Recipe: Tasty Star Topped Mince Pies

Star Topped Mince Pies. Press these circles gently into the moulds and dollop in a scant teaspoon of mincemeat. Then cut out your stars with your little star cutter - re-rolling the pastry as necessary - and place the tops lightly on the mincemeat. Store in an airtight container layered up between sheets of parchment paper.

Cool on a wire rack then dust with icing sugar before serving. Repeat this process until you have fille the tin. Sometimes the dough may need a quick blitz in the food processor but it should be ok. You can have Star Topped Mince Pies using 7 ingredients and 17 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Star Topped Mince Pies

1. Prepare 240 Grams of plain flour.
2. It's 60 Grams of shortening vegetable (i use crisco).
3. It's 60 Grams of butter , cold , cut into small cubes.
4. It's 1 of orange , juice only.
5. You need 1 Pinch of salt.
6. It's 350 Grams of mincemeat christmas.
7. Prepare of Icing sugar.

This may take less or more time so keep a watchful eye as they love to cook quickly! Continuing my adventures with Nigella Christmas, I decided to put my skepticism of cooking with raisins on hold because these little mincemeat pies were too cute to be denied. I also made some wee apple alternatives for certain family members who tend to be squeamish around the unfamiliar. Roll out the discs one at a time as thinly as you can without exaggerating.

Star Topped Mince Pies instructions

1. Sift the flour into a shallow bowl, and add small mounds of crisco..
2. Add the butter, shake to cover it and place in the freezer to chill for 20 minutes..
3. Mix the orange juice and salt in a separate bowl. cover and leave in the fridge to chill..
4. Rub the chilled flour in between your fingers to form crumb-like pieces. gradually add the chilled orange juice and bring the dough together..
5. If you have some juice leftover, thats fine. dont use all of it. however, if you have used up all your juice and the dough is not quite there yet, add a splash or two of ice cold water and bring it together..
6. Turn the mixture out onto a clean floured worktop and knead together to a ball..
7. Divide the dough and shape into three equal sized disks..
8. Wrap each in plastic and rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes..
9. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C..
10. Remove a disk from the fridge and roll out thinly on a clean, floured worktop..
11. Using a fluted pastry cutter cut out 12 circles just a little wider than the moulds of a 12 hole tart tin (or cupcake tin)..
12. Place each circle in the tart tin, and fill with about a teaspoon (heaped) of mincemeat..
13. Re-roll the scraps, and cut out 12 star shapes and place onto the pies..
14. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the pastry is a light golden brown (they cook very quickly, so keep an eye on them)..
15. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool..
16. Repeat the steps till all the dough is used up (this recipe makes 36 pies, so thats three cycles)..
17. Dust the cooled pies with confectioners sugar. serve!.

Out of each rolled out disc cut out circles. Press these circles gently into the moulds and dollop in a scant teaspoon of mincemeat. Then cut out your stars and place them lightly on top of the mincemeat. Allow to cool slightly in the tin, then cool completely on a wire rack. Nigella has had her mini tart pan for some time but if you can also use a mini muffin pan to make the mice pies.