Mince Pies Recipe: Buttery Shortcrust, Brandy Mincemeat and a Frangipane Option

Mince pies are being reworked on British shelves this year. Bakery Info's Christmas trends report, published on 28 October, says Sainsbury's has added brown butter to a brandy and port filling, Marks and Spencer pairs Amarena cherry and blood orange with port, and Sainsbury's, Co-op and Waitrose all favoured frangipane this year. Sainsbury's own Christmas range, reported on 19 October, includes a mince pie medley tin with three each of frangipane, Viennese whirl and brandy, port and brown butter pies.

The pie itself is old. Wikipedia's history of the mince pie traces it to medieval pies filled with minced meat, fruit and spices; meat gradually dropped out, and by the nineteenth century most recipes had none, though some still used beef suet. Modern mincemeat is dried fruit, apple, nuts and spice with brandy or vinegar, and it improves if kept for at least two weeks.

This recipe makes the classic: a short, buttery pastry that stays crisp, a modest spoonful of mincemeat so it does not bubble out, and a lid. A frangipane version follows in the tips, for anyone who wants the 2026 twist. Both bake from the same pastry and freeze beautifully, so a tray made now is ready for December.

Ingredients

Makes 12 pies. Total time about 1 hour 15 minutes, plus 30 minutes' chilling.

• 250 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• 125 g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 25 g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• A pinch of fine salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water
• About 360 g good mincemeat (a 400 g jar), with 1 tablespoon of brandy stirred in if you like
• 1 tablespoon milk, for brushing
• Soft butter, for greasing the tin

Method

1. Rub the flour, butter, icing sugar and salt together with your fingertips until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Do this quickly so the butter stays cold.
2. Mix in the egg yolk and just enough cold water to bring the dough together. Pat it into a flat disc, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Heat the oven to 200 C (180 C fan) and grease a 12-hole shallow bun tin with soft butter.
4. Roll the pastry on a floured surface to about 3 mm thick. Cut 12 circles with an 8 cm cutter and press them into the holes. Cut 12 lids with a 6.5 cm cutter, re-rolling the scraps.
5. Put one level tablespoon, about 30 g, of mincemeat in each case. Do not overfill, or it will boil over and stick to the tin.
6. Brush the edge of each lid lightly with water, set it on top and press the edges to seal. Cut a small slit in the middle of each lid so steam can escape, and brush with milk.
7. Bake on the middle shelf for 18 to 20 minutes, until the pastry is pale golden.
8. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes, then lift the pies onto a rack, as the sugar in the filling is molten and will stick if they cool in the tin. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm.

Frangipane topping, freezing and mincemeat notes

For frangipane pies, make open pies: beat 60 g soft butter with 60 g caster sugar, then beat in 1 egg, 60 g ground almonds, 1 tablespoon plain flour and a drop of almond extract. Fill 12 cases with the mincemeat, add a heaped teaspoon of the almond mixture to each, scatter with flaked almonds and bake at 180 C (160 C fan) for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are golden and spring back.