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Nothing beats mince pies at Christmas, and while they are an affordable luxury to buy in supermarkets, they taste even better when homemade. Sweet pastry filled with spiced minced meat is as simple as it gets when it comes to baking these festive treats, though it can become overwhelming with endless recipes using a long list of flavoursome extras to choose from. However, according to one TikTok user known as @thismumcooks, all you need is four staple ingredients to follow this “really easy” recipe.
Citrus peels, alcohol-soaked fruit and flavoured pastry are easy ways to add a twist to the classic mince pie, but they’re not necessary if you’re looking for a quick and affordable recipe.
In fact, according to budget-friendly TikTok star, @thismumcooks, all you need is shop-bought mincemeat, butter, plain flour and sugar.
Using the four staple ingredients, she showed her followers how to whip up an irresistible batch of dusted mince pies in less than one hour.
She branded them “really easy” to make, adding that they are so good, “you are never going to back to shop-bought”.
Ingredients
- 225g butter spread or block butter, softened
- 350g plain flour
- 100g caster sugar
- One jar of shopbought mincemeat
According to the mum-turned-TikTok-chef, you don’t even need a full jar of mincemeat for the filling. She explained that enough to fill one batch (roughly 12 pies) is plenty.
Method
In a large bowl, @thismumcooks rubbed the flour, sugar and butter together with her fingertips to combine the ingredients into breadcrumbs.
She said: “Now, you can do this in a food processor, but you know, you can do it by hand as well. It doesn’t really matter.”
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When the mixture turns into doughy breadcrumbs, bring it together into “a big clump”.
The TikTok chef noted that you don’t want to add any extra liquid, because this step is crucial to achieving the “really short crust on your mince pies”.
Once you have a large clump of dough, wrap it in cling film and rest it in the fridge for roughly 20 minutes.
According to @thismumcooks, this step is done to get the mixture “nice and cold again” before rolling it out.
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After the chilling period is over, you can make a start on cutting out the mince pies. The TikTok chef said: “One of the best things about making mince pies this way is there’s no rolling pin required.”
Instead, all you need to do is take small pieces of the dough from the large clump and flatten them between your hands to make the base of each pie.
The budget-friendly chef explained that once they are done, you can press them into an unlined cupcake or muffin tray.
She noted that the high butter content means that you don’t need to grease the tin and they will still come out easily after baking.
Another benefit of making mince pies this way is that you can get a really thin crust on your pastry, which allows for even more filling. The chef added: “There’s nothing easier than pushing pastry into a muffin tin.” Once each case is lined with a dough base, fill them with a teaspoon or two of mincemeat.
At this point, you can add in any extras like a chopped apple or chopped-up nuts for extra flavour. Use the rest of the dough to flatten into small circular lids for each pie and place on top.
The TikTok user said: “You don’t need any milk or eggwash, just push them into place at the bottom and the top will form a seal.”
Place in the oven at 180C for around 20 minutes until golden brown.
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