Which pastry for homemade mince pies?

TriciaF it's gluten-free pastry - made for my DD and a complete disaster!
Mrs Crimble's is a gf pastry mix which I'll try next time.

What's GF pastry? I thought you meant the pastry that one of your relatives made

TriciaF that was the GF pastry - I have never made successful GF pastry. Even the birds refused it.


However - my pastry and cakes were both much better before I had a fan-only oven.

Jalima wrote 'like a lead balloon' That's what my pastry has always been like until recently, when I finally realised what I'd been doing wrong - too much water.
I can only make one kind, I use soft margarine, plain flour and a little egg with the water. Just a few drops is enough to bind.
Made a delicious sausage pie for lunch today, with some tasty onion gravy.
Maybe mince pies next week.

I really must make an effort, perhaps tomorrow

Don't know who's recipe but a friend gave it to me years ago.Jalima Very moreish !

Shortcrust with a dash of orange. Then a teaspoon of cream cheese on top of the mincemeat under the lid. Lovely
That sounds like Jocelyn Dimbleby's recipe BBevan, I haven't tried it but my friend makes them like that.

JackyB, many yearsago, tomany to count, I went to catering college for two years and we were taught to make mince pies using an egg yolk and butter in the pastry. Still make them that way when I do make them. Works a treat

I still buy margarine for pastry, I think it works better than butter and no need for lard.
I've always made shortcrust for mince pies but this year added sugar and an egg. It was much easier to roll out and tasted good. I never glaze with milk or egg, I prefer the pastry crumbly.

I'm boring myself now . Merry Christmas.

For a Christmas party on Saturday I baked some and added to the pastry a pinch of whatever was to hand from the spice shelf - ground cloves, ginger and cinnamon. The kick from the ginger prompted some very favourable comments.

Shortcrust with a dash of orange. Then a teaspoon of cream cheese on top of the mincemeat under the lid. Lovely

Orange shortcrust for mine. Does have equal portions of lard and butter also it's more than half fat to flour say 3/4 , orange rind and the juice to mix,

Last night at our Thursday group's Festive Fun, the secretary brought Mary Berry's frangipane mince pies. More like little muffins, but slipped down a treat!

I always freeze them after they've been baked and they are fine when thawed out and reheated, or even eaten cold which is how I prefer them. Made the first batch of the season this afternoon - had to keep slapping DH's hands!

Thank goodness for Mrs Crimble.
My GF pastry was like a lead balloon.

Naughty aggie
or perhaps you don't eat them all yourself!

I never freeze them , maybe that is why I have very few in the tin come the big day

Gluten free!!! I buy Mrs Crimbles which is OK and Tesco is selling ready made now which is even easier.

What on earth are supermarkets for if not Mincepies. Decent soft pastry and good mincemeat no faffing about.

If you have ever seen my attempts at pastry you would see why this is my prefered option.

When I have frozen batches I have done it before baking and before putting the little hole in the top so that they didn't dry out in the freezer.
I don't know if they would, but I read it years ago in a freezer book.
Then make a hole with a skewer before baking.

How long can you keep mince pies after making? Can they be frozen? If so, at what stage? I am going away before Christmas and want to take home made pies with me!

This pastry is great. I miss out the orange peel as there is citrus in the mincemeat. I like any pastry with nuts in it.

Sweet crust plus some made with filo pastry into little triangular packages.

I no longer make mince pies, many years ago DD said she would make the them as one of her contributions to the family Christmas, so I make the mincemeat, hand it to her and forget about them until Christmas Eve.

Yes, three lots in the big freezer. I usually cook them first and defrost however many I need in the microwave.

I was very organised one year (but not as far as cleaning the oven every week!) because I was pregnant and due just before Christmas.
However, that was over 40 years ago and it didn't become a habit.

I used to work with a girl who was supremely well organised. She always cleaned her oven after doing the Sunday roast, and in October she came in and announced that her mince pies were done and in the freezer.

40 years later, I'm still trying to get as organised as she was!