Blegh. They make mince pies sweeter every year. All I can taste is sugar.
I only ever eat home-made mince pies these days, for precisely that reason.
My sister makes very good ones, with frangipane topping.
This year, I have been making mince pies as an excuse to practise my pastry-making technique. I made two batches with puff pastry, which were fantastic, if I say so myself. And over the weekend, I made another batch with
pâte sablée1. It was an interesting experiment but probably not one I'll repeat, as they were a little too sweet for our tastes - though nowhere near as bad as mass produced shop-bought versions.
My wife makes them with a plain shortcrust, which I like but always feel they need something to lift them, which is why I tried the
pâte sablée. I might try a
pâte brisée2 for the next attempt.
For next year, I'll get my arse in gear and make my own mincemeat too. I've been using shop-bought, which is generally pretty revolting. It's not like it's a difficult thing to make, just needs to be done well in advance to give it time to mature.
1. enriched shortcrust made with huge amounts of butter, plus icing sugar and egg yolks
2. enriched shortcrust, but not sweetened