These Puff Pastry Mince Pies are the EASIEST mince pies to make! Supremely light and crispy on the outside, a chewy inside and a boozy, zesty enriched mincemeat filling.
Just as well they are so quick to make because they will not stay around for long!
Now, are you a puff pastry mince pie kinda person or do you prefer shortcrust? 🤔
I like both equally. No surprises there.
But son number two is definitely in the puff pastry camp, so that's why I tend to make these Puff Pastry Mince Pies more often than not.
What I adore about this puff pastry mince pie recipe is that it is just so EASY.
You won't even need a bun tin, just a baking sheet is required. So, no worrying about whether they will detach from the tin or not when baked. No trying to hoist them out of their bun hole cavity without either damaging them or burning fingers! 🤣
They have a gorgeous flaky but chewy texture; when you bite into them they just melt in the mouth. Coating with egg yolk and demerara sugar gives them a delicious crunch and the mincemeat is half bought/half homemade because we enrich it with Christmas spices, lemon, orange, brandy and cranberries. I mean, what's not to like. Mouth watering.
These Puff Pastry Mince Pies work really well when served with custard or vanilla ice cream.
Utterly delish.
Very quick history lesson of the humble mince pie...
It is forsooth an untruth that mincemeat was made with meat in t'olden days. Meat was only used as a variation in some recipes. Currents and candied peel were the filling often used. Suet was added in later recipes because it melted and produced a richer filling. Mince pies were often a part of Saxon yuletide get-togethers, so it is a lovely to know that mince pies are still something we make to share with others at this time of year.
So it's up to us all to keep up the tradition!
Happy Christmas Baking y'all! 🎄🤶
Want something Christmassy to make with the kids? How about this
Golden Syrup Gingerbread House
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Why make Puff Pastry Mince Pies?
Mincemeat enriched with spices, nuts and citrus zest ✔️
Lighter than traditional shortcrust pastry mince pies ✔️
Perfect if you are pressed for time but want homemade mince pies ✔️
Really easy for children to make ✔️
Equipment
Large baking tray
Rolling pin
Pastry brush
Measuring spoons
2 Cutters size 8cm and 6cm
Greaseproof (parchment) paper
Sharp knife
Cooling rack
Ingredients and Substitutions
Puff pastry: bought puff pastry is now so good that it's really not worth making your own, but if you want to then this recipe is a good one to follow.
Mincemeat: try to go for one that is middle of the road, not too cheap and not too expensive. The cheaper ones tend to be a bit sparse on filling and the expensive ones tend to try too hard and miss the mark. We bring the mincemeat alive with our own enhancements anyway, so it does't need to be top-end.
Dried cranberries: make sure these are not stuck together in clumps before you add them. Cranberries add a lovely flavour dimension to these Puff Pastry Mince Pies.
Brandy: always worth adding a glug of spirits to your mincemeat to really pimp it up a bit. I prefer brandy as it brings a fire of fire to the proceedings. Amaretto works very well too, but bear in mind it is has a very strong almond flavour, so only add a teaspoon and then try it first before adding more. Or you can add a drop of sloe gin, or for boozy and orangey go for some Cointreau.
Satsuma and lemon zests: to bring some citrus sparkle to your mince pies. Satsumas can be replaced with orange zest.
Walnuts: I like using walnuts because they have a lovely mellow flavour and are quite a soft nut, so they blend in well.
Ground cinnamon and ground cloves: the warm tones of these two spices are perfect for adding a bit more Christmas to your mincemeat.
Egg yolk: to glaze your mince pies and give them a nice shiny sunny exterior. If you don't have an egg just use milk instead.
Demerera sugar: to add some crunch to the top of the mince pies.
Instructions
See end of post RECIPE CARD for precise quantities and instructions.
- Take your puff pastry out of your refridgerator and leave it to warm up slightly so that you can easily roll it out.
- Cut a piece of greaseproof (parchment) paper large enough to cover the base of your baking tin and affix to the tin with some butter.
- Mix together all of your mincemeat ingredients.
- Flour your work surface so that your puff pastry does not stick when you roll it out.
- Roll your puff pastry out, cut out 24 circles with your largest cutter and place 12 onto your baking sheet.
- Place a teaspoonful of your prepared mincemeat onto the centre of each cut out circle on your baking tray.
- Wet the pastry around the outside of your mincemeat with some water.
- Place your remaining circles of pastry on top and gently press down so that the top sticks to the wet pastry underneath.
- Turn your smallest cutter upside down so you are not using the cutter edge, dip it into some flour and hold if over the pastry lid. Press down gently to affix it to the base. Do not press down too hard otherwise it will cut through to the base.
- Coat with beaten egg yolk using your pastry brush, sprinkle over demerara sugar and then cut a slit in the top.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden on top.
- Cool for 5 minutes then move to a cooling rack.
Top Tips
- Turn your pastry over as you roll it out, so that it doesn't stick to your work surface.
- Don't be tempted to add too much mincemeat to your puff pastry base as you could risk the mixture spilling out and the mince pie base and top failing to fuse.
