Christmas is only a few weeks away now… when did that happen? It’s almost like one moment we were all preparing for it and the next the mad rush has begun.

I’ve had a few requests for homemade mince pie recipes, since I gave you my homemade sweet mincemeat recipe. But instead of giving you just one basic idea I thought, hey why not share with you a couple of different ones I have tried over the years so instead of having just one type to impress you family and friends with you now have 4!

Homemade Mince Pies 4 Different Ways

Lets start out with my current favourite, I love this one so much because it’s a little different than normal but so light and crispy and if you have a pot of cream handy you can always dip them in 😉

Filo Cigar Mince Pies

I love these so much and they are super simple to make, if you are completely dedicated you can make your filo from scratch. I bought mine in a box from the shops! Sorry but I have made filo once and it took forever and I wanted to bring you a quick & easy Christmas solution.

How To Make Filo Cigar Mince Pies

• Pre heat your oven to 180C / 350F / Gas mark 4.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and grab a pastry brush.
• Take 3 sheets of your filo pastry and cut them up into 6 squares.
• Take one of the small squares, butter around the edges, repeat until you have 3 layers.
• Place 1 heaped tablespoon of sweet mincemeat in a line down the centre, leaving a couple of centimetres at each end.
• Fold the long edges over until it just overlaps the mincemeat.
• Fold one half of the pastry over till it covers the mincemeat and then roll like a cigar.

(Please excuse my bad iPhone kitchen photos!)

• Pop them on a baking tray seam side down and in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
• They should have a light golden colour to them and be crispy.

Mini Galette Crust Mince Pies

Galette pie crusts seem to be everywhere at the moment, the rustic look is trendy for fruit pies so why not mince pies? I used my own short crust pastry here from a previous recipe Sweet Vanilla Pastry Jam Tarts its a pretty simple recipe to follow, if you have a little time give it a go, because you wont be disappointed. Or you can use ready made shop bought the choice is yours.

How To Make Mini Galette Crust Mince Pies

• Preheat your oven to 190C / 375F / Gas mark 5.
• Roll your pastry out till it is just 1 centimetre thick.
• Cut it into rounds that are 16 centimetres in diameter.
• Place 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of mincemeat in the centre.
• Carefully fold up the edges in as far as they will go, pinching them as you go along.
• Carefully put them on a lined baking sheet, and pop them in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your oven speed.
• Once the pastry is golden brown slip them onto a cooling rack.

(Again sorry for my rubbish kitchen iPhone photos).

Puff Pastry Mince Pies

These aren’t too far away from the more traditional mince pie, they are just made with a flakey puff pastry. Like the filo pastry I did buy this pastry, as puff pastry is so time consuming to make!

These are best eaten warm as the pastry flakes just that little bit better 🙂 Just remember that the pastry needs to be taken out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to use!

How To Make Puff Pastry Mince Pies

• Pre heat your oven to 190C / 375F / Gas mark 5.
• Lightly grease your tart tins.
• Cut out rounds so they are just a little larger than your tin, because the pastry does shrink a little during baking.
• Fill each pie with a couple of teaspoons of mincemeat, don’t over fill these ones as they have a habit of exploding if too full!
• Top with round lids that are just slightly bigger then needed to allow for shrinkage, also you need to pierce the lids to allow the steam to escape.
• Bake in your oven for 12 to 15 minutes till they are a light golden brown and nice and puffy looking.

Traditional ShortCrust Mince Pies

Again I used my own shortcrust pastry for these, check it out here! These are 100% traditional in style and taste. A sweet shortcrust pastry filled with mincemeat and topped with a shortcrust pastry star.

Sweet and crumbly and goes beautifully with a big dollop of cream 😉 You don’t have to put stars on top, you can use just normal round lids, just remember to pierce the lids to allow any steam to escape.

How To Make Traditional ShortCrust Mince Pies

• Much like puff pastry mince pies you need to pre heat your oven to 190C / 375F / Gas mark 5.
• Lightly grease your tart tins.
• Cut out rounds so they are just a little larger than your tin, because the pastry does shrink a little during baking.
• Fill each pie with a couple of teaspoons of mincemeat.
• If using star shapes cut them out so they are a little bigger than the tops to allow for shrinkage.
• Pop them in your oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the tops are a golden brown.

So I hope these ideas are helpful to you and you get a few ideas of your own for creative mince pies. Will you be trying something new or are you going to give one of these a go? Let me know your ideas 🙂