These Almond Pastry Mince Pies are just what they say on the tin - melt in your mouth delicious! Almond shortcrust pastry makes them simply irresistible and even more festive! They are so easy to make too!
Almond Pastry Mince Pies - it's all in the pastry!
I simply can't imagine December without mince pie or two (or more like a dozen)!
They are my guilty treats responsible for a roll or two added to my midriff by the time the New Year is here full of dietary resolutions.
As much as I love regular mince pies, this time I decided to tinker with the pastry to see whether there is room for improvement and that resulted in my Almond Pastry Mince Pies!
For somebody like myself who cannot stand Christmas Cake or Pudding, the love for mince pies might seem rather odd.
It is and it isn't... It's all about the pastry you see. I'm a huge pastry fiend and the crumblier and more buttery the better.
I also love almonds and use them in baking a lot so combining my love for all things pastry and almond resulted in the best almond shortcrust pastry ever!
Sweet mincemeat!
Make sure you use the best possible sweet mincemeat in your pies! I like Robertson's Classic Mincemeat which is not overpowering, really delicious and vegan too.
If you've got your own tried and tested recipe you've used for years - that's even better!
They really are a doddle to make but the little effort you put in will be rewarded by most crumbly, buttery, slightly almondy parcels of joy you could image!
Would love to hear what you think!
Vegan version of Almond Pastry Mince Pies
Since we started on our plant based journey I have adapted this recipe to make it vegan friendly.
Simply substitute regular unsalted butter with vegan block butter (I use Stork or Flora Plant) and leave out an egg yolk.
If you like to brush your mince pies with milk before baking, substitute regular dairy milk with your favourite plant or nut milk (I like oat milk the most for its neutral flavour).
Few tips for Almond Pastry Mince Pies success!
Almond shortcrust pastry in this recipe is very short and rich which makes it quite crumbly but manageable.
To ensure that your mince pies don't fall apart simply:
- Make sure you butter your tin really well.
- Don't roll out your dough too thinly.
- Once out of the oven, let the mince pies rest for a few minutes in the tin before transferring them onto the cooling rack.
In case you're still worried simply reduce the amount of butter used 150g.
Making almond pastry mince pies ahead and freezing advice
My almond pastry mince pies are perfect Christmas treats to make ahead.
You can freeze them unbaked in their tray and covered tightly with baking paper (I no longer use clingfilm) and some aluminium foil.
Bake from frozen as per recipe below, allowing additional 5 minutes baking time.
You can also freeze baked pies (without icing sugar).
Simply put them in a plastic container with a lid. If your container is quite tall, pop your mince pies in layers separated with some baking paper.
When you are ready to eat simply defrost them on the counter top and warm them up in the oven heated up to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 5 minutes.
Whichever way you choose, your mince pies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Have you tried my Almond Pastry Mince Pies?
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Some more festive, pastry & almond recipes you might be interested in:
Puff Pastry Mince Pie Swirls
Dark Chocolate Cranberry Chestnut Cookies
Best Buttery Apple Pie with a Twist
Italian Plum & Almond Cake with Amaretti Crunch
Gluten-Free Orange and Almond Cake
Easy Chocolate Gingerbread Biscuits
Gingerbread Brownies
Gingerbread Cake (Traybake) - Vegan
Almond Pastry Mince Pies (Melt In Your Mouth)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 225 g plain (all-purpose) flour
- pinch of salt
- 50 g ground almonds
- 200 g unsalted butter or vegan block butter chilled and cubed, see notes
- 70 g caster sugar
- 1 egg yolk optional, leave out if vegan
- Quality mince meat of your choice I use Robertson's Classic Mincemeat
- milk (plant/nut milk) for brushing optional
- icing sugar to serve
shallow tart tray and plain round cutter approx 68mm
Instructions
- Put flour, sugar, salt and ground almonds in your food processor and press pulse button few times to combine.
- Add cubes of chilled butter and mix until texture starts resembling breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk (if using) and keep mixing until the dough comes together almost in a ball. Leave the egg yolk out in vegan version.
- Take it out onto the kitchen counter and flatten into a disc, cover in baking paper or beeswax wrap and chill for about 10-15 minutes.
- If you don't have food processor simply mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, add chilled, cubed butter and rub with your fingers until you get to crumbs like consistency. Add egg yolk if using (leave out in vegan version) and keep on mixing with your hands until dough starts coming together. Flatten it into a disc, cover in cling film and chill as above.
