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Mince Pie Pinwheels or Mincemeat Pinwheels, a delicious twist on the classic Christmas dessert, mince pies. They are so quick and easy to make, and we only need two ingredients: puff pastry and mincemeat. The ingredients can be homemade, but the store-bought ones are just as good, and way quicker to use.
If you ask me about the first sweet treat that comes to my mind when I think of Christmas, it has to be the mince pies. After living in the UK (and now Isle of Man) for over 13 years, I can't possibly not link one to another. They are rich, overly sweet and buttery, and have the best Christmas flavour.
Not that making them at home is hard, but how about we make them extra easy by swapping the shortbread crust with puff pastry, and making them into mince pie pinwheels?
The prep is minimal, you don't even need 2 minutes from start to finish, and they are out of the oven in less than 30 minutes. Dead easy, right?
Now, they are already really sweet, and I mean sweet enough to give you instant diabetes, but that little sprinkle of powdered sugar makes them extra pretty, so why, not, feel free to use some.
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What is mincemeat
How to make mincemeat or mince pie pinwheels
Other mincemeat recipes
Mince Pie Pinwheels
What is mincemeat
And if you wonder if mincemeat has any meat in it, no, not at all. The modern mincemeat is just a mixture of chopped dried fruit, sugar, syrup, spices and spirits, although originally it did contain meat, way back in time.
The meat and fruit pies can be traced back to the 15th century, it's amazing how some recipes have stood the test of time after so long, even if they are a little bit different nowadays.
How to make mincemeat or mince pie pinwheels
Again, I never complicate my life making my own puff pastry. It must be a lot nicer, flakier, tastier, you name it, but good gracious God and heavens above, who has time to waste on homemade puff pastry? Even if I did have free time, which I hardly ever have, I would still spend my time on something a lot more productive.
So, store-bought puff pastry it is! Some larger supermarkets have the all-butter version, which is a lot pricier, but it does taste better. Otherwise, the regular one is absolutely fine. I used ready-rolled puff pasty, but the block one is also fine.
roll out the puff pasty sheet on a non-stick paper
spread the mincemeat over the puff pastry, making sure the edges are clear
roll the puff pastry into a large sausage - I roll from right to left, rather than down to up (it it makes any sense), as otherwise you will end up with more pinwheels, but they will not be as large
use a sharp knife to cut 10 slices, then arrange them on a non-stick baking tray
bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 20-25 minutes or until golden
And that's it, some gorgeous mince pie pinwheels for that sweet tooth! This is indeed a very merry and sweet Christmas!
Other mincemeat recipes
Mincemeat Loaf Cake
Apple and Mincemeat Crumble
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Mince Pie Pinwheels
Mince Pie Pinwheels or Mincemeat Pinwheels, a delicious twist on the classic Christmas dessert, mince pies. They are so quick and easy to make, and we only need two ingredients: puff pastry and mincemeat. The ingredients can be homemade, but the store-bought ones are just as good, and way quicker to use. Christmas would not be the same without mince pies, and these little beauties are the next best thing.
To spread the joy, it was tradition in England that each member of the family gave the mixture a stir, while making a wish. And if you wanted to be ensure good health and happiness in the upcoming year, you should eat one mince pie every day for the Twelve Days of Christmas, from Christmas Eve until the 5th of January.
Even today there are traditions associated with mince pies. When making the mincemeat mixture for the pies, for good luck it should be stirred in a clockwise direction. You should always make a wish when eating the first mince pie of the season and you should never cut one with a knife.
Mince pies have been eaten as part of a traditional British Christmas since at least the 16th century. Then they were made of a spiced, sweet minced meat mixture (often lamb), but they are now commonly made with sweet mincemeat, a mixture of dried fruits, sugar, spices, and brandy.
To show off their money, the rich would offer pies in various shapes, such as crescents and hearts, to show off their wealth. They became a popular treat around the festive period thanks to a tradition from the middle ages, which saw people eat a mince pie for 12 days from Christmas day to Twelfth Night.
A mince pie (also mincemeat pie in North America, and fruit mince pie in Australia and New Zealand) is a sweet pie of English origin filled with mincemeat, being a mixture of fruit, spices and suet. The pies are traditionally served during the Christmas season in much of the English-speaking world.
Add a lightly beaten egg, but not too much. Egg acts as a binder for the ingredients, but you only need a small amount. One small egg will do for one pound of minced meat. Alternatively, if you're following an egg-free diet, you could soak fresh bread in milk, squeezing out any excess milk, to use as a binder.
Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped dried fruit, distilled spirits and spices, and often beef suet, usually used as a pie or pastry filling. Mincemeat formerly contained meat, notably beef or venison. Many modern recipes replace the suet with vegetable shortening.
And never serve a cold pie. 'Ideally, mince pies for a drinks party will be served gently warmed, but if eating at home you could serve them much warmer with gently melting ice cream, rum or brandy butter. Here, a fork and spoon will be needed to avoid those mucky fingers.
Mincemeat pie is a dish that isn't very common in the American kitchen, which can lead to some confusion for cooks, even those on the Allrecipes staff.
In American English, "mincemeat" is a sweet pie filling (I think it's mince pie in BrE) which originally contained some meat but in modern times it is generally made mostly of apples and raisins.
Why do we eat mince pies at Christmas? Mince pies were originally made to celebrate Jesus. They were oblong in shape to represent the manger that Jesus slept in as a baby and have a 'pastry baby Jesus' carved into the pastry. Traditionally one mince pie is eaten for the Twelve days of Christmas.
Hot, cold or slightly warmed.Top off or top on. Custard, cream, clotted cream, ice cream, brandy cream, brandy butter or, dare we say it, hard, crumbly cheese… The ways to serve a mince pie are practically endless.
King Henry V had mince pies made as early as in 1413 for his coronation celebration on April 9. During this period it would have been made with various meats, game birds, boiled eggs and spices, which were very rare and extravagant ingredients of the time as this was a pie for celebration.
By the mid-17th Century, there appears to have been some connection made to Christmas, although people certainly ate mince pies at other times as well – Samuel Pepys had mince pies at a friend's anniversary party in January of 1661, where there were 18 laid out, one for each year of the marriage.
Enveloped in tasty pastry, succulent mince pies were the automatic choice for Santa. After all, they were just enough for one or two bites and he had a lot of houses to visit overnight, so there were a lot of mince pies to eat!
And some people still ascribe to the belief that eating one mince pie on each of the twelve days of Christmas (between Christmas and Epiphany) will bring good luck.
As the pies were often baked in a rectangular shape, people began to associate them with the manger Jesus had laid in. Soon dough effigies of the baby Jesus were placed on top of the pies to reinforce the religious connection.
Introduction: My name is Chrissy Homenick, I am a tender, funny, determined, tender, glorious, fancy, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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