Make delicious hand made mince pies

Bring a little festive baking magic to your kitchen with beautifully handmade mince pies. Learn to make buttery shortcrust pastry by hand, handle it with confidence and turn it into golden pies filled with rich, spiced mincemeat.

This practical course guides you through the techniques behind a tender pastry case and a neat finish, before getting creative with edible pastry leaves, holly shapes and other festive decorations.

What you will learn

• Making shortcrust pastry by hand, rubbing butter into flour and recognising the right texture.
• Adding liquid gradually and bringing the dough together without overworking it.
• Resting and chilling your pastry, keeping it cool and knowing when it is ready to roll.
• Rolling to an even thickness, using flour sparingly and handling pastry without stretching or tearing it.
• Cutting neat pastry rounds and gently lining your tins for evenly shaped pies.
• Filling with mincemeat, getting the balance of filling and pastry right and avoiding overflowing pies.
• Making full lids and decorative tops, sealing edges and allowing steam to escape where needed.
• Cutting and shaping edible pastry holly leaves, and berries, adding delicate vein details and arranging festive designs.
• Using pastry trimmings thoughtfully, gathering them gently to avoid toughening the dough.
• Glazing neatly, baking until golden and checking that the bases are properly cooked.
• Cooling and removing your pies from the tin, finishing with icing sugar, plus tips for storing, freezing and reheating.

We will also cover common pastry problems, including cracking, shrinking and tough pastry, with simple ways to avoid them. From classic lids to little pastry holly leaves and stars, you can give your mince pies your own festive finish and build skills to use in your baking long after Christmas.

You will leave with a batch of beautiful, hand made mince pies and the knowledge and confidence to repeat it at home!