- Butter shallow tart tray and preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
- Roll out your pastry on a floured surface and cut out 12 rounds which you then press into each hole in your tart tray. Make sure you press gently on the sides of each pastry round to get rid of any air bubbles. Cut out another 12 rounds that will serve as lids.
- Put approx 1 heaped teaspoon of mince meat in the centre of each pastry case and cover these with the remaining pastry rounds pressing gently on the edges to seal.
- Brush gently with some milk (plant/nut milk) and using sharp knife make two tiny vents on the top of each pie.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.
- Let the pies cool in a tray for a few minutes which will make them easier to remove. Pop them onto a wire rack to cool completely. Serve dusted with icing sugar or however your heart desires!
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per mince pie and should be treated as a guideline only.
- Store in airtight container for up to a week. Otherwise freeze as per advice below.
- Make sure you butter your tin really well.
- Don’t roll out your dough too thinly.
- Once out of the oven, let the mince pies rest for a few minutes in the tin before transferring them onto the cooling rack.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in November 2018 and updated in November 2019 & 2020 with more useful info including vegan option, updated recipe card and better layout to improve reader's experience.
Linkies:
Cook Blog Share with Recipes Made Easy, Brilliant Blog Posts, Cook Once Eat Twice, Bake of the Week with CasaCostello and MummyMishaps ,Baking Crumbs with Apply To Face Blog
Den Dew says
I made mince pies with your almond pastry today. Absolutely gorgeous. I anticipated a possible relutance for getting them out of the tins, so I set them to rest for 15 mins on our cold stone staircase. It worked a treat, every pie popped out perfectly. Unfortunately several dissapeared, before making it to the freezer, and my husband swears ignorance ! Thank you for a great recipe
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Den, I'm over the moon about the pies turning out so well! Thank you so much for letting me know! Great tip about putting them on a really cool surface before removing from the tin, it might help all those who struggled even after letting them rest at a room temperature. As for disappearance of the pies, you're not alone, it happens all the time in our house too lol.
Pam says
Best pastry I have ever made! And I’m no spring chicken and have been baking for years .well done Jo
joskitchenlarder says
Oh Pam you really made my day! Thank you so much for your kind words! 🙂
Janice Pattie says
I’ve just made your awesome almond pastry, oh my goodness it is so good. This will be my sweet shortcrust recipe from now on!
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you so much for letting me know Janice! I'm so pleased you love the pastry and its melt in the mouth crumbliness 🙂
Natalie says
I made these today, absolutely gorgeous. Although I had a problem getting them from the tin without them breaking. The pastry is too crumbly, just fell apart. I left them to cool and my pastry wasnt too thin. Do you think adding another egg yolk or white would help bind it better? They taste fabulous though
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Natalie, Thank you for your feedback. My almond pastry is very rich and very short hence it will be crumblier although I've never had issues with pies breaking on me if handled gently. I don't think adding another yolk is the way to go here and the only thing I can think of would be to reduce the amount of butter. As I've mentioned before, these are fragile and delicate but you get that wonderful melt in the mouth crumbly texture. I'm glad you liked the taste though. 🙂
Claire says
I’ve made these today with amaretto mincemeat. Absolutely delicious. Thank you for the recipe. I made double the amount of pastry so I can freeze the rest and make another big batch closer to Christmas. I made 24 today.
They are fairly crumbly but rich pastry usually is. Very sweet too but mince pies are so small I think we deserve a small sweet treat. That said my OH just ate four. So not such a small sweet treat for him!
I’m taking a dozen into work tomorrow I hope they like them as much as we did.
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Claire, I'm absolutely delighted that you've enjoyed the pies and liked the pastry (and so has your hubby lol). Thank you so much for stopping by and letting me know! Amaretto mincemeat sounds amazing by the way. I have learnt with these now that they really don't last long at all and making more pastry is the way to go! I think you'll have very happy bunch of peeps at work tomorrow too! Little treat to brighten up beginning of the week. 🙂 x
Frances says
I've just made these. They smelled delicious, they looked wonderful, but I couldn't get them out of the tin without them falling apart at the slightest touch!! I buttered the tin really well and the pies had not stuck to the tin, it was just that the pastry was so fragile and crumbly. I now have lots of topless pies and a bowl of pastry crumbs. It's delicious pastry, but oh what a disappointment! We will eat them of course, but where did I go wrong?
