A Countdown to Christmas Recipe: Sugar Frosted Orange & Brandy Mince Pies (2024)

A Countdown to Christmas Recipe: Sugar Frosted Orange & Brandy Mince Pies

A Countdown to Christmas Recipe:

Sugar Frosted Orange & Brandy Mince Pies

A Countdown to Christmas Recipe: Sugar Frosted Orange & Brandy Mince Pies

Nestled in the pantry amongst all my other tins and trays are two very special pie tins, or patty tins as they are sometimes known; belonging to me now, they were my grandmother’s and I treasure them more than anything else in my kitchen. Old and battered they may be, but they make the most amazing Mince Pies and other pastry favourites such as butter tarts, jam tarts and small savoury hand pies – they have beautiful shell and leaf patterns that are embossed on to any pastry case you bake in them, and their non-Teflon tin finish makes sure that there are no soggy bottoms too! Although I do use them throughout the year, I take them out with a special reverence at Christmastime for my mince-pie making sessions, and the memories of a dearly loved grandma and her warm, cosy kitchen come flooding back with such an intensity, that I can almost hear her telling me to make sure I wash my hands before I start to help her in the kitchen.

A Countdown to Christmas Recipe: Sugar Frosted Orange & Brandy Mince Pies

Whereas the tins used to be my grandmother’s, the basic pastry recipe I am sharing today is based on my mum’s shortcrust pastry, and is made with self-raising flour and NOT plain flour; this results in a lighter, fluffier pastry that is light and buttery, and softer than usual. Mum also adds orange zest and juice to her pastry sometimes too, but I am known for mySugar Frosted Orange & Brandy Mince Piesthat uses a tangy orange pastry, and I am asked to make them every year. Basically, I glaze my pastry lids with beaten egg white and a dusting of caster sugar before baking them, and this creates a light almost meringue style finish with a crunchy coating of frosted sugar on top – very seasonal and also very pretty too.

Sugar Frosted Orange & Brandy Mince Pies

I am not a “Mince Pie Tweaker”, I have made other types of mince pies in the past, but it is my plain, unadulterated classic pies that I keep coming back to every year, and this recipe belongs to that culinary canon of “tried and tested” recipes that my family and friends like.I also like to snip the tops of my pies with a pair of scissors, to make a small cross shape, it makes the pies look almost Victorian, and again, I can remember my grandmother doing this to all her pastry lids too. These mince pies can still be made ahead of time, and then popped into the freezer UNCOOKED and IN their trays, wait until they are frozen, then ease them out of the tins (which is very easy if you have greased and buttered them) and store them in a sealed container or freezer bag until you need them. When you want to bake them, take them out of the freezer and sit them back in the pie tin, allow them to come back to room temperature for half and hour and then bake them as usual.

Sugar Frosted Orange & Brandy Mince Pies

Print recipe

Serves	12 mince pies
Prep time	45 minutes
Cook time	12 minutes
Total time	57 minutes
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Dessert, Side Dish, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party, Christmas, Formal Party
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

My mum's special shortcrust pastry made with orange zest and juice make the perfect packaging with these wee mince pies that have a sugar frosted glaze with a kick of brandy. Serve them warm with brandy or rum butter and/or cream.

Ingredients

225g self-raising flour
115g butter (chilled and cut into small pieces)
zest of 1 orange
juice of 1 orange
12 tablespoons of mincemeat
brandy (to taste)
1 egg white (beaten)
caster sugar

Note

Directions

Step 1	Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and grease a 12 hole patty tin with a little butter.
Step 2	Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the butter. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it all resembles fine crumbs.
Step 3	Add the orange zest and then add the orange juice, bit by bit mixing with a knife until the mixture comes together to make shortcrust pastry. Cover the pasty in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Step 4	Add some brandy to the mincemeat, unless there is already brandy in the mincemeat.
Step 5	Roll out the pastry and cut out 12 circles to fit the patty tin - place the pastry in the patty tin and then add a tablespoon of mincemeat to each pastry case.
Step 6	Re-roll the pastry and cut 12 smaller circles for lids, place them on top, pinching the edges together with a fork or your fingers.
Step 7	Snip the top of each pastry top with some scissors to make an air hole.
Step 8	Brush the beaten egg white on to each pastry lid and then sprinkle some caster sugar over the top.
Step 9	Bake in pre-heated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the egg white and sugar coating have made a frosted glaze.
Step 10	Allow to cool slightly and then gently ease the pies out of the tin and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.