The Most Mouthwatering Christmas Treats: British Mince Pies
A Tradition In Name Only
As a migrant who settled in the UK, of course, I got to learn and appreciate local traditions. But I remember staying away from mince pies for several years. The reason? I did not get why a meaty thing would be placed in a pastry sheet and have sugar sprinkled on top! My prejudice wilted when I decided it was time to do some research and get to the bottom of the story!
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It turned up they were only called mince pies because, historically, they would contain minced meat (mainly mutton). In time, dry fruits would replace the meat, and people would start adding booze to the fruity filling. It would not be the only dessert that uses alcohol, which enhances the taste and preserves the fruits in this case.
Mince pies seem to have made it to Britain in the middle ages, brought by the crusaders from the Middle East. At the time, they were filled with meat, fruits and spices and were not a dessert but the main course. Fibre and protein are not an ideal combination for the human liver, but medieval medicine was not advanced enough to acknowledge this fact.
The most extreme times this traditional pie had seen was the brief kingless period England had known in the seventeenth century. Oliver Cromwell went to the limit, not only banishing pies in an attempt to make the population thrifty but cancelling Christmas altogether.
He was no fun! And he had a warty nose! I saw it in Horrible Histories! (I’m just being a sarcastic bully at the expense of a dead historical character, I know!)
Rightly so, England returned to its monarchic tradition that also meant the reinstatement of Christmas and the continuation of pie baking.
In time, mince pies have seen changes but have never disappeared from the traditional festive table.
Today, the entire English-speaking world would have them at Christmas, filled with a delicious and notably fragrant combination of booze-soaked dried fruits and spices still called mincemeat!
There is even a superstition saying that if you eat one each of the twelve days of Christmas, you’ll be lucky the entire following year! I have to make an effort to get mine to last this long; otherwise, I’m busted!
Given that the past two years were the weirdest in our recent history, I don’t know who would be willing to take a chance!
Merry Christmas!
Mince Pies
Ingredients
For the crust
- 500 g plain flour (4 cups)
- 150 ml melted coconut oil (⅔ cup)
- 150 ml melted unsalted butter (⅔ cup)
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 pinch of salt
For the filling
- 100 g Medjool dates (about ½ cup)
- 100 g dried figs
- 100 g dried blackcurrants
- 100 g raisins
- 100 g dried cranberries
- 100 g dried goji berries (optional; I used them for colour)
- 2 tbsp toasted flaked almonds Skip if you have a nut allergy!
- 2 tbsp cocoa nibs (optional)
- 1 orange (juice+chopped peel)
- 2 orange zest
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp organic dried ginger
- 3 pcs peppercorn
- 4 pcs star anise
- 8 tbsp coconut sugar
- 10 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp Martini (or any liquor)
- 1 vial rum oil essence
Instructions
For the crust
- Sieve the entire quantity of flour in a large bowl, add the sugar, lemon zest, salt and the melted fats. Mix using your hands or a kitchen mixer if you have one.
- The dough will be very crumbly at first, but when you add the eggs, the proteins found in them will help bind it better and work it easier.
- Cover the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate it for at least half an hour (an hour is better). Cooling helps the oily ingredients solidify, and this will make rolling easier. I tried to save time, but working the dough before cooling it was useless; all I got was crumbles spread on the worktop.
For the filling
- Preferably, the mincemeat should be prepared a week before use and kept in the fridge to allow all the savours to mix nicely and create an absolutely intoxicating flavour!
- Grind all spices together.
- Finely chop the large fruits and the orange peel. Mix with the rest of the dried fruits, sugar and orange zest.
- Add the wet ingredients (orange juice, liquor, water). Some recipes recommend lard instead of water, which I find revolting! Besides, it is not healthy to mix pork with fruits!
- Place the mix in a jar, cover with a double clingfilm, then put the lid on and store it in the fridge for about a week.
- If some fancy popstar would “create” a perfume smelling like this insane combination, I would pay money to have it and wear it daily! Thinking of it, if anyone goes ahead and commercializes such a perfume now, I am claiming intellectual property rights!
Make the mince pies
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
- Remove the pastry dough from the fridge and use a part to roll a 2-3 mm thick sheet.
- With a large glass or a round form, cut the base. Use either a smaller glass or any Christmassy shape to cut the lids/tops. I used a star shape because it covered better than the others.
- Place and adjust the large pieces in the tray, add a spoon of fruit filling, put a pastry lid on and coat with a beaten egg using a brush.
- Repeat until you have used the entire dough.
- Optionally, sprinkle a little bit of coconut sugar, then put the tray on the middle rack in the oven.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the mince pies turn golden brown. Allow cooling when finished and before serving.
Mince pies are so delicious. I love to combination of warm holiday spices in them. Too funny about thinking they were made with meat. I thought the same thing for the longest time haha.
😄
No wonder I always like it, Martini and all those wonderful fruits marinating …. I want some as I write this.
Yummy! Devine!!
These are so beautiful and they are the perfect treat after a dinner.
Great idea and nice instructions. Making them right now
This one looks delicious and easy to make. Yum!
Great recipe for the holiday!! I can’t wait to share with my family.
