Mince Pies - A British Christmas Tradition
Dear Diary,
You hate them or you love them.
They’re a British Christmas classic. Much like our German Biscuits, ‘Plätzchen’.
I’m talking about mince pies.
I certainly did expect something completely different based on the name. My first association was something with minced meat. Hence I pictured a savoury pie and thought it sure works for Christmas, so why not?
However, the mince in this pie is made of chopped-up dried fruits. They are often soaked in brandy and make the filling for a small round pastry. So, it’s definitely a sweet dessert.
Spoiler alert - I’m not in team mince pies …
But hear me out before you judge me.
It’s still early days regarding my relationship with dried fruits. We’re warming up, I’d say.
I’m okay with figs, cranberries, prunes, apricots, etc. My main issues are raisins, currents and sultanas. I still have no clue what the difference between those is by the way. For me, these are all dried grapes. Well, that’s another story.
Anyways, as I kid, I loved them. I would sneak into the kitchen and wolf down a mouthful of raisins. At some point, I’ve probably overeaten on them and decided to hate them.
It took a further 20-odd years for me to rediscover them. I’m now fine with snacking on them or having them in my Müsli. But I still don’t fancy them in baked goods. They get soggy and mushy. Urgh.
So, no to mince pies. Ask me again in another 20 or so years and I might become fond of them. You never know.
This won’t stop me though, from telling you more about this British Xmas tradition.
A Short Mince Pie History
Reading about the history made me chuckle because they were originally savoury as it turns out.
In Tudor Britain, mince pies weren’t even round but rectangular instead. The pies were filled with 13 ingredients, which represented Jesus and his disciples.
They did also have dried fruits in them but the main ingredient was some sort of meat, like lamb or mutton. The meat represented the shepherd and the added spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, were for the Wise Men.
After the reformation, the mince pies changed shape and looked much more like we know them today.
It then took them another couple of centuries until the late Victorian times to become meat-free and an actual sweet treat.
Mince Pie Traditions
Over the years some traditions have been developed around mince pies.
Santa is team mince pie! And it’s therefore a custom on Christmas Eve for children to leave out mince pies with a glass of brandy and a carrot for him and his reindeer.
For good luck, another tradition is to eat one mince pie a day for the Twelve Days of Christmas.
And for good health, every family member has to stir the mincemeat mixture whilst cooking it. Oh, but you have to stir clockwise.
Also don’t forget to make a wish, when you eat your first mince pie of the season.
Mice Pie Recipe
You can buy them ready-made in the shops but mince pies are also quite easy to make at home.
Here’s a recipe, with the mincemeat adopted from Mary Berry.
Makes about 16 mince pies.
Ingredients
For the mincemeat
175g currants
175g raisins
175g sultanas
175g dried cranberries
100g mixed peel
125g butter, cut into cubes
50g blanched almonds, roughly chopped
225g light muscovado sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp all-spice
Zest and juice from one lemon
200ml brandy, rum or sherry
Almond essence
In addition: 4x370g jars
For the dough
375g plain flour
260g cold butter, cut into cubes
125 sugar
1 egg
Zest from one lemon
Salt
You also need:
Icing sugar (for dusting)
Two muffin trays
One round pastry cutter (10cm)
One star-shaped pastry cutter
Method
Mincemeat
In a large pan, combine all the ingredients except the alcohol.
Heat gently until the butter is melted.
Then simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Allow the mixture to cool.
Add in the alcohol.
Spoon the mincemeat into sterilised jars and store in a cool place.
You can keep it for up to 6 months. The flavour intensifies if you leave it for a while.
Dough
In a large bowl, combine the flour, a pinch of salt and the lemon zest.
With your fingertips, rub in the cubed butter until you get a crumbly texture.
Mix in the sugar and the beaten egg.
Knead the dough until it comes together. Don’t overwork it.
Wrap it into cling film and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Roll out the dough to 3mm thickness.
Cut out 16 discs and press them into the muffin cups.
Fill each cup with mincemeat to level the edges.
Re-roll the dough and cut out 16 stars for the lids. Place them on top of the pies.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Let it cool on a wire rack.
Dust with icing sugar.
You can also eat them hot with some ice cream or vanilla sauce!
