Traditional Mince Pie
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If you’ve never experienced homemade mince pie (aka mincemeat pie) you really, really don’t know what you’re missing. And that’s coming from someone who really doesn’t like the store-bought pies. Leave the store-bought mince pies on the shelf and get ready to fall in love – nothing compares to homemade!
What is Mince Pie?
Mince pie, also called mincemeat pie, has occupied a prominent place on Britain’s holiday table for centuries and that tradition continues today. It’s a sweet pie that is filled with a mixture of spiced fruits and suet is is traditionally served during the Christmas season. During the near 7 years that I lived in England I witnessed the mince pies being stocked in every store and served in nearly every home as soon as the Christmas season started.
In Great Britain especially, but also in other English-speaking countries throughout the world, it’s hard for many people to imagine Christmas without mince pie.
Why You Need To Make Your Own Mincemeat
Most people have either a love or hate relationship with mince pie. For some, Christmas just isn’t the same without it while for others the mince pie is the brunt of endless jokes. For my part, if my opinion were limited to store-bought mince pie I would definitely pass with a courteous “no thank you.” But here’s the thing, homemade mince pies made with real authentic mincemeat….well, that’s a different story entirely. If like me you’ve always hated the store-bought pie, I’m confident this homemade mince pie will make you change your mind.
The key here: If you want the absolutely BEST mincemeat pie, you HAVE to make your own mincemeat. If you use store-bought mincemeat your mince pies you might as well buy the entire pie at the store. So don’t do it.
The mincemeat of today is very different from the mincemeat our ancestors enjoyed through the centuries and by different I don’t mean improved. The real stuff is vastly superior and your taste buds will agree once they’ve tried it. To learn more about its history, its evolution, and how to make mincemeat that you will really enjoy, be sure to check out my post on how to make your own homemade traditional Mincemeat.
Where Did Mince Pie Originate?
Mince pies, originally called “Christmas pies, “crib cakes” or “shred pies”, can be traced back to the 13th century to the time of the Crusaders where they were fashioned as symbols of Christ’s birth. Featuring cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in token of the gifts of the three Magi, mince pies were originally larger and shaped into ovals to represent the manger. Often a pastry was made that was shaped in the form of the infant Jesus and was placed on top of the pie. The mince pie would then be eaten in celebration of the birth of Christ.
Over time mince pies got smaller and rounder and today they’re made in small tart tins as convenient “hand pies” that are consumed within a few bites. Mince pies have gone down in history as an inseparable component of Christmas holiday tradition.
Mince Pie Ingredients
Mince pie is comprised of a pie shell filled with a mixture of fruits, spices, and suet. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Homemade pie crust (see below)
- Beef steak (yes, beef steak. Check out my article about REAL authentic mincemeat. It’s a game changer!)
- Raisins and golden raisins
- Dried currants (which actually aren’t currants at all but rather zante raisins)
- Apple
- Candied orange peel and candied lemon peel
- Almonds
- Lemon
- Beef suet
- Spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, mace, ginger, coriander
- Brandy and dark rum
While you can use prepared pie crust, for the best flavor and texture I recommend making your own and if at all possible replacing some of the butter with lard. Lard yields the very best pie crust texture imaginable. Be sure to use quality lard from pasture-raised pigs. Most of the lard you find in the stores is hydrogenated – avoid it. I always render my own lard from fat that I get from a trusted local farmer (see my post on How To Make Lard).
You can use either a standard 12-muffin tin or you can use mini tart tins, which create a more typical pie shape. I prefer to use the traditional mini tart tins and these tins can be used for any number of mini tart recipes.
Storage & Freezing
Stored your homemade mince pies in an airtight container. At room temperature they will keep for up to 4 days. Mince pie also freezes well: place them in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight. They can be reheated in the microwave but to crisp up the pie crust reheat them in the oven.
Mince Pies Recipe
Let’s get started!
Make the pastry crust:
Put the flour and salt in the bowl of the food processor and pulse a few times. Add the butter and lard (or all butter if preferred) and continue to pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Gradually add in the ice cold water and pulse a few times after each addition. The texture should be such that when you take some of the mixture and pinch it between your fingers it should come together to form a dough. Test it for doneness after each addition of the ice water, being careful not to add too much water or your crust will be tough and it won’t be flaky.
