Mince Pies (with rough puff pastry) {Recipe}

Getting stuck into the Christmas baking straight away now it's December, starting with the good old classic mince pie. Now, I don't make my own mincemeat, so I suppose this is more a post about assembling and baking mince pies, but I do make my own 'rough puff' pastry, so I think it's worthy of being a recipe.

Ingredients (approx. 40 pies)
480g plain flour
360g butter
pinch of salt
12-16 tbsp cold water

First I weigh out the flour and stir in the salt.

Next I weigh the butter and cut it into walnut sized pieces, tossing it in the flour until each piece is covered.

I add the water gradually, until the butter and flour comes together in one lump. It will be sticky, so I make sure I have well floured the surface I am going to roll on. Have extra flour to hand in a dredger too.

I roll the pastry into a 20" x 10" oblong then fold into thirds, to make 3 layers. The I rotate the pastry and roll again, followed by the folding into thirds. Repeat this rolling and folding before wrapping the pastry in clingfilm and resting in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Once rested, I repeat the rolling and folding process three times before rolling the pastry for use. My best advice here would be to divide the block into manageable portions for rolling, since it is essential to roll this pastry good and thin.

Once I've rolled out the pastry I cut rounds for the base of the mince pies and star shapes for the top.

To assemble the pies simply put your bases into a fairy cake, muffin or mini muffin tin, then spoon in the mince meat, being careful not to overfill. Press the lids on top of the pies - you can use water to help seal the edges.

If you are using a full lid (as opposed to stars as I have done) you will need to make a steam hole using a sharp knife.

Brush the top of the pies with beaten egg or milk and bake at 210c for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the tins when the pies are still hot and cool on a rack. Then sample!