Almond Pastry Mince Pies (Melt In Your Mouth)

Mince pies in a tray, sieve and mincemeat jar.

4.83 from 23 votes

Almond Pastry Mince Pies (Melt In Your Mouth)

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!

Course Cakes, Christmas Bake, Dessert, Treats

Cuisine British

Keyword almond pastry, christmas baking, mince pies, vegan mince pies

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

PLUS Dough Chilling Time 15

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories 254kcal

Author Jo Allison

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

Metric - US Customary

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.

Tips

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.

If you'd like your pastry to be less short and less crumbly simply lower the amount of butter to 150g.

Making ahead / Freezing

You can freeze mince pies unbaked in their tray and covered tightly with baking paper 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.

Nutrition