Orange And Almond Crumble Christmas Mince Pies

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 100 g butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• 175 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 orange, zest of, finely grated
• 250 g good quality mincemeat, preferably home-made
• 50 g cold butter
• 50 g plain flour
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons almonds, finely chopped
• icing sugar, for dusting

Recipe

• 1 make the pastry in a large bowl or food processor by blending the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• 2 stir in the sugar and orange zest and then 2 tbsp water.
• 3 bring the mixture together with your hands, adding a few more drops of water if it feels a little dry.
• 4 preheat the oven to 180c/375f/gas 4.
• 5 roll out half the pastry (keep the other half wrapped in the fridge) on a lightly floured surface. you want the pastry to be very thin, so it is crisp when cooked.
• 6 cut out 12 circles of pastry with a plain 6cm cutter (you will need to re-roll the pastry a couple of times) and use to line a 12-hole, non-stick cup cake or mini muffin tin.
• 7 (it is quite a soft pastry, so any little gaps that form as you are lining the holes can easily be patched up.).
• 8 chill while you make the topping.
• 9 in a small bowl, make the crumble topping by rubbing the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. stir in the sugar and almonds.
• 10 with a teaspoon, fill each pastry case with mincemeat, gently pressing it down to leave room for the topping.
• 11 sprinkle the topping over each pie, place the tin on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until the topping is golden.
• 12 leave the pies to cool in the tin before taking them out carefully. they are fragile when hot, so use a small knife to help lift them out.
• 13 unless you have two tins, repeat the process with the second batch of pastry, filling and topping.
• 14 eat the mini mince pies warm or cold, lightly dusted with icing sugar and served with whipped cream or brandy butter.