I absolutely love mince pies and these look amazing.
I had no idea pies came from the middle east! Such an interesting fact to know. These pies look amazing and delicious.
Me neither, until I did some research to get to the bottom of this meat conundrum:)
I love mince pies so much and I have been meaning to make my own for next month! I will definitely be using this recipe for that. Thank you for sharing this!
I often wondered about this history and thank to the British Bake Off already knew it was a fruity pie (though I would not be mad a mutton pie, either). These are so cute!
I love that you thought they were meat-filled! As a Brit living in Canada, I cannot tell you how many of my non-British friends have said the same thing to me…. These look gorgoeus!
Phew, I’m relieved to know that I was not the only one thinking that!:) I hope you keep making them even far away from the UK:)
These minced pies are so cute! I took a batch to a friend of mine and she loved them. The spices in there are wonderful.
Thanks so much for sharing this, I am already all-in on all things Christmas. The history of mincemeat pies is so interesting, so glad that the tradition has been kept alive, while still evolving the dish to be suitable to today’s holiday enthusiasts!
Thank you, you’re so kind! I hope you’ll enjoy making mince pies, and more importantly, eating them:)
This looks so good! I have been obsessed with British food as of late.
I’ve always wanted to try mince pies! They look difficult, but you make it look simple! This goes on my list of things to try.
I though they were difficult to make to, until I tried:)
This is seriously amazing! Such a great treat for the holidays!
My partner loves mince pies, I can’t wait to surprise him with some homemade ones!
I’ve always wanted to try mince pies!
These mince pies are so delicious and perfect for the holidays!
I love a good mince pie. Love the blend of all the warm spices together.
I always buy mince pies in stores but this year I might just make them from scratch. Thanks for the recipe.
I agree with you about meat in pies. But boozy dried fruit sounds great to me!
Super delicious, I do love a good ol’ Christmas treat!
My kids think these are so fun to help make.
I need to get my hand into these mince pies! They look absolutely good.
The mince pies are the one calling my name!
This is a must-try 🙂
Never heard of these before 🙂 So glad I found this post!
Looks very delicious can’t wait to try this! Thanks for sharing!
Yum! Is all I can say ❤️
I love miced pies but have never tried making it! Glad I found this recipe
Hi. I absolutely love mince pies! We’ve tried so many variations over the years, it beggars belief. And, to continue that tradition, we should probably try your recipe too 🙂 Have you tried Frangipane Mince Pies? They are awesome – one of my favourites.
No, I haven’t, but you made me curious!
I can so relate!! I always thought mince pies were odd since they were filled with meat — but now I know the truth and will have to try them! The first thing I did was read through the ingredients list and it sounds like a really tasty filling. Thanks for sharing!
interesting and it looks so good! Im just talking to a friend about putting rum or liquor in cookies and this is perfect! I would like to try one day 🙂
I never bothered eating mince pies until I left the UK and now I am craving them. They look delicious.
Also thank you for adding the recipe for mince meat as this is something I cannot get here in the UK.
x
I was going to completely ignore them too, but I’m glad I didn’t!
This looks amazing!!
OMG I want one of these right now!! I missed out on mince pies for the longest time, because here people call them mince meat pie. I always thought they had meat in them, so avoided them haha. Maybe 10 years ago, someone told me it was minced fruit and not meat. My life has changed forever, because these are SO GOOD!
I really thought I was the only one in the world who believed that! Hahahahaha
The black currants here just elevate the dessert so much. I feel like black currants in the states don’t get the credit they deserve. I make a homemade black current vegan ice cream and its to die for. Great recipe and such an inspiration.
You are absolutely right. I kept tasting the mincemeat almost every day until I used it:))
I always love reading your stories – almost as much as your recipes! These sound wonderfun!
Thank you so much!
Thank you! I was telling a friend that I have never had a mince pie and would love to have one. Even an actual mince pie. Lol but I’ll do any version.
Great idea. Nice pictures. Will give it a go with my wife.
I had no clue of the history of mince meat pie and had no interest for the same reason as you, meat pie? But, your recipe sounds delicious. And they are so pretty. I’m gonna try it.
I genuinely thought they contained meat. Imagine my revulsion – sweet meat! Haha! I’m so relieved it’s not the case. Next week I’ll prepare the mincemeat (!) for the next portion, closer to Christmas.
Looks delicious !
Thanks for sharing
Ohhh!! This looks so delicious! Cant wait to try this recipe during the holidays! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
I had no idea that mince pies could look so pretty! All the flavors sound like they compliment each other well in this dish, yum!
These sound so awesome, I can’t wait to make my first mince pie this year!
I love this recipe! I’ve been dying to make mince, but I haven’t attempted it yet! I hope to try this out and make it a new tradition at my US Christmas celebrations. Thank you for sharing!
You know me, I would never go for something ultra-complicated and time-consuming. This is easy to make and so tasty! I’m definitely making another portion closer to Christmas.
Looks amazing! Love mince pies and I definitely will make your recipe.
Love the story.
i absolutely love the interesting history that comes with some little mince pies
This filling of boozy fruit sounds irresistible!