While they’re Grant’s favourite Christmas treat, I’ve never been one for a (fruit) mince pie – no matter how wonderful they smell. They’re always just a tad too big, too rich and too much at a time of the year when there are plenty of other ways to indulge in a calorific way. To have a mince pie could mean missing out on something else.
These, though, are single bite mince pies and the pastry, as long as you follow Nigella’s instructions around fridge and freezer time, is an absolute dream to make and roll.
While I have made her cranberry fruit mince from scratch in the past (and it’s worth doing) this year I pimped up some supermarket fruit mince and Grant declared them the best ever.
To a 400g jar of supermarket fruit mince I added:
- a few drops of almond extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp brandy
- zest of an orange (you’re using the juice of it in the pastry)
Also, I adapted her pastry just a tad and used all butter instead of half butter- half shortening. It was still good. Also, I made it in the food processor instead of by hand. Job. Done.
The recipe is in Nigella’s Christmas book, but you can also find it here.
And Anyways... 