Mince Pies?

My favourite sweet Christmas treat is a mince pie. You can keep the chocolates, cakes or biscuits but mince pies are a necessity.

Over the years they have changed. Growing up they were made in individual enamel small pies similar to the pies which would have been sold in butchers or today in delis. My job was the greasing the moulds before the pastry was rolled out. Then I filled the pies after the pastry. It was a conveyor belt system which took up an entire day.

Then fairy cake trays or cupcake trays were used but there still was the fiddly faddily thing of cutting rounds which would fit and then lids which would fit the pies.

About 15 years ago a friend came up with the idea of rolling out a square of pastry and putting teaspoons of mince  in three rows leaving a little space between. Then folding over half of the pastry and cover these blobs of mincemeat. With a pastry cutter they were cut and into the oven. The hassle was taken out of the process.

So that is how I present my Christmas Mince Pies or as I like to call them Christmas Mince Parcels. I use short crust pastry and homemade mincemeat. The only reason it is homemade mincemeat is because I like to make it.

My Mince parcels are different but with a mug of coffee they are delicious especially on the first of December when the advent calendars appear. Breakfast mince parcels oh yes simply divine.