Filo Mince Pies
I adore mince pies, but they can be fiddly. I often make a shortcrust pastry lined tray-bake filled with mince for ease. It can then be cut into squares. You can top it with either pastry stars or with a crumble topping. Using filo pastry is another quick
SERVES
12
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
12
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
25
MINUTES
Ingredients
2 large apples, peeled, cored and grated
500g sultanas
350g raisins
200g chopped peel
4 tsp mixed spice
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
500g nuts, finely chopped
200mls dark rum
zest 2 oranges, plus the juiceÂ
zest and juice 2 lemons
350g dark muscovado sugar
200g suet
For the pies:
150g of filo pastry
a knob of butter, melted
icing sugar, for dusting
Method
Combine all the ingredients for the mince, except the muscovado sugar and the suet, in a large saucepan.
Place the saucepan over a low heat and cook for about 30 minutes or until the fruit has plumped up and most of the liquid has evaporated but it isn’t dry. You can stir it every now and then as it cooks.
Set the mince aside to cool to just above room temperature, then stir in the muscovado sugar.
Sterilise your jars in a hot oven after washing them.
Divide the mincemeat between the hot jars and set aside to cool.
To make the mince pies, preheat your oven to 180ºC/gas 4.
Butter the holes in a 12-hole muffin tin.
Cut the filo sheets into 4x4-inch squares. You will need 36 squares.
Butter each filo pastry square before placing into the muffin tin.
Place three sheets of filo into each hole, rotating each sheet so they are at three different angles.
Fill the well in each filo with mince.
Brush the edges of the pastry with the rest of the butter.
Bake for about 25 minutes until golden.
Allow to cool in the tin and lightly dust with icing sugar before serving.
