How to make mince pies

If you're keen to try your hand at mince pies, we've got you covered with a step-by-step guide.

And once you’ve mastered those, keep reading. We have some fancier alternative mince pie recipes for you too.

Just want to pick up some of the top-rated shop versions? See our guide to the best supermarket mince pies for 2023, based on our independent taste test.

Video: how to make easy mince pies

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How to make easy mince pies

For 12 pies, you will need:

• 200g plain flour
• 100g fat (butter or spread) or 50g butter and 50g spread
• 300g jar of mincemeat
• Splash of milk to glaze
• Sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)

Method:

1. Set oven to 200°C/190°C Fan/gas 6. Grease a 12-hole bun tin with butter.
2. Make pastry. Rub 100g fat into 200g plain flour gently, until you have crumbs.
3. Add icy cold water splash by splash until you get a dough.
4. Once you have your ball of dough, rub it around the sides and bottom of the bowl to pick up any loose bits that remain, so you end up with a clean bowl.
5. Made your pastry too wet? Just add a little more flour to bring it back to a dough-like consistency.
6. Store pastry in the fridge for 10 minutes.
7. Lightly flour table top and roll pastry out on it.
8. Cut out 12 circles using a large pastry cutter and 12 stars using a small pastry cutter.
9. Place the 12 large pastry circles into the bun tin. Add a teaspoon of mincemeat to each bottom. Don't overfill or they'll spill over. Then place one of the stars on top of each.
10. Brush each top with a little milk and then dust with a sprinkling of sugar if you wish.
11. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.
12. Lift out onto a wire cooling rack and serve once slightly cooled.

Getting the perfect bake

While you’re baking your pies do keep an eye on them. There are plenty of oven variables that can affect how your food is cooked. Through our rigorous oven lab tests we found that some models don’t evenly spread heat as you’d hope, causing uneven browning. If so, try rotating the baking tray a couple times while cooking.

Are you thinking of buying a new oven in time for the Christmas cook up? We check everything from the heat supply to how easy it is to use; read our oven reviews to ensure you get the most out of our baking.

See our best food and drink guide for the inside scoop on this year’s best mince pies, champagne, sparkling wine, red wine, smoked salmon and much more

What type of pastry makes the best mince pie?

Over the years the core ingredients of the mince pie have been tested, altered and adjusted. One of these interchangeable ingredients is the pastry casing. 

Typically baked with a shortcrust pastry, the mince pie as most of us know it has a slightly biscuit like, crumbly texture and is pretty sturdy. Shortcrust is the easiest to make, too – see our recipe above.

But some bakers now also use puff pastry for their pies. The main difference is the fat content (puff pastry has more fat) and how simple it is to prepare. Puff pastry requires the baker to layer butter into the pastry to allow for puffing, thus creating a lighter, flakier casing. That's why many at-home cooks tend to buy shop-bought puff pastry rather than making their own.

Puff pastry Christmas recipe tip – Always end up with leftover Christmas pudding? Or experts suggest crumbling it in between two circles of shop-bought puff pastry to make Christmas pudding Eccles cakes. Read our reviews of the best Christmas puddings.

Jamie Oliver has added another option to the mix as well! Filo pastry mince pies… Using a mixture of home-made or shop bought filo and puff pastry, the British chef says they are ‘super easy’ to make. If you fancy giving them a go, check out Jamie Oliver’s perfect mince pie recipe.

You can also try your hand at Austrian pastry, which incorporates ground almonds and lemon rind for added flavour, and enriches the pastry with egg and sugar.

What can you add to your mince pie pastry?

We talked to our baking experts to find out what their top tips were for mince pie pastry additions. Suggestions included lard in the pastry, marzipan balls and icing sugar in the flour. But our favourite was tangerine rind. This citrus twist tastes delicious and makes for a ‘zingy outer shell’.

The mince pie filling

The early mince pie was also known as a mutton pie or a Christmas pie and was filled with meat, such as lamb, beef and game, rather than the dried fruit mix they are today.

Nowadays, the classic mincemeat ingredients are a lot sweeter and include a variety of fruits such as apples, dried raisins, lemon, currants and brandy. But like all long-serving recipes, they can be open for interpretation. Here are some tasty additions to jazz up your shop bought mincemeat...

