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Rich, buttery, and perfectly sweet, these frangipane mince pies elevate the classic festive treat with an almondy twist. We’re making these all from scratch and I have a tip for making the pastry next-level delicious. I guarantee I to have to make more than one batch of these because all the family LOVE them.
The best mince pies are these frangipane Mince Pies with easy homemade pastry. Serve warm (nothing beats scoffing a still-warm mince pie from the cooling rack).
Or serve cold (a packed lunch treat to put a smile on your face) for a delicious traditional Christmas snack.
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients
For the pastry dough
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).
- Plain Flour (all purpose flour)
- Icing Sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- Cold cubed butter
- Egg
- Orange Zest (that’s my secret ingredient)
You can substitute in shop-bought sweet shortcrust pastry but the orange zest in this pastry really gives the whole mince pie a lift and makes it extra Christmassy.
For the frangipane and filling
I did stick with the pre-made mincemeat though, you can make your own but the shop bought stuff is just as nice and saves on time. We also need:
- Ground almonds (almond meal)
- Almond extract
- Golden caster sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Flaked almonds
- Icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- Mince meat – this is the sweet, jammy, raisin-y stuff you buy in jars. Not meat!! No actual meat is used in mince pies!!
🥧 How to Make Frangipane Mince Pies
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
Make the shortcrust pastry dough
- Pulse the flour, icing sugar and cold butter in a food processor until the mixture is the texture of fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg and orange zest and pulse again until the dough just starts to come together.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to a single layer thats 4mm (a little over 1/8th of an inch) thick.
- Cover with cling film and place in the fridge to rest for 30-60 mins.
Pro Tip
For the perfect shortcrust pastry make sure the cubed butter is cold. Also we’re only pulsing the food processor until the dough just comes together, this will ensure we don’t overwork the dough resulting in a tough chewy dough rather than a soft crumbly pastry.
Make the frangipane
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.
- Place the softened. butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat it together until it goes a nice pale colour.
- Add almond extract and an egg and mix until combined.
- Then stir in the ground almonds then place in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
Bringing it all together
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F (fan)
- Cut the pastry into rounds using a fluted 8cm cutter and gently press them into your cake tin. You should get 16-18 minced pies so you may need to work in 2 batches.
- Add the mincemeat and top with a blob of the frangipane.
- Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown
- Place them on a wire rack to cool before dusting with icing sugar and serving.
Chris absolutely LOVEs anything with almond flavours, from my Rhubarb and Almond Cake, Frangipane Croissants and even eating the leftover marzipan when I’m decorating my Christmas cake or making a Battenberg, so I know these almond mince pies will be gone in mere hours!
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Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
Serve them warm or cold, just as they are. Or you can top with a blob of extra thick cream or serve with homemade custard.
I guarantee Chris will have a big smile on his face with a nice cup of tea and a frangipane mince pie (or 3) in front of the TV every Sunday afternoon in December!
These have truly replaced the traditional mince pies in our house. The frangipane topping and the hint of orange in the shortcrust pastry just takes them to another level making them the best mince pies.
🍰 More fantastic baking ideas
? Frequently Asked Questions
In the UK mince pies are a Christmas staple but they are not anywhere near as common in other countries. In my opinion they’re missing out.
🥄 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
- 8cm Fluted cutter
- Measuring Spoons
- Zester
- Wooden or Silicon Coated Spoons.
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Frangipane Mince Pies Recipe
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
- 4 tbsp flaked almonds
- 2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
Pastry
- First, make the pastry – Place the flour, confectioners' sugar, and butter in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form.240 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, 3 tbsp confectioners’ (icing) sugar, 125 g (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) unsalted butter
- 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).finely grated zest of 1 orange, 1 medium egg
- Place the pastry on a large piece of baking parchment. Squash together to form it into a ball, then place a second large piece of baking parchment on top. Squash the ball down with your hands, then roll it out to 4mm (a little over 1/8th of an inch) thick with a rolling pin.
- Place in the fridge to chill for 30-60 minutes.
Frangipane
- 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.90 g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened, 100 g (1 cup) golden caster sugar (or use superfine)
- Stir in the egg and almond extract until mixed.1 large egg, 1/2 tsp almond extract
- Then stir in the ground almonds. Place in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.90 g (1 1/2 cup) ground almonds (almond meal)
Frangipane mince pies
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F (fan).
- Once the pastry is chilled, peel off both sides of the baking parchment and cut out rounds in the pastry using an 8cm/3" fluted cutter. Re-roll the pastry as necessary. You should get 16-18 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, mine is 2.25 cm (just under an inch) deep). You'll need two trays, or cook them in 2 batches.
