December is the month where home baking becomes a daily activity. Shop bought simply will not do in our house when there's an opportunity to make it. It's always more satisfying making something by yourself anyway - and when the house is filled with the smells of cinnamon, orange and festive spices nothing can beat it. 

Mince Pies has become somewhat of 'my thing'. I love making batches of mince pies, and of course eating my way through them all too. It's one of the easiest Christmas home bakes that you can make - especially because I cheat a little and use a jar of mince meat. But they come out smelling and tasting amazing. 

Makes 24

Ingredients 

Jar of Mince Meat

1 egg

Packet (1kg) of Short Crust Pastry 

You Will Need 

Baking Tray  - Margarine for greasing the tray

Flour to prepare the surface

One Circular Cutter 

Festive Shaped Cutter (or smaller circular one)

Method

1. Roll out the short crust pastry to a thickness of < 1 cm, ensuring that the sheet is the same thickness, and that each side has enough flour to ensure it won't stick

2. Use the circular cutter to cut 24 bases for your mince pies. and place on the greased baking tray. 

3. Use a teaspoon to put a small dod of mince meat on each of the bases. Make sure it's only a small amount as this will spread and spill if it's filled too much. A little goes a long way!

4. Use either your shaped cutter or a circular one that is smaller than your base to create the tops. They don't need to cover the whole of the mince - as you can see, I like to leave some gaps for the mince meat to spill out of. Once made, place on top of the base & mince meat. 

5. Crack an egg into a cup & whisk, then brush onto all of the assembled mince pies. Make sure you add enough that each pie is covered, but don't allow it to pool.

6. Place in a preheated oven at 180 degrees (fan assisted) for 20 mins. Take out and cool. 

See - super simple! It's the easiest but tastiest festive treat you can make. And what's the Christmas season without mince pies? 

Make sure you've entered my 'December Survival Kit' Giveaway - I've got lots of treats and goodies in it to make December a little bit less stressful for you. Why not make some mince pies and kick back to watch Arthur Christmas. Or enjoy a mince pie along with the hot chocolate? Enter now to be in with a chance of winning! ( Enter here ) 

Love,

Emily

xxx

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