• Nuts - Depending on what your tastes are, adding almonds, Brazil nuts and hazelnuts will all work with your mincemeat. If you’re a real nut lover then why not add all three?
• Orange/Lemon zest - Some people find that shop bought mincemeat can be a too sweet. Try adding some orange or lemon zest to balance out the flavours.
• Mascarpone - Add some indulgence to your pies by stirring through a spoonful of mascarpone.
• Chocolate - If you really want to experiment then try stirring in a little grated chocolate or melting it into the mincemeat.
• Rum - Give your pies a little Caribbean twist with rum instead of brandy.

Mince pie recipes from top chefs

Patrick Moore's ultimate frangipane mince pie recipe

Patrick runs the Artisan Bakery and is one of our Which? baking experts, helping us in our quest to find the best mince pies and Christmas puddings you can buy. Here is his recipe for the ultimate mince pies. The tasty frangipane topping makes it a great alternative for those who don't really like traditional mince pies. 

You will need 

• 400g mincemeat 

Rather than make your own, Patrick says a good ‘cheat’ is to buy a good-quality ready-made and stir through a little amaretto liquor.

• 250g good-quality shortcrust pastry – your own or ready-made. 

Frangipane topping 

• 50g ground almonds
• 50g salted butter
• 50g icing sugar
• 1 whole egg
• 15ml double cream
• 5ml dark rum or amaretto
• 2 drops almond extract
• To finish: 20g flaked almonds
• 25g castor sugar,
• Icing sugar to dust 

1. For best results use a food mixer with paddle attachment to make this topping. 
2. Add all ingredients to bowl starting on lowest speed first (or the room will be engulfed by sugar dust!) and gradually increase the speed to fastest and mix for five minutes, until the mixture lightens in colour and texture. 
3. Using the uncooked pastry shells, evenly apply around 400g mincemeat for the large tart or 50g to individual tarts and smooth the top. 
4. Top with frangipane, smooth and sprinkle with flaked almonds and then a tablespoon of castor sugar. 
5. Bake at 180C/fan oven 170C/gas mark 4 for 30-40 minutes, cool slightly and serve with a dusting of icing sugar, or with rum butter and vanilla ice cream. 

How to get the best from your mince pies

Dan Lepard, award-winning baker and Which? expert

What do you like to serve mince pies with? 

A food writer friend suggested putting a slice of the best cheddar on top. It's like apple pie and cheese… so good. But another is with double cream whisked into soft peaks with brandy, a little sugar and vanilla.

Hot or cold mince pies? 

When you serve them warm the flavour is much more pronounced and sweeter. Should you keep the foil case on when reheating? I take the mince pies out of the foil and sit them on a tray lined with non-stick baking paper before heating, as this makes the pastry extra crisp.

Is it best to freeze mince pies cooked or uncooked? 

You will get the best results if you freeze puff pastry mince pies uncooked, whereas shortcrust pies can be frozen either cooked or not.

Expert view: Serving supermarket pies

Patrick Moore | Award-winning artisan bread maker

If you want your shop-bought mince pies to create a real wow factor with your guests, try some of the following ideas. Mulled wine, port, hot chocolate (family-friendly or with a splash of rum), sloe or damson gin are always well received with mince pies – as is a nice cup of refreshing Earl Grey tea. I prefer mine served with clotted cream or Cumberland rum butter – a combination of dark brown muscovado sugar, butter, rum and a hint of nutmeg.

Another of my favourites is to take 150g of double cream and lightly whip it until it’s the consistency of shaving cream. Then add two to three tablespoons of rum, whisky or cognac.

On the cold front, it’s hard to beat a scoop of soft vanilla ice cream, with the lovely black seeds from the pod visible. Also, if you wish to go the extra mile, lift the lid on your mince pie, place any of the above inside, then replace the lid and serve to an unsuspecting friend.

Always serve mince pies slightly warm and not hot – molten mincemeat burns are never appreciated.

Make sure you follow the reheating instructions on the box. Of course, you could always simply dust them with icing sugar and serve with a sprig of holly, while throwing another log on the fire and listening to Silent Night.