Make your mince pies extra special and rich with a touch of melt-in-the-mouth marzipan and a dusting of icing sugar.
100g/4oz plain flour
100g/4oz self-raising flour
100g/4oz butter, cut into cubes
1 tbsp caster sugar
finely grated zest 1 lemon
85g/3oz marzipan, cut into 24 pieces
250g/9oz mincemeat (just over ½ jar)
icing sugar, for dusting
Takes about 45 minutes • Makes 12 • To make ahead, freeze the pies unbaked then bake straight from the freezer for 25 minutes.
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6/fan oven 180°C. Process both flours and the butter in a food processor until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs. Pulse in the sugar and zest, then 3–4 tablespoons of cold water, until dough comes together into a ball.
2 Roll the dough out thinly on a lightly floured surface. Stamp out into 9cm/3½in rounds. (Reserve the excess pastry.) Line a 12-hole bun tin, and gather up the edges into folds.
3 Put two pieces of marzipan in the bottom of each pastry case, spoon in a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat. Roll out the pastry trimmings, cut out star shapes and lay on top. Bake for 12–15 minutes until crisp and golden. Cool in the tin then remove and cool on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar.
• Per pie 211 kcals, protein 2g, carbohydrate 33g, fat 9g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 1g, added sugar 15g, salt 0.33g