Cheddar & Cranberry Mince Pies
Elevate your festive baking with this moreish mince pies recipe, featuring crisp, buttery pastry made with Bouncing Berry cheese. The combination of sweet mincemeat and rich Cheddar infused with cranberry creates a beautifully balanced flavour. Perfect for sharing during the festive season, these cheddar pastry mince pies offer a unique take on a traditional favourite and are a must-try for those seeking memorable Christmas baking recipes.
Food processor method:
- Pulse flour and butter and grated cheese into food processor until resembles breadcrumbs, add grated cheese, then pulse egg yolk, and 1 tbsp water. See notes to make by hand.
- Tip pastry out onto work surface. Lightly bring together into a ball, careful not to overwork it.
- Roll out to 4mm thickness on floured surface.
- Cut out 12 pastry rounds for the bases, and 6x pastry rounds for the lids. using a 6cm round cutter. Using a decorative cutter, such as a star, cut out of the lid and keep the shapes to go on top of the remaining 6 mince pies to create alternating designs.
- Fill the pastry cases with 1 tsp of mincemeat. Don’t overfill them or they will overflow and stick to the tray.
- Using your finger dipped in little water, run your finger around the edge of the pastry base before gently pressing the lid on to seal.
- Put the tray of pies in fridge for 20-30 mins. This prevents the pastry from shrinking.
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Take out and rest for 5 mins before removing from tin onto a wire rack to cool.
- Serve with your choice of cream or a good quality crème fraiche.
Notes: To make pastry by hand - rub the butter into the flour until it resembles bread crumbs. Add grated cheese and incorporate with hands. Add egg yolk and a little bit of water at a time, stirring in with a blunt knife until starting to clump a little.
Pan needed: 12 cup shallow pan tin with holes measuring 6cm x 2cm
Food processor method:
- Pulse flour and butter and grated cheese into food processor until resembles breadcrumbs, add grated cheese, then pulse egg yolk, and 1 tbsp water. See notes to make by hand.
- Tip pastry out onto work surface. Lightly bring together into a ball, careful not to overwork it.
- Roll out to 4mm thickness on floured surface.
- Cut out 12 pastry rounds for the bases, and 6x pastry rounds for the lids. using a 6cm round cutter. Using a decorative cutter, such as a star, cut out of the lid and keep the shapes to go on top of the remaining 6 mince pies to create alternating designs.
- Fill the pastry cases with 1 tsp of mincemeat. Don’t overfill them or they will overflow and stick to the tray.
- Using your finger dipped in little water, run your finger around the edge of the pastry base before gently pressing the lid on to seal.
- Put the tray of pies in fridge for 20-30 mins. This prevents the pastry from shrinking.
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Take out and rest for 5 mins before removing from tin onto a wire rack to cool.
- Serve with your choice of cream or a good quality crème fraiche.
Notes: To make pastry by hand - rub the butter into the flour until it resembles bread crumbs. Add grated cheese and incorporate with hands. Add egg yolk and a little bit of water at a time, stirring in with a blunt knife until starting to clump a little.
Pan needed: 12 cup shallow pan tin with holes measuring 6cm x 2cm
