Ingredients:
Pie Filling:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 large green apple, peeled and finely chopped
200g sultana raisins
100g white sugar
80g dried currants
80g raisins
100g butter
60g chopped almonds
1 ½ tablespoons grated orange zest
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
250ml brandy (optional) or Orange Juice
Prepare mixed spice: Combine cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice in a bowl. Reserve 1 heaped teaspoon for the mincemeat. Store the rest in a small jar for a later use.
Prepare mincemeat: Combine apple, sultanas, sugar, currants, raisins, and butter in a saucepan. Cook over low heat and stir gently until butter has melted.
Stir in chopped almonds, orange zest, 1 teaspoon mixed spice, and cinnamon. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and set mincemeat aside to cool down for 30 minutes. Stir in brandy or orange juice.
Store into sterilized jars.
Be sure to use jars that are free of any cracks and/or rust.
You can store them for a month..
Note: Keep adding 1 tablespoon brandy or orange juice, mix well every week, this will keep the mincemeat moist till it is consumed
Pie Pastry:
175g all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
15g granulated white sugar
113g cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch chunks
3 - 4 tablespoons ice cold water
PROCEDURE for MINCE PIE
In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined.
Add the cold butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (about 15 seconds).
Sprinkle about 3 tablespoons of ice water over the pastry and process just until the pastry holds together when pinched. Add a little more water, if necessary.
Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Divide the pastry in half, flatten each half into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 - 60 minutes, or until firm. (This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour.)
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
After the pastry has chilled sufficiently, take one of the disks of pastry, and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out each round of pastry until it's about 1/8 inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter that's slightly bigger than the muffin cups, cut the pastry into 24 rounds. (To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards). You can roll the dough in between of 2 butter paper as well to avoid messy rolling.
Gently place the rounds into the muffin cups and top with a heaping teaspoon of mincemeat.
Gather up any leftover scraps of pastry and re roll. Cut out 24 round shapes using a small cookie cutter, and gently place them on top of the mincemeat. Sealing it with the base pie.
If desired, brush the tops with a little cream and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the pastry has lightly browned.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. If desired, dust the Mince Pies with powdered sugar before serving. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold. These tarts freeze very well.
