The ultimate mince pie recipe

Orange shortcrust pastry

Ingredients

Preparation

Place the flour, salt, butter and orange zest in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs - you can also do this by hand by rubbing in the butter and mixing in the zest.

Blend the orange juice and egg yolk with a fork and add most of it to the flour mixture. Pulse until the pastry just comes together, adding the rest of the liquid if necessary.

Turn out onto a surface and bring together in a ball, then flatten it slightly to a thick disc. Cover with cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, preferably longer.

Take half of the pastry, roll it out and cut out circles with a pastry cutter - make sure they fit the pie tins you have. (The really small ones make wonderful, bite-size canape pies.)

Lay the pastry circles into the pie tin then spoon in the mincemeat. Roll out the rest of the pastry and cut out more circles or other shapes (stars are nice) to fit the tops of the pies.

Brush the tops with the beaten egg and bake at 190C/375F/Gas mark 5 for 10-15 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the mincemeat heated through.

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