Mincemeat Pie Recipe 1

A British pastry - the mincemeat pie, can be cooked in a variety of ways. This is traditionally eaten during Christmas and New Year. These are generally prepared with a pastry top. Today, one can even find vegetarian versions of the mincemeat pie where meat is replaced by vegetable fat. Here, we shall take a look at some delicious mincemeat pie recipes.

Ingredients
Salt (1 teaspoon)
Ice cold water (1/3 cup)
Mincemeat (1 jar - 32 ounces)
Medium lemon zest (1)
Egg yolk (1)
Milk (2 teaspoons)
Cold shortening (1/3 cup)
Cold margarine (1/3 cup)
All-purpose flour (1 3/4 cups)
Light rum – optional (2 tablespoons)
Chopped pecans or walnuts - optional

Preparation
In a medium sized bowl, combing the flour with salt. Cut in the cold shortening and add the margarine. When the mixture bears a close resemblance to small peas, sprinkle around 1/3 cup of ice-cold water. Now, quickly turn it into a ball. Wrap this dough in waxed paper and chill it in a refrigerator for an hour. Meanwhile, combine mincemeat with some lemon zest and place it aside.

Prepare a floured surface and roll out 2/3 of the chilled pastry. Take a nine-inch plate and line it with the pastry and trim the edges. Pour in the mincemeat mixture. Meanwhile, roll out the remaining pastry and cut 10 strips having a width of around ¾ inch. Now, arrange 6 strips in a crosswise fashion on the pie. Place four strips lengthwise. Once done, press gently into the sides of the pie shell. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolk with milk. Use this preparation to brush over the pastry. Bake this in a preheated oven for 10 minutes at 425 degrees F. After a duration of 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Now, you can use rum to sprinkle on the top and even use some walnuts as well.