- As noted in "Storage", you can make these mince pies and freeze them, then bake them them as required.
Variations
There are lots of different combinations you can try with mincemeat. Quite honestly, I tend to throw in whatever I have spare, whether that be chopped whole almonds, chopped nuts, or even chopped up prunes or dates. You can't really go wrong, the more the merrier!
Here are a couple of alternative mince pie recipe variations that you might like to try:
Amaretto and almond mincemeat: simply replace the brandy with 2 teaspoons of Amaretto and the walnuts with the same amount of flaked almonds. To make your Puff Pastry Mince Pies even more almondy, add some chopped marzipan to the mincemeat.
Fruity mincemeat: for this one add a chopped eating apple or pear to the recipe and replace your brandy with freshly squeezed orange juice or, if you still want boozy mince pies, some Cointreau.
Storage
Want fresh mince pies at the drop of a (Santa's) hat? 🎅
Simply make up a batch, leave out the egg wash but do add the slit in the top.
Then wrap your Puff Pastry Mince Pies individually in cling film (plastic wrap) and freeze them.
When you fancy a mince pie all you need to do is heat your oven to the temperature in the recipe, brush on a bit of glaze and bake. They will just take a few minutes more to bake, so about 22-25 minutes. Once golden on top they are ready!
Cooked Puff Pastry Mince Pies will keep for up to a week in an airtight container, the pastry will soften as the days go on.
Did you try this recipe?
Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the Recipe Card below.
FAQ
You want your puff pastry just soft enough to roll out, so usually leaving it out of the refrigerator for about 10 minutes is enough, depending on the climate where you live. If your pastry has warmed up quite a bit, I recommend that you refrigerate your mince pies for 15 minutes before baking, so that the layers do not converge in the oven.
In the middle ages it became a popular tradition to eat a mince pie from Christmas Day until Twelfth Night. It was said that following this tradition would bring happiness for the following 12 months. If that isn't a good enough reason to eat mince pies daily I don't know what is!
Linked Recipes
Other Christmas Recipe ideas on ellasbetterbakes.com:
Salted Caramel Cheesecake (no bake)
Coffee Swiss Roll with Baileys Irish Cream
Fancy making an ALTERNATIVE dried-fruit-free Christmas Pudding?
Give this recipe a go:
📖 Recipe
Puff Pastry Mince Pies
Here's what you'll need...
- Sharp knife
Ingredients you'll need...
Enriched Puff Pastry
- 500 g Ready-made puff pastry
- Flour for rolling out
Enriched Mincemeat
- 300 g Mincemeat (1 medium jar)
- 25 g Dried cranberries (US = ¼ Cup)
- 25 g Walnuts chopped (US = ¼ Cup)
- 1 tablespoon Brandy
- ½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Ground cloves
- Zest of 2 satsumas (or 1 orange)
- Zest of 1 lemon
Topping
- Demerara sugar
- 1 Egg yolk
Here's what we do...
- Heat your oven to 180°C Fan/200°C/390°F/Gas mark 6.
- Firstly, take your puff pastry out of your refrigerator and leave it to warm up a little, so that you can roll it out. 10 minutes should be enough, but it depends on your climate.
- Lightly grease your baking sheet with some butter and then cut a piece of greaseproof (parchment) paper large enough to cover the base of your baking tin and place it onto the tin, pressing down so that the buttered base affixes it.
- Take all of your mincemeat ingredients and mix thoroughly together.
- Flour your work surface and then roll our your puff pastry to a thickness of 3mm.
- Using your largest cutter, cut out 24 circles.
- Place 12 of your cut circles onto your baking sheet, leaving a gap of 1cm between each one, so the pastry has room to expand.
- Take a teaspoon of your mincemeat and pop it into the centre of your pastry circle.
- Wet around the outside of the pastry circles, so that the pastry lid has something to stick to and place your 12 remaining lids on top.
- Press the lids gently down onto the base circle so that they fuse together a little.
- To secure the lids fully, take your smaller cutter, turn it around so you are not using the cutting edge, dip it in some flour and then place it over the lid and press down, so that it pushes the lid into the base a little and affixes it. Don't press too hard though or you will go through the base circle completely.
- Take your egg yolk and liberally brush over your puff pastry mince pies using your pastry brush.
- Sprinkle over some demerera sugar, this will give a lovely crunch to the top.
- Then take your knife and cut a slit in the top of the mince pie, this will release any trapped steam and help the mince pie to cook throughout. Waggle the knife from side to side a little so as to open up the hole slightly.
- Bake in the centre of your oven for 20 minutes, the mince pies should have risen and be golden brown on top when ready.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then remove to your cooling rack to continue to cool.
Supporting Notes
- Turn your pastry over as you roll it out, so that it doesn't stick to your work surface.
- Don't me tempted to add too much mincemeat to your puff pastry base as you could risk the mixture spilling out and the mince pie base and top failing to fuse.
- As noted in "Storage", you can make these mince pies up and freeze them, then bake them them as required.
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