The best mince pies are these frangipane Mince Pies with easy homemade pastry – serve warm or cold for a delicious traditional Christmas snack.
Lots of pictures and very few words today – I have my hands and mouth full of frangipane mince pies….
I was feeling a little rustic and old-school when I made these – so I actually made my own pastry! I’m usually fairly lazy when it comes to pastry – buying the pre-made and pre-rolled stuff. However this is an easy version and only takes a couple of minutes to pull together (plus a bit of chilling time in the fridge).
I did stick with the pre-made mincemeat though. I can’t believe I used to hate this stuff as a kid. I could eat it straight out of the jar now!!
The frangipane is an easy home-made recipe too. Similar to the one I use in my peach and almond tart, you don’t need a mixer – just whisk it together in a bowl before spooning on top of the mincemeat-filled pastry cases.
Serve them warm:
Maybe with a drizzle of cream?
Or eat them cold. However you eat them, they won’t last long (at least not with me around….).
More Baking Ideas To Try
Equipment
In order to make these delicious festive Frangipane Mince Pies you will need:
- Food Processor. This is not the exact one as in the pictures, this is the newer model.
- Shallow Muffin/Cupcake Baking Tin
- Cooling rack
- Rolling Pin
- Fluted cutter
- Measuring Spoons
- Zester
- Wooden or Silicon Coated Spoons. We have just bought these and love them!
Frangipane Mince Pies
Ingredients
For the Pastry (or you can use ready-rolled sweet shortcrust pastry):
- 240 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour plus extra for rolling
- 3 tbsp confectioners’ (icing) sugar
- 125 g (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) unsalted butter chilled and cubed
- finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 1 medium egg
For the Frangipane:
- 90 g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 100 g (1 cup) golden caster sugar (or use superfine)
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 90 g (1 1/2 cup) ground almonds (almond meal)
Also:
- 410 g (14.5 oz) jar mincemeat
- 5 tbsp flaked almonds
- 2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- First, make the pastry – Place the flour, confectioners' sugar, and butter in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form. Add the orange zest and egg and pulse again until it just comes together (add a couple of drops of cold water if it's still too crumbly to come together).240 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, 3 tbsp confectioners’ (icing) sugar, 125 g (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) unsalted butter, finely grated zest of 1 orange, 1 medium egg
- Place the pastry on a piece of lightly floured baking parchment. Squash together to form it into a ball, then roll it out to 1/4 inch thick with a lightly floured rolling pin.
- Place in the fridge to chill for 30-60 minutes (cover with clingfilm if leaving in the fridge for longer – up to two days).
- Whilst the pastry is chilling, make the frangipane. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat it together with a wooden spoon or hand mixer for a couple of minutes – until it goes paler. Stir in the egg and almond extract until mixed, then stir in the ground almonds. Place in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.90 g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened, 100 g (1 cup) golden caster sugar (or use superfine), 1 large egg, 1/2 tsp almond extract, 90 g (1 1/2 cup) ground almonds (almond meal)
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F (fan).
- Once the pastry is chilled, cut out rounds using an 8cm/3" fluted cutter. Re-roll the pastry as necessary. You should get 18-20 rounds. Press each piece of pastry carefully into the hole of a 12-hole cake tin (a regular fairy-cake tin – not a muffin tin). You'll need two trays.
- Fill each pastry- hole with a tablespoon of mincemeat, then top with a tablespoon of frangipane and smooth the top slightly (it will spread as it cooks, so you don't need to be too neat). Be sure not to top with too much frangipane, as it will overflow. Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.410 g (14.5 oz) jar mincemeat, 5 tbsp flaked almonds
- Take out of the oven and leave to cool before sifting over a little confectioners' sugar, then serve.2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Thanks for correcting that Nicky. I’ve made the recipe and it was very tasty but I think the texture of my frangipane was a bit off due to using the cups- none of the cups in the recipe equate to the correct gram amounts. I’ll try it again just using the gram measurements.
Hi, just want to clarify the grams vs cups. For example the frangipane states 90g or 3/4 c of butter but 3/4 c of butter would be more than 90g.
Apologies – that was a typo. The grams measurement is correct. So i’ve updated it now to say 90g (6tbsp). Thanks for letting me know.
Best ever mince pies. Wonder if you can freeze or store thank you
I’m making some more of these delicious mince pies, as the first lot went like snow on a hot shovel! The pastry is delicious, as is the frangipane (OH’s favourite!) …..I took some to his Art Group session as it was his birthday this week and was asked for the recipe more than once……tells you all you need to know! I wonder if it would be possible for you to put the fan oven equivalent in your recipes….I usually have to Google with floury hands when I get to that bit……and leave out the bit which says just how many calories are in the mince pies!!
I wonder if you can freeze or how to store. They are fabulous best ever I had
Made for the first time this Christmas and they are really 😋 tasty and easy to make
The family loved them
Absolutely delicious!! Pastry is easy to work with and melt in the mouth!! Had to bake extra 5mins (my oven)
My go to mince tart recipe from now on.🤗
I tried these but when they came out of the oven I realised that something was missing! Flour in the frangipane! It’s missing from the recipe. I Made again and added flour… hoorah! Success.. I’m surprised that no one else has commented on the omission.
Hi Verenna, there’s no omission. My recipe doesn’t have flour in the frangipane. The ground almonds provide a crisp and slightly chewy topping, which would be more crumbly and pastry-like if it was in the frangipane.
In your US conversion measurements it says to use 3 eggs and in the UK measurements it only calls for 1 egg for the frangipane recipe.
Thanks Carole, sorry, must have been a typo, I’ve updated now (it’s one egg).