Mince Pies

Mince pies are a centuries-old British specialty, and appear in the shops about six weeks before Christmas. The small pies take their name from the filling, a preserve called mincemeat. In medieval times, the mixture of dried fruits, candied peels, and apples also contained beef. Suet, which later took the place of beef, can be omitted from the contemporary recipe, like the one here. This recipe taken from the book, Williams-Sonoma London: Authentic Recipes Celebrating the Foods Of the World (Williams-Sonoma Foods of the World), makes more mincemeat than you will need for the pies, and can be stored in jars for future use.

Mincemeat
To make mince pies from scratch it is necessary to make the mincemeat mixture a few weeks beforehand to allow the fruits to absorb the liquid and mature, so if you don't have time for that, simply buy a jar of mincemeat from your local supermarket, or online from stores such as the English Tea Store.

Ingredients for the Mincemeat
2lb tart green apples
3/4 cup hard apple cider
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups dried currants
1 1/2 cups dried raisins
1/3 cup glace cherries roughly chopped
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Small pinch of ground cloves
1/4 cup brandy

Ingredients for the Pastry
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of fine sea salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, diced
1 large egg yolk
3-4 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon whole milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

The basic tricks for making good pastry are:
Keep everything cool.
Use cold water.
Work quickly.
Add lemon juice to the richer versions to encourage crispness.
Use a knife to 'cut in' the ingredients.
Use as little flour as possible when rolling or the pastry will turn hard.

Method
1. To make the mincemeat, peel, core, and shred the apples. In a large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat, combine the cider and brown sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Add the applies, currants, raisins, cherries, and lemon and orange zest and juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture comes slowly to a boil, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, cover partially, and simmer gently until the mixture forms a thick, soft paste, about 1 hour. Uncover, raise the heat to medium, and cook briskly, stirring frequently, until all the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Stir in the brandy. If not using the mincemeat immediately, store in sterilized jars.

2. To sterilize the jars, while the mincemeat is cooking, preheat the oven to 125 deg.F. Wash four 1-cup glass jam jars in warm soapy water, rinse in clean warm water, and set in the oven to dry. Spoon the hot mincemeat into the sterilized jars to within 1/4-inch of the tops. Wipe the rims clean with a hot, damp kitchen towel, top with metal canning lids, and seal tightly with screw bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the jars to a kitchen towel and let cool. Store in a cool, dark place. The mincemeat will keep for up to 6 months.

3. To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Alternatively, place the sifted dry ingredients in a food processor, add the butter, and pulse 4 or 5 times until the mixture forms coarse crumbs; return to the bowl. Using a fork, stir in the egg yolk, and enough of the cold water to form a rough dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and lightly knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Shape the dough into a disk 3/4-inch thick, wrap in a plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 350 deg.F. Lightly butter 12 tartlet pans about 2 1/2-inches in diameter. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out tow-thirds of the dough into a round 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out 12 circles. Gather the scraps of dough and roll out with the remaining dough, dusting the dough with flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the work surface. Using a 2 1/2-inch round or star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 12 shapes. Line each prepared pie pan with a large circle of dough. Fill with about 3 teaspoons of mincemeat. Brush the edges of a small pastry circle with milk, place milk side down on top of the filling, and press the edges together lightly to seal. If using stars, brush the tips of the stars with milk, place on top of the filling, and press the tips in to the edges to seal. Prick the top of each pie with a sharp knife, then brush with milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

5. Bake the pies until the crusts are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from the pans and let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. The pies can be stored in an airtight tin for 2 days.

Serve with mulled wine or Darjeeling or Earl Grey tea.