Well, first you need to make your mincemeat NOW, so that it has time to mature. American mincemeat is really horrible (sorry, but it is), but luckily, really good home-made mincemeat is very easy to make (no cooking involved):
In a large, covered pot (a stockpot would be great), Mix together all the following ingredients:
12oz currants
8oz golden raisins
12oz ordinary raisins
3oz mixed glace peel (American peel is too chunky for good mincemeat, so chop it up a bit finer before you use it)
1lb firm, crisp apples (peeled and chopped to about 1/4" cubes)
1lb light brown sugar
1lb shredded suet (you will have to buy this online, or from your local British store...look for the brand name 'Atora'. You can buy either beef or vegetarian suet - I like to use low-fat veggie suet)
1 level tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
Grated rind and juice of 1 orange
1 cup or either brandy or rum (or both mixed together!
)
1/2 cup of sherry (any type, sweet or dry, cream or golden)
Mix everything up in the pot, cover and leave overnight. The next day, stir thoroughly and then put into clean jars (makes about 6 x 1lb jars). If you don't have jars, then plastic food storage boxes (rubbermaid, sterilite, tupperware...) will do just as well. Leave to mature for as long as possible before using (If you make it now, it will be ready for use by about the middle of December).
Now for the pies:
You will need a 12-cup muffin tin, some paper muffin cups, 3" and 2.25" round pastry cutters, a lightly beaten egg, pastry brush and some shortcrust pastry (home-made or ready-made pie crust). Put the paper cups in the muffin tin. Roll out the pastry to about 3/8" thick and cut out twelve 3" circles. Press these down into the paper cups and up the sides (they will come up about 1/2" around the sides - they won't come up to the top of the paper cups, this is because traditional mince pie tins in England are much shallower than muffin tins). Brush around the edges of the pastry with beaten egg, then drop in about 1 heaped teaspoon of mincemeat into each pastry shell. Gently press on 'lids' made from 2.25" circles of pastry, then pierce the centres with a fork or knife to allow steam to escape. Bake at 400F for around 20 minutes. When nice and golden brown on the top, remove and immediately sift some icing sugar (powdered sugar) over the tops using a small seive (a tea strainer works well). Remove from the muffin tin and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight tin or plastic storage box (put parchment paper between layers of pies). They will keep for at least 4 weeks at room temperature, so because my dh loves them so much, I usually make around 100-150 mince pies each year and then they (just about) last us through New Year LOL!
Heating and Serving:
Mince pies are always best served warm - so just heat them up for a few minutes in a toaster oven or conventional oven. The traditional way to serve them is with Brandy or Rum butter - you just gently lift the lid off the hot pie and add a small knob of the butter, then replace the pastry lid and eat....Heaven!!!! To make Brandy or Rum butter, just cream together 8oz unsalted butter, 6oz light brown sugar and 5 tablespoons of brandy or rum. Spread into a small bowl, cover and keep refrigerated (again it will keep for around 4 weeks, so you can just use it as needed).
Please note that brandy butter/rum butter is NOT served hot or melted - the idea is for it to partially melt with the heat of the pie or pudding
If you are planning on also having plum pudding for Christmas Dessert, then brandy/rum butter is also wonderful served with that too. If you DO have plum pudding, then remember to douse it with brandy/rum and flambe it before serving!
Enjoy
Paint.