Michelle Darmody: Alternative treats to make if you hate mince pies
Christmas spiced jam tart
I adore mince pies, every year I await my first one with anticipation. I also love the seasonality of baking, the way it welcomes in a new part of the year, from hot cross buns at Easter, to brack at Halloween, to the many delights of Christmas. The mince pie, when made right, is one of my favourites. I feel, similar to a good sausage roll, that it is all about the ratio of pastry to filling. I use the same fail-safe pastry recipe each year, which gives a crisp, sweet result and I often make a large batch. If you do the same you can roll out the pastry and cut the circular discs and little stars and pop these into the freezer. A few days before Christmas you can thaw them out and then it does not take as long to get the pies into the oven. Pie making is a fiddly process so this time-saving division of labour makes it more manageable.
I am aware however that not everyone loves mince pies. There are a few recipes included here for alternatives: two using the same sweet shortcrust that I use as a base for many things and one with layers of filo pastry, which can be bought in the freezer section of many shops.
