Traditional Mince Pies

Celebrate the holiday season with this delicious mince pie recipe. 

What is a Mince Pie? 

A mince pie is a sweet English pie filled with mincemeat, which is a combination of dried fruits, warming spices, sugar, nuts, distilled spirits, and, traditionally, mutton or beef suet (though many modern recipes don’t contain meat). They are traditionally eaten during the Christmas season. 

Mince Pie Ingredients

This is what you’ll need to make this mince pie recipe: 

• Crust: The simple crust is made of all-purpose flour, confectioners’ sugar, ground cinnamon, butter, orange zest, and water. A beaten egg serves as an egg wash, which gives the mince pies a shiny finish.
• Filling: You can buy jarred mince pie filling in specialty stores, but we recommend making your own mincemeat at home. 

How to Make Mince Pies

You’ll find the full, step-by-step recipe below — but here’s a brief overview of what you can expect when you make traditional mince pies for the holidays: 

1. Make the dough, roll it out, and cut the dough into circles. 
2. Fit the dough circles into muffin tins and fill. 
3. Top with pastry circles and seal the edges. Brush with an egg wash.
4. Bake until golden brown, cool slightly, and dust with confectioners’ sugar. 

How to Store Mince Pies

Store your leftover mince pies in an airtight container for up to one week. 

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

“I’ve made this so much that it has become a holiday tradition,” says Karenbj. “The only change I made is I bake these without a top crust. I make cutout stars from the dough, bake them separately and then add to baked tarts before they cool completely.”

“These little pies were a hit at our Christmas celebration,” raves Jason Carunchia-Strunk. “I used my home canned mincemeat, which was a special treat. Instead of dusting with confectioners sugar, I used sanding sugar for a sparkling presentation.”

Editorial contributions by Corey Williams