CHRISTMAS MINCE PIES WITH CHOCOLATE CHUNKS

Going against tradition here but boozy fruit mince can only be made better with the addition of chunks of dark chocolate. I’ve also played around with using flaky and shortcrust pastry. Although they don’t look as neat, the flaky pastry pies were the favourite in our house. Either way, they’re a fabulous Christmas gift for friends or family and are so easy to make. 

The base to this recipe is from the New World Christmas Recipe hub, they have so many great recipes to get you inspired for the festive season. I’ve played around with this recipe and added a few extra bits to make them my own. Thanks to New World for sponsoring this post. 

Makes 12 pies

INGREDIENTS

400g fruit mince
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons brandy
1 green apple, grated
35g blanched almonds, chopped
1 orange, zest only
200g dark chocolate, chopped 
500g good quality flaky or sweet shortcrust pastry
1 egg, whisked
Icing sugar for dusting

METHOD

Heat oven to 180ºC. Grease a 12 cup muffin tray.

In a bowl, combine fruit mince, cinnamon, brandy, grated apple, chopped almonds, orange zest and dark chocolate chunks. 

Roll pastry out until roughly 3mm thick. Using a 12cm cookie cutter, cut 12 pastry circles and press into muffin tray. Cut 12 stars, or other shape, for the top of the pies. Spoon fruit mince mixture into pastry bases then top with pastry stars. Brush with whisked egg and bake for 13-16 minutes or until lightly golden. 

Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before placing on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

Note: If using flaky pastry, they will look very puffed up when they first come out of the oven. Don’t worry, they will settle back down slightly.