven for 13-15 mins.
Keep an eye on them, as they bake quickly and will take different times in different ovens. Remove once golden-brown.
Leave to cool for 2 mins before carefully removing each pie with a knife to cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with icing sugar.
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Ready to freeze: Leave to cool completely before placing into a large, reusable freezer bag and popping in the freezer.
Ready to eat: Remove from the freezer and leave to defrost fully. They won’t take long to defrost if left at room temperature.
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- You can watch video of Suzanne preparing her recipes at mcb777.site/batchlady.
