Need help with mince pies please?

My secret ingredient is Boyajian orange oil - really intense fresh orange taste and smell that survives cooking. A couple of tsps should perk things up a lot.

Definitely far easier to buy them from Waitrose.
Especially the Heston from Waitrose with a twist of lemon (with cream) ?

Maybe you are judging it by the jarred product. I find bought mincemeat too sloppy and rich. Using your own you can afford to pack much more into each pie. I always make my own using a traditional recipe that actually includes minced beef. There is enough fruit sugar and brandy in it there is no danger of it going before it's used in pies and it is the best ever in taste.

Add chunks of satsumas or mandarins.

I used to make my own mincemeat and it was better- think it was an old recipe. Now I just buy some, take a large spoonful out of the jar and add more dried fruit, chopped up glace cherries, chopped almonds, cinnamon and ginger, and a large slug of something alcoholic. I find bought stuff too sweet and sloppy.

I would add some apple or orange juice and some brandy. I use a Delia recipe.

Mincemeat I made this year superb( we hated even the luxury bought stuff last year ansd said never again), from an old Good Housekeeping recipe. OK it does have quite a lot of brandy in it but it sat for 24 hours in a bowl absorbing flavours, also fresh apple, orange juice and rind, before putting in jars. All used up now in mince pies and gave a jar to friend.
I think adding fresh squeezed orange juice and rind is a good idea.

I make a pastry flan case, then mincemeat on the bottom, sliced apples on that and, if I have time and inclination, a layer of franzipan on top. More filling , less pastry. Much better than mince pies IMHO.

Add more alcohol, then whoever eats them won’t notice - or care what they taste like! Hic!

I do an Apple and mincemeat crumble - extra juice from the part stewed apples and makes a change from the usual mincemeat pies.

Another vote for the Delia recipe here!

I used to trundle over to my mother's with my food processor and we would make it together.

Pretty sure we usually made it in October.

I make Delias mincemeat every year and keep some for presents !
I would stew some tangy cooking apples and add it to your dry mix

Grated apple sounds like a good idea, plus more booze if it’s still dry.

I once made mincemeat from (I think) a recipe in an oldish M&S Christmas cookery book. TBH it was disappointing, no better than the bog standard shop variety.

I do highly recommend Delia’s, though. Certainly worth the effort, though in fact it doesn’t take long at all, except for the 3 hours (IIRC) on a low setting in the oven. That melts the suet, so it’s all properly mixed in.

I looked at Mary Berry's recipe and thought it looked more dry than the bought stuff.

Thanks everyone for all your tips. I did only make it 2-3 weeks ago. I did as instructed and kept it in a bowl for a week, stirring every day then put it in jars. It’s got orange and lemon juice in and some spices and brandy and Cointreau but maybe needs more of all those! I like the marmalade idea and the cake might happen with one of the jars too. I usually buy Robertson’s and add stuff of my own to it, I’ll stick to that in future!

Or mincemeat ice cream

GardenerGran use it to make a fruit cake. I used to make mincemeat cake rather than the heavy Christmas cake. I used a Madeira sponge recipe as the base and stirred in a jar of mincemeat. How long ago did you make it as really it's needs 6 months to mature. Also weekly turning upside down to make sure it is moist all the way through. Hope this helps.

Years ago I made a very nice Clementine xmas pud using orange marmalade and cointreau.

As you have used cointreau in your mincemeat GardnerGran
Would 2 or 3 of spoonfuls of marmalade add some extra flavour?

When did you make the mincemeat? Perhaps it needed longer in the jars to mature.

I'd add grated apple and perhaps apple or orange juice too, although I know some recipes recommend freezing butter and adding that grated.

I usually find shop bought mincemeat is too liquid and spills out of the pastry cases. They taste fine but don't look very pretty.

Did you soak the fruit in brandy or something similar overnight before adding the other ingredients? I would add some orange juice and lemon juice and heat gently in the microwave. Taste it to get the sweetness right, add brown sugar if necessary, and if it doesn't smell 'Christmassy' enough, add some cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice

I wonder what went wrong? It may have been the balance of ingredients I suppose.

Yes WWM2 I used suet and all the usual stuff. I think I’ll add all of the above suggestions including the jar of bought mincemeat in the cupboard! The few mince pies I made today are going to need a good dose of custard to get them eaten I think.

Apple purée and a teaspoon of mixed spice and / or cinnamon?

Maybe add a couple of jars of bought mincemeat, see what that does.

Grated apple? Have you used suet?