- 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, its approximately 19g of the frangipane mixture per pie). Be sure not to top with too much frangipane, as it will overflow.410 g (14.5 oz) jar mincemeat, 4 tbsp flaked almonds
- Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
- Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Then remove from the tray and place on a cool rack to cool further. Sift over a little confectioners' sugar, then serve warm or cold.2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
Video
Notes
Storage:
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.Freezing:
Place cooled mince pieces in an airtight container and freeze. Defrost for a couple of hours at room temperature before serving.Reheating:
If you want to serve them warm (from room temp/defrosted), place in the oven at 170C/325F (fan), on a baking sheet. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until hot. Nutritional Information is per mince pie.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This frangipane mince pie recipe was first published in Dec 2015, Updated in Dec 2024 with new pictures, slightly improved recipe and with added information.
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.
I’m going to try these this weekend! My friend gave me two jars of homemade mince meat last Christmas. I put them in the back of the cupboard and wrote a note in my diary for December 1st ‘Kate’s mincemeat in back of cupboard’! I like to make a massive batch of pastry in one go, divide it into smaller portions and freeze it, so I always have pastry handy. So last week, I made my first batch of mince pies, on Monday I made a second batch. Delicious. But this frangipane will take them to a new level!! Mulled wine and frangipane mince pies, here I come!!
I make mini mincemeat pies every year, but frangepane is new to me and I do believe will be a game changer!! Thank you for sharing!
Hi, can I freeze these uncooked and bake from frozen?
Hi Seonaid, I would bake them first, then freeze, as I don’t think the raw frangipane would hold up well during defrosting.
I can eat mince pies all year round and I just love this recipe, the almond topping is gorgeous.
Made these for Christmas and they were a hit. I’ve never made homeade crust before and it turned out amazing too. Will definitely be keeping this recipe for future holiday’s.
Have you ever tried making a pie from this recipe?
Just made these and they are wonderful, thank you.
May just have to try a few of these recipes. Especially Asian Short Ribs, sauce may work on Ox Tails as well.
Looking to make these ahead of time for Christmas. Can they be frozen?
Hi Bea,
Yes, so long as the frangipane on top is fully cooked (it should be lightly brown in the middle), they should freeze fine in a covered container. I would advise leaving the sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar off before freezing. You can sprinkle it on after they’ve defrosted at room temperature.
These look amazing, can’t wait to try this out.
I’m not sure what kind of pan you used to bake these. Can you post a picture of it and measurements?
Was planning to make these for thanksgiving but didn’t know what to find to bake them in 🙁
Hi Nicola, sorry for the late reply – a shallow bun tin would be perfect. Like this: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Class-Non-Stick-Twelve-Shallow/dp/B000FU8DP4/
Hope that helps!
OH my god !! oh my god ! oh my god ! Nicky : you made my day ! I love frangipane so much i could cry. This mixed with your recipe… i can’t wait !! i can’t wait ! Thank you so very much !
But I have no idea of what mincemeat could be ( wikipedia tells me it’s some sort of paste of dry fruit used for meat). I don’t think we find that in france. What can I replace it with to still keep it yummy ?
thanks !
Hi Saz 🙂
I’m so sad you can’t get mincemeat over there – it’s one of my favourite Christmas items! I can’t think of a good substitute for it, as it has a very distinctive taste – fruity, juicy, tangy and chewy.
You could try swapping the filling out and maybe mixing some raspberry jam with some raisins and cranberries – it’s not the same, but I bet that’d still taste good.
Or if you want to make your own mincemeat, I quite like the simplicity of this recipe: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/11/quick-mincemeat-recipe/ (it just needs to be a thick, jam-like texture before putting into the pies – not runny).
If you like frangipane, you should try this one I made for CenterCutCook: http://www.centercutcook.com/raspberry-frangipane-stuffed-croissants/ So so good!!
Thank you so much ! Yes now that I see the recipe you gave me i’m pretty certain we don’t have mincemeat in france. But I love very very much the idea of raspberry jam with raisins and cranberry. Maybe throw some orange zest in the mix ? But instant mincemeat doesn’t seem too hard to put together. Maybe i’ll try that.
YOOOOOOOSSHHHH raspberry croissant aux amandes ! That’s a very big yes ! We’re having that on the next brunch .
anywho, can’t wait to try all of those ! I’ll let you know how it went.
tahnk you again for always taking time for advises and answers. it really is lovely !
ooh need to come to your house for brunch 🙂