Mince Pies - A Traditional British Christmas Recipe - When A Vagabond Cooks (2024)

In England, a Christmas without Mince Pies is no Christmas at all! Just like the traditional Christmas Pudding, mince pie has been a part of British Christmas festivities since long. The first time I tasted a mince pie was at Lincoln Christmas Market. It was my first traditional Christmas market experience and, I would say, a major highlight of my student days in England!

Another Christmas classic is mulled wine. A book, some good music and a mug of mulled wine – perfect way to wind down on cold winter nights, whether it’s Christmas time or not !If you are looking for holiday gifting ideas or eggless Christmas cookie recipes, you may like ourRagi / Finger Millet Gingerbread Cookies. I bake a batch every year!

Coming back to mince pies, they are tiny tart-like pastries with a filling called ‘mincemeat’. Hearing the name, I expected it to be a savoury meaty snack. The first bite, however, left me quite confused – it was sweet, fruity and boozy! Those of you who haven’t grown up having mincemeat may be puzzled (just as I was) about what it actually is. Though it sounds like meat is the main ingredient, it is not (atleast, not in today’s context). It is not the ‘minced meat’ or ‘ground meat’ that most of us are familiar with. Mincemeat is a traditional preserve of rich boozy chopped dried fruits and spices. In the olden times, however, meat (mutton) was a key ingredient.

Evolution of Mince Pies

Mince pie is believed to have originated in the medieval times for a combination of reasons – as a practical solution for preserving meat and as a religious symbol. When the Crusaders returned home from the Holy Land, they brought with them a variety of spices from the east. The medieval cooks used sugar and some of these spices to preserve meat in winter. They picked three spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves) representing the three wise kings who brought gifts for Baby Jesus. In total, 13 ingredients were used to make the filling – the number representing Jesus and his 12 disciples. The pastry cases were made in oval shapes symbolising the manger in which Baby Jesus slept. The filled pies were topped, sometimes, with a pastry Baby Jesus.

Over the years, the pies became rounder and smaller. The pastry cases with mincemeat filling started being covered with pastry lids. It is not clearly known when and why the meat content in mince pies was reduced or eliminated altogether. Let’s just say, by the 20th century, the only traces of meat in most mince pies was ‘suet’ – the hard, saturated fat found around the loins and kidneys of animals. It is an important ingredient in many traditional British recipes and is also a highly sought-after fat used by pastry chefs. To make mince pies vegetarian-friendly, suet is sometimes substituted with vegetarian suet or frozen grated vegetable shortening or butter. The modern day mincemeat available in stores does’t contain meat, it sometimes doesn’t have alcohol either. Some brands use only vegetarian suet.

Development of my Mince Pie Recipe

When I first made mince pies, the curious foodie in me wanted to try adding meat, like in the medieval times. 🙂 So that is exactly what I did! I adapted Nigella’s recipe for the mincemeat – made it a bit meaty, slightly reduced the sweetness, and made a few other changes. I didn’t know where I could buy suet from. So, that part of the recipe is not ‘medieval’ enough ;p. My recipe doesn’t use suet. For the crust, I used store-bought puff pastry. Brandy or rum is the popular choice for alcohol in mincemeat. I have tried using whiskey in mincemeat and that wasn’t bad either.

Recipe variations (including vegetarian and non-alcoholic options)

I have tried making three versions of mince pie – with meat and booze, with booze but no meat, with neither booze nor meat. I personally prefer the ones with meat and booze the best.

Vegetarians can skip the meat, or add chopped mushrooms instead of meat. It is the closest meat-ish ingredient I can think of which would taste great in mince pies (This is my wild idea, haven’t come across that in recipes for mince pies).

For non-alcoholic mince pies, substitute the brandy / rum / whiskey with an equal amount of orange / apple juice.

Can we freeze the mince pies?

The baked pies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Pop them into the oven at 120 degree Celsius for around 3 minutes before serving.

Mince Pies – Santa luuuvs ’em!

Many of us are familiar with the tradition of leaving cookies and milk out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. But, something many of us DON’T know is that many kids in Britain, instead, leave mince pies with brandy for Santa, along with carrot for reindeer. Now, that sure is a treat Santa couldn’t possibly miss! Hic! 😉

Try adding British Mince Pies to your Christmas festivities this year! It can be served on its own or even better – with some brandy butter! Mmm.. yumm!!

Mincemeat Recipe adapted from Nigella’s Recipes.

This post was originally published on 22 Dec 2017 and updated on 01 Dec 2020.