These delicious puff pastry mince pies are easy to make with only 3 ingredients. The flaky pastry is filled with a sweet raisin mincemeat filling to create a delicious festive treat, perfect for Christmas.
Jump to:
This post may contain affiliate links. Read more about it in the privacy policy.
This easy puff pastry mince pie recipe is really simple to make, and perfect for a quick Christmas treat or dessert. The pies are more like little pastry cakes with dried fruit filling, and pair perfect with tea, coffee, or hot chocolate.
Why you'll love it
- Only 3 ingredients required
- Easy to make Christmas treat
- Customize the filling to suit your preferences
- A fun dessert that the kids can help you make
- Tastes perfect with hot chocolate or coffee
- Made in just 30 minutes
Ingredients
Puff pastry: Puff pastry is very time consuming to make, so I recommend buying ready made pastry. I use pre rolled puff pastry sheets for convenience, but you can also buy pastry blocks and roll them out yourself.
Mincemeat: This is a British pastry filling made with raisins, dried fruit, spices, suet, and sugar. You can use store bought mincemeat, or make your own. Don't confuse this with minced meat, which is completely different.
Egg: The egg is used to make a simple egg wash. This will help the pastry to seal properly, and give them a lovely shine on top.
💡 TIP! You can mix in any other fillings with the mincemeat. See the Variations section below for some tasty suggestions.
Instructions
You can find full instructions + ingredient measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of this page
One: Roll out the puff pastry into two 35 x 25 cm or 14 x 10 inches large sheets, unless you're using pre rolled puff pastry. Use two slightly different sized circular pastry cutters or cookie cutters to cut as many circles as possible. I like to cut the smaller circles from one sheet, and the larger circles from the other sheet, to ensure that I make the same amount of each.
Two: Transfer the smaller puff pastry circles to a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Then, add a heaping teaspoon of mincemeat in the middle of each circle.
Three: Crack the egg into a small bowl, and use a small whisk or a fork to whisk the egg together to form a simple egg wash. With a pastry brush, brush some beaten egg on the edges of the pastry circles.
Four: Cover each of the filled circles with one of the larger puff pastry circles. Gently fold the pastry around the filling. At this point you can roll the leftover pastry into sheets to create additional pastries. Remember to create the same amount of smaller and larger pastry circles.
Five: Use the tines of a fork to push down the edges of the pastry. This will allow the top pastry to fuse with the bottom pastry, and seals the edges. Brush egg wash on top of the pastries, and use a sharp knife or a fork to poke a hole on top of each one of them.
Six: Bake the mince pies in a preheated oven at 400 F / 200 C for about 20 minutes, or until the pastries are golden brown on top. Then, remove them from the oven, allow them to cool down, and serve.
Top tips
- The egg wash is technically optional, but allows the pastry to seal better. This is the best way to prevent any leakage.
- Creating a small venting hole on top of the pastries will allow steam to escape, and also prevents leakage.
- Bake the pastries in a preheated oven to ensure an even cooking result.
- Use chilled pastry straight from the refrigerator. If the pastry is quite warm before you bake it, it won't puff up as well.
Serving suggestions
Mince pies are traditionally served through December, and especially at Christmas. They are perfect for a holiday afternoon tea, as a tasty treat, or even as a sweet breakfast.
Serve the pastries on their own, or pair them with a flavorful Christmas beverage like Instant Pot Mulled Wine, Instant Pot Apple Cider or Vegan Eggnog.
Variations
Additional filling: You can mix in extra fillings with the mincemeat. Try adding chopped pecans or walnuts, dark chocolate chips, dried cranberries, grated apples, orange peel, or crushed gingerbread.
Extra toppings: Garnish the pies before you serve them. I like to dust a thin layer of icing sugar on top, but you can also add caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, caramelized nuts, or royal icing.
Extra filling: Replace half of the mince pie filling in each pie with a different type of filling to combine the two. Frangipane, chocolate spread, marzipan or thick custard are excellent options.
Equipment
To make these easy mince pies with puff pastry, you will need two circular cookie cutters of slightly different sizes, and a baking tray to bake the pastries on.
If you're not using ready roll puff pastry, you will also need a rolling pin.
Storage
Store any leftover pies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 4 days. The pastry casing tends to soften slightly over time, and will be less crispy the next day, but still tastes amazing.
It is safe to freeze flaky pastry mince pies, but this will make the casing very soft, and I therefore don't recommend it. Since these pies are really easy to make, it's best to bake them immediately before serving.
If you wish to make them ahead of time, you can prepare the pies, and refrigerate or freeze them unbaked on a baking sheet. Then, transfer them to the oven when you're ready to bake. The pies can be stored like this for up to 2 days.
Frequently asked questions
Mince pies are usually made with shortcrust pastry, but they can really be made with any type of pastry.
Mincemeat is a British sweet mixture of raisins, dried fruit, sugar, syrup, lemon juice, orange peel and other seasonal flavors. It's used in pastries, cakes and dessert, and usually enjoyed during the Christmas period.
You might also like these recipes
- Puff Pastry Apple Pie
- Cinnamon Puff Pastry Rolls
- Eggnog Bread Pudding
- Sultana Scones
- Brandied Pears
- Blueberry and White Chocolate Muffins
If you make this recipe, make sure to post a photo to Instagram with #hintofhealthy!
Recipe
Puff Pastry Mince Pies
Equipment
- Cookie Cutters
Ingredients
- 2 sheets ready rolled puff pastry
- 1 (350 g) jar mincemeat
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F / 200 C.
- Use two slightly different sized circular cookie cutters to cut as many circles from the puff pastry sheets as possible. I use 2-inch and 2.5-inch cutters. You can cut the smaller circles from one sheet, and the larger circles from the other sheet, to ensure that I make the same amount of each.
- Transfer the smaller puff pastry circles to a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Then, add a heaping teaspoon of mincemeat in the middle of each circle.
- Crack the egg into a small bowl, and use a small whisk or a fork to whisk the egg together to form a simple egg wash. With a pastry brush, brush some beaten egg on the edges of the pastry circles.
- Cover each of the filled circles with one of the larger puff pastry circles. Gently fold the pastry around the filling.
- Roll the leftover pastry into sheets to create additional pastries. Remember to create the same amount of smaller and larger pastry circles.
- Use the tines of a fork to push down the edges of the pastry on each pie. This will allow the top pastry to fuse with the bottom pastry, and seals the edges.
- Brush egg wash on top of the pastries, and use a sharp knife or a fork to poke a hole on top of each of them.
- Bake the puff pastry mince pies for about 20 minutes, or until the pastries are golden brown on top. Then, remove them from the oven, allow them to cool down, and serve.
Video
Notes
- Use chilled pastry straight from the refrigerator. If the pastry is quite warm before you bake it, it won't puff up as well.
- Store any leftover cooked pastries at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead option: refrigerate uncooked pastries for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Bake them when you're ready to serve the pies.
Nutrition
Food safety tips
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Leave a comment