Transfer the crumbly pastry dough to a lightly floured work surface and use floured hands to fold the dough into itself until
Form the dough into a ball, tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it in the fridge for at least 3 hours before using, or for up to 5 days. This dough can also be frozen (flatten into one or two discs, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and put it in a ziplock freezer bag).
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease the mini tart tins or a standard 12-cup muffin tin.
Roll 2/3 of the pie crust out onto a floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut circles out of the pie crust to fit into the tins. Scoop some of the mincemeat into each pie crust.
IF MAKING A FULL SIZE PIE: Preheat to 375 F and bake it for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 F and bake for another 30 minutes or so.
Roll out the remaining pie crust to the same thickness and cut out circles for lids, star shapes, or lattices (whichever you prefer).
If cutting out circles/lids to fully cover each pie cut a small slit on the top of each pie crust to let hot air escape.
Lightly brush the tops with milk or an egg wash. Bake the pies for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Carefully remove them from the muffin or tart tins, transfer them to a wire rack and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Mince pies are best served gently warmed. They can be eaten with your hands or with a spoon if served with cream or even ice cream if you like.
Another traditional topping is Hard Sauce, known as Brandy Butter outside the U.S. Spread or place a dollop of brandy butter over the hot mincemeat pie and let it melt.
Depending on the size of your tart or muffin tins, this will make about 18 mince pies.
Enjoy!
One tradition says that if you eat a mince pie each day over the twelve days of Christmas it will bring you good luck in the new year! Another tradition says that the first mince pie of the season holds special powers, so be sure to make a wish with the first mince pie you eat!
Fun Fact: The first ever mince pie eating contest was held in 2006 and the winner consumed 46 pies in one sitting!
So from that perspective, 12 pies in 12 days isn’t so bad, is it?
For more delicious traditional British treats be sure to try our:
- Treacle Tart
- Lardy Cake
- Sticky Toffee Pudding
- Eccles Cakes
- Figgy Pudding
- Flapjacks
- Crumpets
- Scottish Shortbread
- Parkin
- Spotted Dick
- Welsh Cakes
- Victoria Sponge Cake
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Traditional Mince Pie
Ingredients
- Pie crust dough (enough for two crusts) or homemade crust as follows:
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter , diced in 1/2 inch cubes
- 5 ounces lard , lard will produce the flakiest crusts (you can substitute butter if you prefer)
- How to Make Your Own Lard (we strongly recommend making your own, it's super easy and cheaper than store-bought!)
- 2/3 cup ice water
- 1 batch BEST Traditional Mincemeat
- 2 tablespoons milk, for brushing
- powdered sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter (or lard/tallow) and use a pastry blender or two knives to cut into the flour until you get pea-sized crumbs(alternatively use a food processor). Stir in the water gradually (or pulse with a food processor) until the dough holds together when you pinch it between your fingers. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin or mini tart tins.
- Roll 2/3 of the pie crust out onto a floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut circles out of the pie crust to fit into the tins. Roll out the remaining pie crust to the same thickness and cut out circles for lids, or star shapes, or lattices (whichever you prefer). If using circles/lids to fully cover the pies, cut a slit in each pastry lid to allow the hot air to escape. IF MAKING A FULL SIZE PIE: Preheat to 375 F and bake it for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 F and bake for another 30 minutes or so.
- Carefully press the pie crusts into the tins and fill them with mincemeat then top with the pie crust lids, stars, or lattices and press the edges together to seal them. Lightly brush the tops with milk or an egg wash.Bake the pies for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove them from the muffin or tart tins, transfer them to a wire rack and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Mince pies are best served gently warmed. They can be eaten with your hands or with a spoon if served with cream or even ice cream if you like. Stored in in the fridge in an airtight container, they will keep for up to 4 days. If making them without meat they will keep in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days.Note: These pies freeze well. Freeze in an airtight container or ziplock bag, will keep for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
First published on The Daring Gourmet 18, 2017
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Thank you! My Mom and I live in Kentucky. We were both blessed to visit the UK mom in August. I was there at Christmas. Nothing quite like London at Christmas. Anyway I fell in love with the mincemeat pies. We have looked and found this recipe. We did make a few adjustments for the meat we used rabbit, had to sub dried cranberries for the currents, also used a bit more citrus. The flavor is wonderful! We plan to use deer next time or lamb a beautiful pie!
