Thursday 24 December 2009

Christmas Gifts No3: Mince Pies

There isn’t anything that screams “classic British Christmas” to me than the humble mince pie.
DSCF5667Crisp and flaky pastry houses the juicy Christmas mincemeat, topped off with a festive-shape pastry topping and dusted with a sprinkling of icing sugar snow. Delicious.
DSCF5669Christmas wouldn’t be the same without mince pies for me: they just symbolise it (along with a classic Christmas Cake). The reason I love them so much is mainly in the making: the rolling out of the pastry, twisting open the rich jars of mincemeat, gently laying on mini pastry stars, candy canes and snowflakes to top each little morsel, with Wham and Slade playing in the background. Aand…relax. (Of course its more hectic and over-excited on sugar and festive spirit than that..but you know.)
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You can buy mince pies anywhere, but often the pastry will be stodgy and the mincemeat filling turns out as a heavy lump. They are so easy to make and turn out so much better – its worth the miniscule effort :) Plus, nothing can fill your house with a more Christmassy scent, and no Christmas tin can make a face light up brighter! I made my own mincemeat last year here, and you can use any sweet pastry recipe (I like to add the zest of an orange to make the pastry extra festive) you like.
:)
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6 comments:

George@CulinaryTravels said...

Delicious mince pies Lucy!
Merry Christmas, have a great one :)

La Table De Nana said...

Confectioner's sugar and cut-outs:) Perfect! Have a happy holiday~

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

That is a speciality I adore!

Merry Christmas and Happy new Year!

Cheers,

Rosa

Dewi said...

Merry Christmas! Much joy and sweetness to you and your family Lucy!

Ash said...

I love how you put little snowmen and trees on the top! Very cute!!

Steph said...

I've never had mincemeat pie before, but I always see mincemeat being sold in bottles. I think it might be a little too strong in flavour for me, but it's always fun to try something new! Your pastries are really cute.