Sweet almond pastry mince pies

Gorgeous moist mince pies with delicious almond pastry

You will need

For the pastry

In a Food Processor

175g plain flour

100g cold unsalted butter, cubed

25g ground almonds

25g icing sugar

1 egg beaten (you will only use half of this)

Whiz all the dry ingredients and the butter together in a food processor then add half the egg and whiz a little more.

Turn out the pastry onto a work surface and gently combine into a smooth dough - takes a couple of minutes.

Wrap in clingfilm and chill the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge before use

By hand

Sieve the flour and icing sugar

Rub the butter into the flour and sugar until you have a fine breadcrumb consistency

Stir in the ground almonds

Add half the beaten egg and combine to a smooth dough

Wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 180c

Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface to about 1/8 inch

Using  a 2 1/2 inch cutter, cut out the same amount of circles and slightly smaller circles for the lids

Line a 12 hole bun tin with the larger circles and fill each with mincemeat (1 teaspoon for minis or 1 1/2 teaspoons for larger ones)

Using a little water round the edges of the lids, place the lids on the pies

Prick a hole in the top of each pie with a skewer or cocktail stick

Alternatively cut out the larger circles and use shape cutters for the tops

Bake for 15 minutes, or until pale gold

Leave to cool and sprinkle with sieved icing sugar