Fantastic, Brandi, I’m happy you enjoyed it, thanks so much for the feedback!
Do you use the mincemeat filling cold straight from the fridge I wonder? Thanks for your recipes.
Hi Mame, yes, you can take is straight from the fridge, scoop it out into the pies, and bake.
Hello I am trying your recipe for the first time two questions, well sorry three. for the candied citrus are two oranges & two lemons enough for the recipe and do I keep the peels at regular lengths after they are candied (I’m just trying to figure out measurements) or should I cube them?
and what is the best lard to buy I will not have time to make my own?
Thank you
Kathy
Hi Kathy, yes, two oranges and two lemons will be more than enough. One orange will probably be sufficient. You will want to finely chop the finished candied peels before adding them to the mincemeat. The measurements in tablespoons are for chopped candied peels. For the beef suet you can either purchase the British Atora brand that I link to in my recipe (which is terribly overpriced at the time of this comment) or get some fresh suet at your local butcher. If they don’t have any one hand you can ask them if they can finely grind some fresh beef kidney fat (also called beef leaf lard) for you. You’ll use that the same way as the Atora suet. Happy cooking!
Hi Kimberly,
was wondering if you had a recipe for old fashioned raisin pie?
I am wanting to make a raisin pie for my father but, change it to mini pies instead of one whole pie. Could I use the baking instructions for your mini tarts? 400, 10 to 15 mins? and does that depend on the amount of tins in the oven? Or are these instructions more specific due to the meat involved? Thank you for any help.
Hi Lisa, I don’t have a recipe for raisin pie but yes, you can absolutely use my recipe and baking instructions for these mini mincemeat pies and no, the baking time is not dependent on the inclusion of meat.
I made the filling and the flavor is spot on! Also made the orange and lemon candied peel, and it is delicious. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure I cooked the filling too long. Needs more juice – kind of the consistency of pecan pie LOL. I took a small amount and added water. Too bland. I’m thinking apple juice, but maybe “cranberry” juice. It is a mixture of cranberry, apple, and grape juice with no added sugar. Not sure about introducing the cranberry flavor, but it is very close to currants. What do you think? Last question: I bought some Atora beef suet. Can it be used in place of the lard for the piecrust? I have never used the beef suet and usually use butter and shortening for my piecrust. Thank you!
Hi! If you cook it low and slow the liquid from the apples and from the melted suet and sugar will be sufficient. The mixture needs to be thick when you add it to the mince pies later. In baking, beef suet is best used in things like steamed puddings because it comes in chunks and these pieces have a high smoke point so they will melt slowly while the pudding is cooking creating “pockets” throughout the pudding to make it more airy. Lard on the other hand is a spreadable fat that melts evenly and is best for using in pie crusts like you would butter.
I love gramma’s mince meat which I now make. 3lbs beef or pork, about 6lbs granny smiths peeled cored and diced, about 2lbs rasins half dark half white, 10-12 oz currants, 3 cups white sugar( I now use Steava substitute), about 2 cups brown sugar, 1 pint apple cider vinegar, about 2lbs dried sweet cherries, 2 Tbl cinniman , 1 tbl ground clove. You may notice I say about alot ! this because I believe in old days people used what they had! my receipe varies slightly each time I make . some ingredients I do not measure. if I have a little extra meat or one to many apples I use it!
You can get your mincemeat from Smuckers in Orville Ohio. Just Google them.
I grew up eating mince meat pie every year from Thannksgiving thru Christmas and as I remember watching my mother making her pies I remember her using a box of Nonesuch mince meat. Now many many years later and after my mom has passed and I am not able to ask her any questions my husband and I can not find Nonsuch mincemeat nor a poor substitutw frozen mincemeat pie at any local stores and we are missing our favorite holiday pie so I am now looking for ways to make my own mincemeat. I have just found your site and will be tryig your receipe out soon. Here is hoping to having mincemeat pies on the menue once again. BTW we are totaly american but my grandparents were from the english side of Canada origionally, who eventualy immigrated to the US. I think that is why we have so many english type receipes passed down to us kids
I too love to have mince pies for Christmas having come from England where it was a staple for the entire Christmas period. The first one of the season required making a wish. Mincemeat is easily available from any of the online British grocery outlets- look for Robertson’s mincemeat and you won’t be disappointed.
