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A beloved British Christmas Classic. Homemade buttery, golden brown crusts encase a rich filling of dried fruit (currants, raisins, brandy, apples, candied orange peel, orange and lemon zest). Mixed with warm spices and brown sugar—and it’s all completely nut-free!

Pies stacked on a wood board

This has been one of my most popular Christmas recipes since I first shared it in 2018. The recipe remains unchanged, but I’ve added a bit more information for clarity.

The Christmas season is the most wonderful time of year for some of the tastiest and traditional food from the UK. Homemade mince pies are must at Christmas time (along with Christmas pudding). These are 2 desserts that were always on our table Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Powdered sugar being sprinkled

Homemade Mincemeat

Making your own homemade mincemeat is incredibly easy and absolutely worth it. To add an extra festive touch, I love decorating the tops of the pies with winter-themed pastry cutouts, such as snowflakes, and finishing with a dusting of icing sugar/powdered sugar.

Traditional Mincemeat Recipe

Would you believe these pies were originally made with actual meat? Hence the name “mincemeat.” Thankfully, the recipe has evolved into the sweet fruit mince pies we know today. I think we can all be grateful for that change and happily leave the meat version in the past!

Making Mincemeat Pie Filling Ahead of Time

Traditional mince pies taste best when the sweet mincemeat is prepared in advance, giving the flavors of orange zest, lemon zest, fruits, brandy, and spices time to blend beautifully. Letting it sit overnight works well, but allowing it to rest for a week or even a month brings out the maximum flavor. If you’re short on time, don’t worry—they’ll still taste absolutely delicious!

Mincemeat Filling Without Nuts

This mince pie recipe is nut-free, staying true to the belief that the original meat-based version did not include nuts.

An overhead image of the pies with holiday decorations

Mincemeat Without Suet

Traditional Christmas mince pies typically include beef suet in the filling. Suet is a type of shredded beef fat commonly used in the U.K. As an expat living in the U.S., I find it challenging to source, so I’ve adapted this recipe by substituting cold butter instead. Don’t worry—they taste just as delicious! If you prefer, you can still use traditional suet.

A closeup of a pie showing the decorative pastry snowflake

Best Pastry for Christmas Fruit Mince Pies

My sweet shortcrust pastry is effortlessly made in a food processor by blending flour with cold butter, resulting in a flaky, buttery pastry. This is my go-to recipe for both my sweet and savory pies.

Speaking of pies (and not to be confused with mince pie filling), in England, we also have a savory mince pie, which is made with ground beef.

Best baking pan for fruit mincemeat pies

I use a standard 12-cup muffin pan/tin.

Serving Mincemeat Pies

Mince pies served with brandy butter are the traditional way to elevate this classic British treat. Brandy butter, a hard sauce made with butter, powdered sugar, and brandy, remains solid until served atop warm Christmas fruit mincemeat pies. The rich, creamy brandy butter then melts into a delicious buttery sauce. This is my own recipe for Traditional Brandy Butter (pictured below).


A Christmas mince pie cut in half with brandy butter melting over.

Storing Mince Pies

Store cooled mince pies in an airtight container to prevent them from absorbing any surrounding flavors or odors. You can also wrap them in plastic wrap. Keep them in a cool, dry place, like a cabinet. Avoid the fridge, as it can affect the texture. Room temperature is best, and consume them within 1 week.

Freezing mince pies

After they have baked and cooled on a wire rack, they do well when the individual mince pies are wrapped plastic wrap then in an airtight container. Make sure to date them and they will last for 2-3 months. Reheat in a 350°f/180°C oven for 10-15 minutes.


Kid friendly Mince Pies without Brandy

These mince pies are perfect for the whole family. If you prefer not to serve brandy to children, you can easily substitute it with apple juice (apple cider) or orange juice.

If you’ve tried these Christmas Sweet Mince Pies please leave a star rating in the recipe card. You can also ask a question or leave a comment at the end of the page.

Yield: 12 pies

Christmas Sweet Mince Pies

Christmas Sweet Mince Pies on a wood board dusted with powdered sugar

Dried fruit, apple, citrus and brown sugar all soaked in brandy make up the filling inside homemade pie crusts.

Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • For the filling:
  • 1 cup/5 ounces (142 grams) currants
  • 1 cup/5 ounces (142 grams) raisins
  • ¼ cup (59 ml) brandy
  • ½ cup (70 grams) green apple, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 ounces (56 grams) candied peel of your choice
  • Juice of 1 orange
  • Zest of ½ an orange
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • ½ cup (100 grams) dark brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons (57 grams) butter, cold
  • For the dough:
  • 1 ½ cups (225 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, cubed and kept cold
  • ½ cup cold water
  • For the topping:
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon powdered/confectioners sugar

Instructions

  1. Add the currants, raisins and brandy to a large bowl. Allow to soak for 1-2 hours up to overnight.
  2. While they soak, make the dough.
  3. To make the pastry in a food processor: Add the flour, sugar, salt and butter. Pulse until you get the texture of fine breadcrumbs. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in just enough cold water until it forms a ball, you may not use it all.
  4. To make the pastry by hand: Add the flour, sugar, salt and butter to a large bowl. Using your fingertips (or a pastry cutter) rub the butter and flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Drizzle in the water and mix using a fork until the it starts to come together and holds together when pressed in your hand. You may not need all of the water.
  5. Remove the dough, form into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes.
  6. While the dough chills, make the rest of the filling. To the brandy soaked currants and raisins, add the apples, candied peel, orange juice and zest & lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Use a box grater to grate in the cold butter, mix well. If you're not making pies right away, store in sterilized jars in a cool dry place for up to 1 month.
  7. Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C.
  8. Butter a 12-count muffin pan.
  9. On a floured surface roll out the pastry to about ⅛-inch (3 mm) thick and use a 4-inch (10 cm) round cutter to cut rounds and place each into the cups of the muffin pan so the edges meet the edges of the cups of the pan. Scoop 5 tablespoons of the filling into each of the cups.
  10. Re-roll out the remaining pastry and cut out holiday shapes of your choice. Place them on top of the filling and brush the shapes with the beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with the confectioners sugar.
  11. Bake for 20-25 minutes (depending on your oven) until the pastry is golden brown. See notes for freezing.

Notes

When already baked and cooled, they do well when individually wrapped in plastic wrap then in an airtight container. Make sure to date them and they will last for 2-3 months. Reheat in a 350°f/180°C oven for 10-15 minutes.

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 171Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 31mgSodium 111mgCarbohydrates 27gFiber 1gSugar 13gProtein 2g

This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.

© Culinary Ginger
Cuisine: British / Category: Dessert