Deluxe all-butter orange mince pie recipe

If you’re looking for something that tastes decadent, Christmassy, packed with flavour and easy to make, look no further.

This recipe uses all butter, and a touch of fresh orange to add sweetness. I don’t normally add any caster sugar to it as I find that the mincemeat and the orange juice make it naturally quite sweet (and I don’t have a very sweet tooth!) but if you find that you would prefer it a little sweeter by all means add in about 100g of sugar before adding the orange juice.

Whether you make the mince pies with a completely closed top, or with a star shaped top like the photo (or whatever shape you fancy) is entirely up to you. If you make closed lids like the traditional style ones, remember to poke holes in the top to let the steam out as it cooks, to avoid getting soggy pastry.

We use plain flour for pastry, especially if you want a light, crispy crust, but if you only have self-raising flour, this will work too.

Buy decent quality mincemeat, not the cheapest one you can find. You will likely need at least one regular-sized jar of it.

Ingredients for deluxe orange all-butter mince pies recipe

You will need:

• 454g Plain Flour
• 227g Butter, grated or cut into small pieces
• Pinch of salt 
• 100g caster sugar *optional I tend to leave it out as I don’t have a sweet tooth
• Grated zest, and juice of one large orange plus a splash of ice cold water if needed.
• 1 jar of mincemeat
• Either a little beaten egg, or a splash of milk to glaze the tops
• Icing sugar to dust

Method for deluxe orange all-butter mince pie recipe

• Firstly, add the flour and the salt to the mixing bowl and give a good stir to mix.
• Add the butter and using your fingertips gently rub the butter into the flour and salt combination until it resembles breadcrumbs
• If using sugar, stir this in now
• Add in the grated orange zest and mix well until combined.
• Gently stir in orange juice until it comes together in a ball. You may need all the orange juice or just some of it. If you need more liquid, add some ice cold water until it comes together into a ball, without being too sticky or any bits falling off it.
• Wrap in either cling film, some non-stick baking parchment or into a food safe plastic bag or bowl and pop it in the fridge for 20 mins to rest
•  Preheat your oven to 180oc 
• Once the pastry is rested, take out and cut into two pieces (one bigger piece and one smaller piece) 
• Roll each piece out until it it the required thickness of around 2-3 mm thick
• Using pastry cutters cut 12 rounds out of the bigger piece of pastry using a bigger pastry cutter, then repeat with the smaller piece and a smaller cutter or a star shaped cutter if you prefer.
• Push the bigger pieces into the bottom of the muffin tray 
• Add a teaspoonful of mincemeat into each
• Top with the tops
• Using a little egg wash (or milk if you don’t have any beaten egg to hand) brush over the top of each pie
• Bake until golden and cooked through, about 10-15 mins
• Leave to rest, then dust with icing sugar.