Streusel Mince Pies

'pick up a few reduced jars of Mincemeat and get baking'

Hello from the FoodStack Kitchen. A subsection of the FoodStack Library.

Soon after the festive season, you will often find Jars of Mincemeat at the supermarket at reduced prices. They often have a very long shelf life, so pick up a few jars and get baking.

These Streusel Mince Pies are a delicious alternative to traditional mince pies. They have a quick and easy-to-make crumble-style topping made with flour, butter, sugar, chopped nuts and orange zest, giving them a wonderful festive flavour even when the Christmas celebrations are over.

Allow plenty of time to rest the pastry or make it ahead and save time.

Lynn H.

Ingredients and Substitutions

This is just an overview of the ingredients I used for making this recipe, with possible alternatives and why I may have used them.

For the pastry

• 200 g Spelt Wholemeal Flour. Or any wholemeal flour

• 50 g butter, fridge cold

• 50 g vegetable shortening, fridge cold

• 50 ml very cold water. You may not need it all

For the filling and Streusel Topping.

• 100 g Spelt White Flour or any plain white flour/all-purpose flour

• 50 g butter fridge cold

• 40 g caster sugar

• 60 g finely chopped mixed nuts

• zest of 1 orange

• 350 g sweet mincemeat

• Butter - This is used to make the pastry and the Streusel Topping.

• Vegetable shortening - When combined with the butter, it makes a lovely short textured pasty. If you don't want to use shortening, use all butter instead.

• Wholemeal Flour - For this recipe, spelt wholemeal flour was used to make the pastry, but you can use any wholemeal flour. Or a mix of Plain White and wholemeal flour.

• Plain Flour - For this recipe, plain white Spelt flour was used to make the streusel topping. You can use any plain/all-purpose white flour.

• Caster Sugar - Granulated sugar is fine to use, although the granules are larger than caster sugar. Icing sugar/confectioners sugar is a good substitute if you can't get hold of normal sugar.

• Mixed Nuts - You can use any nuts or a combination of mixed nuts. If using whole nuts, chop them finely.

• Orange Zest - Only use the zest of the orange. Take care not to grate into the bitter pith of the orange skin.

• Sweet Mincemeat - Use the best quality Mincemeat that you can. Even better if you make your own.

Step By Step Instructions for Making Streusel Mince Pies

Equipment

• 12-holed shallow bun tin.

• Baking parchment

• Food Processor (Optional)

• Large Mixing bowl

Step 1: Place the flour, butter and vegetable shortening into a food processor. Blitz until you have a fine breadcrumb consistency. Or use the rub-in method using your fingertips.

Step 2: Using your hands or the food processor, bring the mixture together to a smooth, firm dough by gradually adding enough cold water. TIP: You may not need all the water, so don’t add it all at once.

Flatten the pastry a little and wrap it in baking parchment or cling film. Place it in the fridge for at least 1 hour to allow the pastry to rest and firm up. Tip: At this stage, you can leave the pastry well-wrapped overnight in the fridge if you want to bake the next day. Or place in the freezer for up to a month to use later.

Have ready a 12 holed bun tin, lightly greased if needed.

Step 3: When ready to make the Streusel Topped Mince Pies, start to roll the pastry out between two large sheets of baking parchment or a very lightly dusted surface. The thickness of the pastry should be no more than 3mm or the thickness of a £1 coin.

Use a pastry cutter about 3.5 inches/9 cm or slightly larger than the size of the individual tart tins you are using. Re-roll and cut enough rounds of pastry to make 12 individual mince pies.

Step 4: Carefully place each round of pastry into each hollow, taking care not to break the pastry or the mincemeat will ooze out during baking.

Place the tray in the fridge to allow the pastry to rest again while you make the Streusel topping.

Preheat the oven to Moderate Hot - 170C (Fan Assisted). 190C/375F conventional.

Step 5: Make the Streusel Topping for Mince Pies. Place the flour and butter into the food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Or use the rub-in method with your fingertips.

Step 6: Add the Orange zest, sugar and chopped mixed nuts.

Step 7: Give the Streusel ingredients a good mix.

Step 8: Remove the tray of pastry tart cases from the fridge and fill them with sweet mincemeat. To avoid overfilling, leave enough room for the Streusel topping.

Step 9: Fill each pie with the Streusel mixture. About two teaspoons should be enough, but you may not need it all. Gently press the filling down a little on each pie. Save any leftover mixture to use as a topping the next time you make a fruit crumble.

Step 10: Bake in a preheated, moderately hot oven (see step 4) for 20 minutes or until baked. This will depend on the thickness of the pastry and filling. Leave in the tin to cool a little before serving.

Storage

Room Temperature - Once baked, store the Streusel Mince Pies in an air tight container.

Fridge - You can make the pastry ahead of time and make the pies the next day. Make sure the wholemeal pastry is well wrapped to avoid it drying out.

Freeze - You can freeze the well wrapped pastry for up to a month. Allow the pastry to come to room temperature before rolling out. You can also freeze uncooked Streusel Mince pies. Freeze them in the bun tin before wrapping them in clingfilm and storing them in the freezer. Allow a few extra minutes of baking time.