Mince Pies with Thermomix Puff Pastry and Homemade Mincemeat

Mince Pies with Thermomix Puff Pastry and Homemade Mincemeat
Homemade Mince Pies are a doddle to make when Thermomix helps you along the way :)
Homemade Mince Pies are a doddle to make when Thermomix helps you along the way 🙂

It’s about 10 days until Christmas and I’ve been a bit humbug this season. The tree and the decorations are in boxes in the guest house and and I won’t put them up until I finish emptying the moving boxes which is becoming a rather protracted chore. However, every year ThermoHubby John brings some sort of Christmas treat to his office and in a long-awaited burst of Christmas spirit I thought this year it would be nice for him to be able to bring some totally traditionally English Mince Pies to his French colleagues. There’s of course one hitch… we live in France and the nearest Marks and Spencer’s is about an hour and a half away so I’ll just have to call upon my trusty Thermomix to help me make some 😉

Here's my Thermomix France puff pastry filled with homemade Thermomix mincemeat
Here’s my Thermomix France puff pastry filled with homemade Thermomix mincemeat

ThermoHubby John likes puff pastry mince pies, so I used the Thermomix France puff pastry recipe and its sensationally easy Snail Method. If you prefer a shortcrust pastry I recommend this one, also from Thermomix France.

The mincemeat recipe was developed by Adela Forestier-Walker, one of the UK’s longest-serving Thermomix Advisors, and tweaked by Thermomix UK Director Janie Turner. It’s a doddle to make, can stand up to the vaguaries of your larder and its contents, and produces a mincemeat with a really fresh, lemony flavour. I’ll never buy storebought again!

Mincemeat – Adela Forestier-Walker
Extremely easy to make in your Thermomix, this mincemeat is perfect for mince pies and tarts. It is a variation of Adela Forestier-Walker’s recipe. It can be used straight away but tastes better if you can wait at least 2 days for the flavours to mature. Janie Turner likes it best made with butter, and so does Madame Thermomix. Keeps up to 6 months. Makes about 600 g. Easily doubled or tripled.
Ingredients
50 g sugar
1 organic lemon, thinly peeled skin of ½ only plus juice of the whole lemon
100 g fresh suet cut in pieces or room temperature butter diced or bought prepared suet
100 g cooking apples, peeled and quartered
1 Tbsp brandy
100 g currants
100 g sultanas
100 g raisins
Method

1. Grind sugar and lemon peelings from ½ the lemon 20 seconds/Speed 10.
2. Add fresh suet if using and chop at Speed 6 until evenly chopped.
3. Add apples, brandy, butter or prepared suet if using, and juice of the whole lemon. Chop at Speed 3 until evenly chopped. If doubling or tripling the recipe, you may need to stir with the TM spatula through the hole in the TM lid.
4. Add dried fruit and stir in at Speed 3/Reverse Blade Direction until mixed. (For a triple recipe, you’ll need to tip it all out into a large bowl and mix with a spatula.) Spoon into sterilised jars and cover with sterilised lids.

Janie Turner’s Tips

Variations: • Add 100 g blanched almonds at Step 2 and chop at Speed 6 for a few seconds. This is Adela’s favourite version.
• Add 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp mixed spice. See the Basic Recipes Tips and Hints chapter in “Fast and Easy Cooking” for how to grind cinnamon – freshly ground cinnamon will give wonderful extra flavour to this mincemeat and other recipes.

I cut out little star shapes from the offcuts of my Thermomix puff pastry and popped them in the freezer whilst filling my mini mince pies
I cut out little star shapes from the offcuts of my Thermomix puff pastry and popped them in the freezer whilst filling my mini mince pies

I was inspired by Nigella Lawson’s Star-Topped Mince Pies and made bite-sized pies with cute little stars on top. Fantastic!

My homemade mince pies are ready to go into the oven
My homemade mince pies are ready to go into the oven
I baked my Thermomix mince pies at 220 degrees C for about 15 minutes. Ovens vary, so make sure to watch yours carefully!
I baked my Thermomix mince pies at 220 degrees C for about 15 minutes. Ovens vary, so make sure to watch yours carefully!
Merry Christmas from Madame Thermomix!
Merry Christmas from Madame Thermomix!

Bon appétit !

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