When Gingerbread meets Mince Pie. This festive twist on the classic Mince Pie is the perfect way to stand out for Santa this year!
Is it even Christmas without a Mince Pie or Gingerbread Man? For me that first taste of mince meat or gingerbread signifies the start of all things Christmas, but this year I felt the need to add my own little creative twist to the classic mince pie recipe by merging the flavours of mince pie and gingerbread into one.
With this being my third pop tart twist to a classic sweet treat, you might say I’m a bit pop tart mad but its because I find them so versatile and they’re easily transported so make the perfect baked treat gift.
I never make my own mince meat and have always used a shop bought jar. However, if you want to try your hand at homemade mince meat then there’s no better time than now to start as it takes 2 weeks to soak. If you start now you’ll have it ready in time for making these on Christmas Eve.
Making the perfect shortcrust pastry
Keeping it all cold
Possibly the most important tip for pastry making is to ensure all the ingredients and anything that they comes into contact with are kept as cold as possible at all times. If you have a stone work surface this is perfect but if you don’t you can easily purchase a marble pastry board from Amazon
Don’t over work
Unlike bread dough, pastry dough wants as little attention as possible. Once you have brought the dough together in the bowl, when asked to knead it this should only be for a few moments. Working with the dough too much will start the development of gluten from the flour which is perfect for bread, but in pastry gluten is a no no as it makes the pastry tough and chewy as opposed to flakey and buttery soft.
Chill out
After all the ingredients have been mixed together and worked into a dough, you’ll notice that the mixture has become quite soft. This is where the butter has melted so it’s important to get it chilled again. In this recipe I chill it and then roll it out, but you could also roll it out first and then chill it once cut into shapes.
If you like the look of these pop tarts you should try my Lemon Drizzle Pop Tarts or my Chocolate Nutella Pop Tarts.
Gingerbead Mince Pie Pockets
Ingredients
For the sweet pastry
- 240 g plain flour
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 200 g unsalted butter cut into squares
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp water
For the mince filling
- 12 tbsp mince meat
- 50 g white chocolate chips
Ginger glaze topping
- 200 g golden icing sugar
- 3 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tbsp milk
Instructions
For the pastry
- Put the flour, spices and butter together into a large bowl and break the butter up into the flour using a pastry blender. Continue until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
- Beat together 1 egg and 1tbsp water, then gradually add in 2 tablespoons of this mix to the flour butter mix until you have a dough that come together. Knead it together for a few moments, then bring into a disk shape, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 160C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out onto a lightly floured surface until you have a large rectangle.
- Cut each sheet into six rectangles 6cm x 10cm, then bring the excess dough together and roll out and cut into six more.
- Roll out the rest of the excess then cut out some mini gingerbread men decorations using a cutter.
- Lay out the rectangles onto to baking sheet, then taking two rectangles in turn, brush one entirely with egg and spoon about 1 tbsp of mince meat and a sprinkle of white chocolate chips onto the other.
- Sandwich the two pieces together and use a fork to press the edges together to seal. Brush egg wash across the top and prick the centre with a fork to allow steam to escape. Repeat with remaining rectangles until you have 6 tarts, then put into the oven and bake for 20 minutes until golden.
- On a separate tray bake the mini gingerbread men decorations for 10 minutes
- Once baked, remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack while you make the icing topping.
Ginger glaze topping
- For the glazed topping add the golden icing sugar, ginger and milk until you have an icing that’s a thick enough consistency to top onto the tarts and spread without it running off.
- Spread the icing onto of the cooled tarts then top with the mini gingerbread men and dust all over with a tsp of cinnamon.
- The tarts will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
