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The ultimate mince pie recipe

Mince pie season is fast approaching and its time for you to start your preparations

• The best mincemeat ever
• Orange shortcrust pastry
• Mincemeat Baklava
• Mincemeat Squares

Christmas cakes and puddings aren't the only holiday tradition that can be made in advance and forgotten for a month while the flavours mature. Make your mincemeat now with the dried fruit, spices and whiskey that are inevitably left over from the making of its grander cousins - the Christmas cake and pudding.

It's worth taking the time to make your own mincemeat rather than picking up a jar of ready-made. And while we're on the subject of things homemade, there's scope to be creative with pastry, whether it's plain shortcrust, sweet pastry or flavoured with citrus zest or even nuts.

A nice variation is to make the pies bite-size rather than the more usual large ones -they're less daunting and won't fill you up, leaving lots of room for other Christmas treats. Sitting on a plate dusted with icing sugar and next to a sprig of holly, these little pies will tempt everyone to have a nibble.

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