Food with JP Passion – Star-topped Lemon Pastry Mince Pies
By JP Kennedy
You can makes these with grated orange zest if you prefer and always chill your pastry cases in the fridge before you bake them, they will be more crumbly and buttery as a result. Happy Christmas!
Ingredients (Makes 16 – 20)
- 200g plain flour
- The zest of one lemon
- 1 tablespoon of icing sugar
- 100g chilled unsalted butter
- 1 egg, beaten, plus a little extra for greasing
- 700g Christmas mincemeat (Homemade or good-quality shop brand)
- A little melted butter for greasing your baking tins
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 220° Celsius and lightly grease your muffin/fairy cake tins.
2. Pop the flour, lemon zest, icing sugar and butter into a food processor and whizz briefly.
3. Add half the beaten egg and blend together – you might need to add a little more egg, but not too much as the pastry shouldn’t be too moist, you just want it to come together.
4. Bring the pastry together, shape into a disc, wrap in clingfilm and pop into the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
5. On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry to 3mm in thickness. Use a pastry cutter to cut out between 16–20 circles and use a star-shape cutter to cut out the same amount of stars for the top of the pies. You can re-roll the trimmings if needed to get enough tops.
6. Line your baking tray with the pastry rounds and fill each one with a generous teaspoon of mincemeat, place a pastry star on top, brush with the beaten egg and bake for 15–20 minutes until golden brown. Once cooled dust with icing sugar. Serve and enjoy. You can make these up to a week before you serve them and store in an airtight container lined with greaseproof paper. Serve with a dollop of whipped double cream and you’ve Christmas on a plate!
See JPK’s amazing Christmas Turkey and Ham recipes on page 60 of this week’s Echo Christmas Bumper Edition!
TAGS Lifestyle
