I made these darling individual mince pies as part of my Christmas baking this year. I got the idea to buy a jar of Cross and Blackwell mincemeat and enhanced it with fresh chopped apple and orange from Paul Hollywood of the Great British Bake Off. The BBC has posted his recipe here.
This bake was also influenced by another famous British personality, Nigella Lawson. She cuts her pastry into stars to top her holiday mince pies, so I knew I had to too. Before I slid them in the oven, I brushed them with an egg wash and sprinkled them with white sanding sugar. It gave the crust a delicious sweet crunch.
Can you see the little slips of parchment paper? I learned this tip by watching the Great British Baking Show. Individual desserts can stick in metal tins that are small and deep. If you crisscross strips of parchment paper in each tin before you fit the crust in, the strips will remain and provide a handle to lift the baked pastry out of the hot tin. It worked like a charm.
They didn't take long to bake and when they were ready, the three of us ate warm mince pies and watched an episode of the British series, Last Tango in Halifax on Netflix. When Dan started in on his second pie he said, "You have to make these every year now." Success!
#christmasdessert #englishsweets #christmas #britishinfluence #britishchristmas #mincemeat #christmasdinner #baking
