The Easiest Shortcrust Pastry Mince Pie Recipe

The butteriest (without butter!) shortcrust pastry, perfect for yummy mince pies or jam tarts!

This pastry recipe makes a sweet and buttery shortcrust style pastry which is perfect for sweet tart shells like mince pies, jam tarts and baked custard tarts.

This recipe makes enough pastry for around a dozen small pies or tarts. You can make the pastry ahead of time. Just wrap the pastry in clingfilm and store it in the fridge for around five days before using.

Makes 12 small pies or tarts

Pastry ingredients;

300g plain flour

40g granulated or caster sugar

180g vegan butter

1-2 tbs cold water

1 jar of sweet vegan mincemeat

1 tbs icing sugar for dusting

You will also need; a mixing bowl, 12 hole tart tin, medium circle cutter, optional star cutter for decoration, rolling pin, small sieve

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How to make your mince pies;

1. Pre heat the oven to 180°c

2. In your large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar and vegan butter

3. Use your fingers to crumble the butter into the dry ingredients to make a fine breadcrumb texture

4. Add 1 tbs of cold water and use your fingers again to mix it through the pastry dough

5. Begin to bring the pastry together by gently squashing the dough into a ball

6. The dough should feel soft and pliable. If the dough is too dry and crumbly, add another tbs of cold water and bring it together again

7. Try not to overwork the dough as this will make the pastry taste tough

8. This pastry is quite soft, so if you have time, wrap it in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for 20-30 minutes until chilled. This will make it easier to work with

9. If like me, you have limited time before someone wakes from their nap, just crack on and be extra gentle when handling the soft dough!

10. Flour your worktop and rolling pin so that the dough does not stick

11. Roll out your pastry dough to around 3-4mm thick

12. Cutout 12 circle shapes and gently press them into the tart tin

13. Add a spoonful of mincemeat into each pastry shell

14. Then using the remaining pastry, cutout 12 small stars to become the lids for the pies

15. Bake for around 15-20 minutes until golden

16. Leave to cool before trying to remove from the tin, as the filling will be very hot straight from the oven

17. Dust with icing sugar then eat and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks!

• I used Flora spreadable to make my pastry

• This pastry recipe works well for any kind of small sweet pies or tarts. I have used it to make jam tarts, mini apple pies, baked custard tarts and lots more as well as mince pies!

• Try not to overwork the pastry dough, as we want to keep the pastry as light, buttery and crumbly as possible. If you knead it too much it will become tough and chewy to eat.

• This is the 12 hole perforated tart tin I use; https://amzn.to/48Fcw04

• Most supermarket ready made mincemeat is vegan, but do check the label

• These are the star cookie cutters. I used the smallest one for the mince pie lids; https://amzn.to/3KYYv5H

• These are the circle cutters I use; https://amzn.to/3KGUeUu

• This is my large rolling pin; https://amzn.to/4pKk9JW