Mince Pies

Christmas in the UK wouldn't be Christmas without Mince Pies! I've heard that they've even started appearing in the supermarkets in October, which shows how much the Brits love them. Originally these sweet little tarts were made with meat or suet, but today we prefer the vegetarian variety - a delicious combination of dried fruits, apples, spices and brandy or rum.

You can go ahead and make your own "Mincemeat", but I have found two ready made brands in the US, which are quite passable (Nonsuch and Grandmother's). I usually add extra raisins and a drop more brandy or rum to give it a more authentic taste. These "pies" can be baked in muffin tins, but I always use my English tart tins, which are a little shallower than a muffin tin. If you've never made pie crust, you can buy it ready made. However, I prefer a sweet tart crust for mince pies and my recipe, which even has added wholewheat flour, is so easy (especially if you own a food processor), I would encourage you to try it - it's foolproof!

Mince Pies
(Makes 18)

Sweet tart dough:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup wholewheat flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
8 ounces (2 sticks) butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 jar (1lb. 12oz) Mincemeat
1 egg white and sugar for glaze

Directions:

Prepare tart dough: Place the flours, sugar and the chilled butter in food processor bowl.

Pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Whisk the egg and vanilla in a small bowl.
Add to the flour, sugar and butter mixture and mix until the ingredients form a ball. A teaspoon or two of water may be required if the mixture is too dry.
Turn onto a work surface and with the heel of the hand, press the dough together until is smooth.
This dough can be rolled out immediately and baked, or wrapped in plastic and chilled in the refrigerator until ready to be used.

Assemble pies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Roll out the pie dough on a clean, lightly floured work surface, until about 1/8th of an inch thick.
Use 2 cookie cutters (1 large, 1 medium) that fit your tart tins. Cut out 24 large and 24 medium rounds.
Grease the tart or muffin pan with non-stick spray and use the large size rounds to line the bottoms of each hole. Fill with a spoon of thed mincemeat mixture and lay the medium round on top to form a lid.