The Free-Range Butter Company

Ingredients

• 150g Anchor® unsalted butter
• 300g plain flour
• 1 egg yolk
• A little cold water
• 375g good-quality mincemeat
• A little icing sugar for dusting

Method

You will also need a 12-hole tartlet tin, each hole measuring approximately 6cm x 2cm deep. Bake the pies in one batch of 12, then a second of six.

1. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until you have what looks like coarse, fresh breadcrumbs. If you do this in the food processor it will take a matter of seconds.
2. Add the egg yolk, then mix with just enough water to bring to a smooth dough. You'll probably need just 1 or 2 tablespoons. Bring the dough together into a firm ball, then knead it gently on a floured board for a couple of minutes until it softens. Reserve half of the dough, then roll the remainder out thinly. Set the oven at 200 degrees Celsius/ gas mark 6.
3. Using cookie cutters, or the top of an espresso cup, cut out 18 discs of pastry. Place 12 discs of the pastry in the tartlet tins, smoothing them up the sides so the edges stand very slightly above the surface of the tin. Fill each one with a dollop of mincemeat. A level tablespoon is probably all you'll get into them, unless you have especially deep tins. Don't be a Scrooge with the filling!
4. Roll out the remaining pastry and make a further 18 discs of pastry, keeping 6 of them for the second batch. Slightly dampen each of these round the edge with cold water then lay them over each tart and press firmly to seal the edges.
5. Cut a small slit in the centre of each pie and bake for 20 minutes till golden. Let them cool down for a few minutes, then slide them out of their tins with a palette knife and serve warm, dusted with icing sugar. Repeat with the remaining pastry and mincemeat.

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