Easy Mince Hand Pie recipe with a sweet mincemeat pie filling of apples, brown sugar, raisins, apricots and holiday spices in a flaky pastry.
When it comes to English Holiday Traditions, no Dessert table is complete without a Fruit Cake or Mincemeat Pie. These mini Pies have all the traditional spiced flavors that you can take on the go!
Table of Contents
Sabrina’s Mince Hand Pies Recipe
Mince Pies are a traditional British dessert typically enjoyed during the Christmas season. These pies have a sweet and spiced filling that includes a mixture of fresh fruits such as apples, dried fruits like raisins and currants, along with citrus and warm spices like cinnamon and cloves. The filling is encased in a pastry crust and baked until golden brown. These Mini Mince Pies are small, hand-size pies, perfect for serving at gatherings during the holidays!
Chef’s Note: History of Mince Pie
Mince Pie, or Mincemeat Pie, is a traditional British pastry that has been enjoyed for centuries. Originally, they contained meat along with fruits and spices, and the combination was called “mincemeat”. Over time, the recipe evolved, and the meat was replaced by a mix of fresh fruits, dried fruits, and warm spices. While most modern Mince Pies don’t contain actual meat, many mincemeat recipes call for suet, which is a hard fat from cows and sheep. This recipe is vegetarian friendly, swapping regular butter for the suet.
Ingredients
- Pie Crust: You’ll use 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 cup frozen unsalted butter, and ½ cup of ice water to make the flaky crust.
- Fruit: You’ll use 3 whole, medium-sized apples for the recipe. The 2/3 cup applesauce adds more delicious apple flavor while helping thicken the filling. The mixture of ¼ cup regular raisins and 2/3 cup golden raisins plus the ¼ cup dried apricots adds a chewy, fruity flavor to the filling.
- Sugar and Spice: The molasses in the ¾ cup brown sugar adds a rich caramel flavor that goes great with the warm spices while adding the perfect amount of sweetness. 2 teaspoons cinnamon and ½ teaspoon ground cloves are traditional holiday spices that infuse the mincemeat with warmth and seasonal charm.
- ⅓ Cup Orange Juice: Another classic winter flavor is orange and it adds some bright notes to this sticky, sweet filling to keep it from being heavy.
- 2 TablespoonsRum: A splash of rum gets soaked up by all the fruits as the mincemeat simmers and adds more spiced, warm flavor.
- 2 Tablespoons Butter: You’ll add butter to the fruit mixture to add richness and enhance all of the combined flavors and spices.
- Egg Wash: 1 egg is mixed with 1 tablespoon of water to brush on the top of your pies as an egg wash. This mixture will help create a beautiful, shiny, golden crust on your mini pies.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Food Processor: Use a food processor to make easy work of your pie crust. If you don’t have a food processor, you can mix your pie dough with a pastry cutter, or even with the humble fork. The point is to cut the butter into tiny pieces as you combine your ingredients.
- Large Saucepan: A large pot or saucepan will be used to cook your pie filling. Make sure there is plenty of room to hold all of your ingredients, with room to stir.
- Muffin Tin: Your hand pies will get their mini-pie shape by being baked in a muffin tin so grab your favorite tin for baking. You won’t need liners for these, though.
- Rolling Pin: A rolling pin will be necessary in order to roll out your pie dough. Use any kind of rolling pin you have on hand.
- Round Cookie Cutter: You’ll use a round cookie cutter to cut the pie dough into circles for the muffin tin. The cutter you use for the tops of your pies should be about the same size as the muffin wells. You can use a larger cutter for the bottom crust so that the dough can come up the sides of each muffin well.
How to Make
Time needed: 3 hours.
- Crust
In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, and butter as you slowly stream in the water a tablespoon at a time. Once the dough becomes crumbles, pour onto plastic wrap and form into a ball. Form 2/3 of the dough into one disk and the remaining dough into another disk. Chill for 2 hours.
- Filling
Add the apples, sugar, dried fruit, applesauce, orange juice and zest, cinnamon, cloves, and salt to a large sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, then stir in the butter and rum until the butter is melted. Lower to medium-low heat and cook until the fruit is soft and the filling has thickened.
- Form Mini Pies
Preheat the oven and grease a regular muffin tin. Roll out the 2/3 dough disk into a large sheet on a floured surface. Cut out dough circles and press into the muffin cups all the way up the side.
- Fill Pies
Fill the pie crusts with the cooked filling.
- Seal
Roll out the remaining dough and cut into circles to cover each muffin cup. Crimp the edges of the crust to seal.
- Egg Wash
Mix the egg and water, then brush the top of each pie.
- Vent & Bake
Cut a small slit to vent and bake until the crust is golden brown.
