Mince Pies

Mince Pies brings the smell of Christmas and it keeps lingering in your kitchen for quite a while.  Cinnamon and grated clementines are magical.  I used vegetable suet as the proper beef suet is not available on this island!  Came out just right and somehow the indulging guilt is slightly less...
Recipe makes about 24 small mince pies.

Mince Filling
250g Sultanas
100g Dried Cranberries
100g dried blueberries
100g candied peel
50g chopped almonds
100g vegetable suet
75g sugar
1/2 cup whisky
grated clementine rind
juice of 1 clementine
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice

Food Processor Short Pastry
300g plain flour
75g butter
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
pinch salt
2 eggs
2 tbsp cold water

Put sultanas, dried cranberries, blueberries, candied peel in a glass bowl.  Heat whiskey, clementine juice, cinnamon sugar, ground cloves and ground allspice in a small saucepan. Stir until sugar dissolves and when mixture boils pour over the dried fruit.  Give a quick stir, cover with cling film and leave to stand over night.  

The following day return the fruit to a saucepan, add the vegetable suet and stir over medium heat till suet melts and the fruit plump up.  Remove from heat and add the chopped almonds. Leave to cool.

Meanwhile prepare the short pastry by adding plain flour, baking powder, butter and sugar to food processor and mix till butter crumbs in flour.  Add lightly beaten eggs and give few pulses to mix.  Add two table spoons of cold water giving few more pulses.  Remove pastry from food processor, bind together with your hands to form a ball, cover with cling film and chill for few minutes in a refrigeraor.

Heat oven to 180c.  Roll out pastry and using proper round cutter cut rounds that fit in a 12 whole mince pie tin.  Spoon mince filling and top with a pastry star.  Brush with a little beaten egg and bake for about 30 minutes till golden.  Dust with some icing sugar.  

Mince pies keep well for over a week, but they can be frozen and thawed 30 minutes before serving.