Mince pies with orange pastry recipe

Whip up a batch of 12 mince pies with orange pastry in just 40 minutes.

Classic mince pies made even more Christmassy with a zesty orange addition to the pastry. These mince pies with orange pastry are even more indulgently festive because of the orange flavour. It adds a light, floral flavour that enhances the mincemeat's richness. If you prefer a more traditional pastry, try our classic mince pies recipe (opens in new tab) instead.

Ingredients

• 140g butter, softened
• 55g icing sugar, sieved
• 55g cornflour
• 170g plain flour
• 1 egg yolk
• Few drops of orange essence
• Jar of mincemeat

Method

1. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and icing sugar.
2. Sift in the cornflour and flour and mix well. Add the orange essence.
3. Add just enough of the egg yolk to make a firm, smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F/Gas 6.
5. Place on a lightly floured board and roll out. Cut out circles, depending on the depth of your muffin tin, with a round cutter. Push into the wells of a 12-hole muffin tin.
6. Re-roll the leftover and cut out enough circles to cover the tops.
7. Spoon a heaped tablespoon of mincemeat into each case. Press the tops on.
8. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden. Serve dusted with icing sugar.

Top tips for making mince pies with orange pastry

Stir the zest and half the juice of an orange into your mincemeat before adding it to the pies to really enhance the lovely orange flavour. Give your mince pies a flash of marzipan flavour by adding a layer of almond frangipane. Mix together 200g of ground almonds, 200g golden caster sugar, 4 egg whites and a few drops of almond extract. Spoon over 1tbsp of  this mix over the mincemeat.

Oranges have been part of Christmas traditions for centuries. Spanish oranges are in season from late December, and historically they were difficult to import because of their soft skins. Because of this, they were a great luxury and were often included at the bottom of Christmas stockings, to represent a bag of gold from St Nicholas.

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