-
Let cool a few minutes in the tray then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Pie Crust:
Mince Pie Filling:
- 3 apples , cored, peeled and diced
- 3/4 cup brown sugar , packed
- 1/4 cup dried apricots , chopped
- 2/3 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 2/3 cup applesauce
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons butter , diced
- 2 tablespoons rum
To finish:
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
Pie Crust:
- Add the flour, salt, and butter to a food processor and pulse, adding the water in a thin stream through the chute one tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to form tiny crumbles (don't let it become a ball).
- Empty it into a sheet of plastic wrap and press it quickly into a ball (you don't want the heat of your hands to melt the butter).
- Wrap the dough into two disks, one with 2/3 of the crust dough and one with ⅓ of the dough and let cool for 2 hours.
Mincemeat Filling:
- To a large saucepan on medium heat add the apples, brown sugar, apricots, golden raisins, raisins, applesauce, orange juice, orange zest, cinnamon, salt, and ground cloves.
- Mix well and bring to a simmer then stir in the butter and rum until the butter is melted.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 15-18 minutes.
To Finish:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with baking spray.
- Roll out the 2/3 of the crust 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick and press gently into the muffin tin cups.
- Fill with the mincemeat filling.
- Roll out the second batch of the pie crust 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick and press gently onto the top of the filled muffin tin cups.
- Using a fork, crimp the edges of the muffin cups closed.
- Beat egg and water, brush the top of the pie then cut a small 1-inch slit in the middle of the top of each muffin cup
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, then remove from the oven and let cool.
- Note: If the crust starts to brown too early, tent with foil gently.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes, you can prepare Mince Hand Pies ahead of time in a couple different ways:
- Baked: Once they’ve been baked, you can refrigerate or freeze the pies and reheat them later. If you are freezing, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container. Reheat them from frozen in the oven at 350 degrees until hot.
- Filling: You can prepare the mincemeat filling up to a week in advance and store it in the fridge. When you are ready to make the pies, let the filling come to room temperature then assemble and bake.
- Pie Crust: The pie crust can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. If frozen, let it thaw overnight in the fridge before dividing and rolling it out as usual.
Nutritional Information
Baking Tips & Tricks
- Cold butter is key.
- The key to the perfect buttery, flaky pie crust is cold butter that will melt slowly as the pies bake. To keep the butter from melting while you make the dough, you want to use super cold water and handle it as little as possible.
- Choosing your apples.
- Choose sweet and firm apples like Granny Smith apples or Honeycrisp apples, because they don’t get too soft while baking.
How to Store
- Store: Once the pies have been baked, let them cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling or serve warm. Place the cooled hand pies in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week.
- Reheat: You can just bring the pies to room temperature to serve unless you prefer them warm. Reheat mini pies on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees. Warm the pies for about 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.
- Freeze: If you want to freeze leftovers, wrap the hand pies individually in plastic wrap and aluminum foil before freezing for up to 3 months. They can be reheated from frozen in the oven.
Ideas to Serve Mince Hand Pies
These delightful little pastries are filled with a homemade mincemeat mixture of fruit and warm winter spices that just feel perfect for your holiday table or buffet. They are baked in a muffin tin in a buttery Pie Crust for the perfect individual pie you can serve seated at the table, or to enjoy standing around at a large gathering. You can serve them warm with some Whipped Cream or a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream like any other pie.
Frequent Questions
Hand pies are commonly referred to as “pasties” in England. They are a popular snack or meal consisting of a folded pastry crust around either sweet or savory fillings. They can also be miniature pies like these mincemeat pies.
Traditionally, mincemeat did contain meat as one of its main ingredients. However, modern mincemeat recipes replaced the meat with a mixture of fresh fruits, dried fruits, spices, and sometimes alcohol, resulting in a sweet and spiced filling commonly used in desserts like mince pies.
In medieval times, mincemeat pie was made with meat, spices, and fruits as a way to preserve food during the winter months. Over time, the recipe evolved into a sweet version with the removal of meat, and it became associated with Christmas due to its rich and festive flavors, making it a beloved holiday treat.
Mince Meat Pie is the original version of Mince Pie that did indeed contain minced meat, along with fruits, spices, and suet. The combination of sweet and savory flavors was common in medieval European cuisine. Over time, the use of meat in mince meat pie diminished, and in many modern recipes, the meat has been replaced entirely, resulting in the sweet version we know today as Mincemeat Pies or Mince Pies.
Variations
- Nuts: Give your pies a crunchy twist and a little more texture by adding finely chopped nuts like almonds or pecans into the mincemeat filling.
- Fresh Fruit: Replace some or all of the apples with other fresh fruit like plums, black cherries, blueberries, pears, or fresh figs.
- Chocolate: For all the chocolate lovers out there, try adding some dark chocolate chips. Let the fruit filling cool completely before adding the chocolate chips so they don’t melt.
- Dried Fruit: You can use pretty much any dried fruit you like such as cranberries, currants, dates, or cherries. Candied fruits like candied lemon peel, ginger, or pineapple would add more chewy sweetness.
Related Recipes
More Mini Pie Recipes
