Mince Pies

Pastry us one of the things I really struggle to make, not sure why  so I usually buy them , at least that way they get eaten! 

I struggled with pastry for years. I acquired a food possessor and I've never looked back. Put in the flour, cube the butter whizz, add water slowly until it comes away from the edges. I think the granite work surface helps too. I am a cold morsel but whenever I made pastry my hands weren't cold!!

I'll be making and freezing ours soon. Can't compete with those amounts though! Buying a Kenwood Chef last year has saved the day for me and I can make large batches of pastry, cakes etc easily. I would have given up as making these things hurts my hands too much. Bought mince pies are never as good as home made ones. 

Pastry us one of the things I really struggle to make, not sure why  so I usually buy them , at least that way they get eaten! 

I can't make pastry either, my last, and final attempt ended up on the bird table. Even the birds turned their beaks up at it...

I now use ready made frozen or chilled pastry to make mince pies, so they're sort of home made. They look home made, anyway!

 Even the birds turned their beaks up at it...

A lot of avocets round your way?

Its homemade in our house too. Used to make my own mincemeat but have slipped last couple of years! Short crust pastry. I made loads and freeze them asap otherwise they've been eaten! We all dislike shop bought whoever makes them far too sweet and claggy.

Out of interest why did you buy gluten free?

A

Homemade in the ValDa family too - with my own mincemeat which I made last weekend.  It's a Delia recipe and easy - just bung all the fruit in a bowl, with chopped Bramley apples, spices and peel, and leave to soak for 24 hours.  Put the bowl in the oven at 120 degrees for three hours (I do it whilst I'm slow roasting a joint) and then pot into sterilised jars.  I made five jars - using apples from Freecycle, and some very dry dried fruit which becomes moist again once soaked with the apples.

I make my own pastry too - but not gluten free.

For Christmas I make the mince pies a week or two before, and put them in the freezer before cooking them on Christmas morning.  That way, it's 'tradition' to have a mince pie and sherry once the family arrive, and the mince pies are freshly baked and cooling on the worktop!

Had the final 2 beasts last evening but with custard to make them a little more palitable!  Mrs One always makes her own MP's and susauge rolls a week before I start to eat them Thought I would buy pies to try and reduce the workload as we seem to be busier than ever.  Sad to say it didn't work

Pastry us one of the things I really struggle to make, not sure why  so I usually buy them , at least that way they get eaten! 

I can't make pastry either, my last, and final attempt ended up on the bird table. Even the birds turned their beaks up at it...

I now use ready made frozen or chilled pastry to make mince pies, so they're sort of home made. They look home made, anyway!

Glad I am not the only one, I have used bought pastry before too, almost home made. 

Pastry? Puff or shortcrust?

I’m no expert but we usually buy ours from Aldi.

They aren’t as good as the ones my MIL used to make but I still do my trick of slicing them open and filling with cheese. MMMmmmm. 

Mince pies! Things of beauty and delight!!