Hi there, I totally appreciate your care with this recipe but there are a lot of mistakes with the metric conversions and the doubling and tripling. Luckily I spotted them before I started baking. I had great success with this using 8 ounces of salted Kerrygold butter and 2 ounces of lard. And the flour combination I used was 113 g each of whole wheat bread flour and whole wheat pastry flour, and 200 g of all purpose flour. The pastry behaved beautifully! I have been on a mince tart pastry quest for sometime now and I think this will now be my go to recipe. But I hope you will make the adjustments in the measurement conversions! You will see if you toggle back-and-forth on the various settings how some measures are wrong. Thanks!
Do you have to refrigerate the little pies after you bake them? There’s certainly no room fir all those little tartlets in my fridge but I am collecting them along with several of the German holiday cookies to send across country as care packages, and I missed my window for shipping before Christmas so they won’t go out til Monday.
Also I may have to make the mincemeat over again as I didn’t refrigerate it but stored it in my fairly cool garage and the jars don’t seem to have solid lard “lids” at the top, they look like your mincemeat photo.
If you made them with meat they should be refrigerated. They also freeze well, so you can spare some of your fridge space. If you made them without meat you can store them in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days.
The measurements are completely off. Look at the metric to imperial conversions- they are wrong on the single recipe and on the doubled/tripled versions as well! This is requiring a lot of math skills to try to figure out what you originally meant before screwing up the recipe!
Hi Kate, the recipe is not in Imperial measurements, it’s in US Customary.
Oh hi Kimberley, I did not realize this comment had been posted. I meant to add some more detail and not sound so critical! I think imperial and US customary are the same thing, in all events that’s what I meant. Please if you toggle on the metric and the doubling and tripling you will see what I mean how some measurements do not change at all and some just don’t make sense. The basic recipe is great!
Hi Kate, no worries at all! I welcome any and all honest feedback. I didn’t realize you were referring specifically to the conversions when you double/triple the recipe. Yes you’re right, the doubling/tripling feature doesn’t work. It’s a software thing that the developer will need to look into and until that happens those calculations – e.g., to double the recipe – will have to be done manually. I’m sorry for the hassle and again, I appreciate the feedback!
Wondering about time and oven temp for a traditional sized pie, instead of minis. Your filling is amazing! Do I warm the filling from refrigerator to crust??? Thanks for your help! Want my Grandmas crust to do your mincemeat filling justice!
Elaine
Thanks so much, Elaine! No need to warm the filling before placing it in the crust; refrigerator to crust is fine. For a traditional sized pie I would preheat to 375 F and bake it for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 F and bake for another 30 minutes or so. Happy baking and please let us know how it goes!
When is the sugar added?
Hi JOC, it’s added in step one with the flour and salt.
Hi nice looking recipe – but how much sugar is added? I don’t see the quantity in the list. Maybe I just don’t see it but everyone else can?
Hi Gerry, sorry about that, it’s 1 1/2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.
I make my own mincemeat. I use 1.5 pints ground apples. (Tart ones preferred), 1pint ground green tomatoes, 1cup chopped suet, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1tsp salt, 1tsp allspice, 1tsp ground cloves, 3cups sugar 1/4 c vinegar
Put everything in a large pot. Stir it all up. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook until thick.
You can can it, in hot water bath, pints 25 minutes. Or. Freeze. It.
Made the filling last week (YUM!) and making the dough now. I don’t see where the 1 teaspoon of sugar is added, so I’m adding it with the salt based on the order of ingredients (thinking it was just overlooked in the description). I’ve never used lard or tallow before. I bought Bison Tallow! This should be an awesome finale to the dinner.
Wow, I’ve never seen bison tallow anywhere for sale before! Thanks, Margaret, I hope you enjoyed the pies!