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Frances, I'm really sorry to hear that! I have made these mince pies numerous times without any problems. It is a very short pastry so it will be slightly crumbly but not to the point of just falling apart in your hands. One thing I can think of is perhaps you rolled out your dough a little too thin? It's also quite important to let these rest a bit in a tin before removing onto cooling rack. I hope that helps and that you might give these another go as it really is tried and tested recipe and pastry is delicious. Best wishes. Jo
Jenny Walters says
These look lovely Jo! I always mean to bake mince pies every year but I never blinking do! I am the only one that likes them in my house! This year......Thank you soooo much for cohosting with me. Will miss you freaking loads xxx
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Jenny! 🙂 It's only me and my youngest in our house who devour these and we never complain lol, the more the better. I will miss being an official part of crumbs too but I promise to keep linking up loads! Will miss you! xxx
Choclette says
Love your almond pastry Jo. I've made orange pastry for mince pies before, but I think I like your idea even better. I always think I shouldn't start on mince pies until December, but now I really really want one.
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
The pastry look perfect and I can just imagine them melting in my mouth!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Those look really good. *heads into the kitchen for a mince pie and it's all your fault* : )
Shared
Julia Frey says
I can never resist a pastry made with almonds! These look absolutely scrumptious. Worth gaining a couple of pounds for!
anna says
oh this sounds so lovely!! love the idea that you added almonds to the pastry
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Anna! 🙂 I love the pastry with added almonds!
Mandy says
I am SO ready for my first mince pie of the season and I love the idea of adding almonds to the pastry.
joskitchenlarder says
Ha ha, I've already had, let's say "a couple" lol 😉 Mince pies season has officially begun in our house! 🙂
Cat | Curly’s Cooking says
I absolutely love mince pies and although I technically make my own, I cheat and use shop bought pastry! These look so delicious and I love the addition of the almond to the pastry.
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Cat! Ground almonds really make all the difference here and make the pies feel that bit more luxurious too! 🙂
Anna | Once Upon A Food Blog says
I totally agree, it is about the pastry in mince pies! Adding almonds to it looks lovely, almost like frangipane, and that can't be a bad thing!
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Anna! 🙂 I absolutely love the flavour ground almonds give to the pastry and like you say it does have almost frangipane like look and definitely taste!
Cat says
These sound delicious, I love almonds with mincemeat x
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Cat! 🙂 Flavours marry together really well! x
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
Ooh I love the sound of these - melt in the mouth mince pies! Yes please! I'm a huge fan of mince pies too and I completely agree pastry has to be lovely and buttery and crumbly! Delicious! Thank you so much for linking up with #BakingCrumbs Jo :=D
Angela x
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Angela! 🙂 I thought this sort of title is not only very accurate but also very enticing 🙂 I think I was right! lol 😉 x
Jacqui says
Oh how lovely almond pastry is so delicious
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Jacqui! 🙂
Karen, the next best thing to mummy says
I will definitely be trying these #[email protected]_karendennis
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Karen! I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
becca farrelly says
Ooh these look lovely and I love the almond twist to them! I have never made mince pies myself but we make Christmas cake, stollen and a gingerbread house every year. I would love to give these a go! 🙂
#brillblogposts
joskitchenlarder says
Oh wow Becca, that's a lot of lovely Christmas bakes! I think you would enjoy these, ground almonds really make the pastry here and go so well together with mince meat!
Corina Blum says
I love buttery crumbly pastry and these sound perfect! In our house we all like mince pies and so would love these. Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Corina! 🙂 It's two for and two against in our house, but hey at least there is less competition when it comes to eating them lol x
Jenny Paulin says
ooooh these sound very nice indeed! I adore mince pies too ad have often eaten them for breakfast over the festive period (even with clotted cream on Christmas morning!).Yours look so melt in the mouth too -perfect.
thank you for linking to #Bakeoftheweek x
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Jenny! 🙂 Oh yes, I'm not a stranger to eating these for breakfast myself. The closer it gets to Christmas the more inclined I am to eat these at any point during the day and night! lol x
Pam Clarke says
Could i use this recipe for a large tart... ie lemon merongue or the South African milk tart. If so would i bake blind with pie weights or without pie weights. Thank you.
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Pam, I don't see the reason why this pastry wouldn't work for larger bake. I would definitely pre-bake it for that with the pie weights in to avoid soggy bottom. Hope that helps.