Marzipan Mince Pies Recipe: Easy and Delicious

This marzipan mince pies recipe is a delicious twist on a classic favourite: the mince pie. Mince pies are such a part of Christmas that it seems a little naughty to modify the traditional mince pie in any way, but I have. It’s wonderful, even if I say so myself.

This recipe is simple as always. Making these mince pies is easy; you don’t need oceans of time or patience, but you will have delicious, fruity, festive mince pies to share with family and friends.

Crumble-topped Marzipan Mince Pies

This is an overview of this easy recipe for homemade mince pies. It uses;

• ready-made pastry – if you use ready-made pastry that is pre-rolled, these crumble-topped pies are even less stressful to make.
• ready-made mincemeat – you can find lovely fruit mincemeat varieties for sale these days, so if you don’t have time to make your own, then these make lovely mince pie fillings.
• ready-made marzipan – I’ve rarely taken the time to make my own marzipan; store-bought is good, plus you can choose between white or golden colours. I don’t think that affects the taste in any way, or at least not that I can detect.
• Crumble topping – made with flour and butter, with ground nutmeg and grated orange zest mixed in for a truly festive finish.
• Icing sugar – This is entirely optional, but a light dusting of icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar) is a nice touch.
• Muffin pan – I use a 12 hole muffin pan to make these pies in. They’re deeper than a bun tin, so you can make quite a deep fruit pie. It gives a lot of lovely space for the mincemeat. Delicious.

Why you’ll love these mince pies

I’m confident that this marzipan mince pies recipe is going to be a new favourite for the following reasons;

• Let’s face it, not everyone loves the traditional pastry-topped mince pie. These are a lighter, less rich version, with a crumble topping which includes gorgeous Christmas flavours of orange zest and nutmeg.
• The crumble/streusel topping is flavoured with orange zest and nutmeg, which is delicious.
• Small pieces of marzipan added to the filling provide loads of almond flavour.
• These are very easy to make.
• They look very pretty as part of a buffet and genuinely look as if they took far more skill to make than they actually do.

How to make Marzipan Mince Pies Recipe

• Gather together all your ingredients; in my experience, this makes the whole cooking thing less traumatic.
• Grease your 12-hole muffin tin. I’ve used a muffin tin with fairly deep cavities, as this means there’s plenty of space for a good amount of mincemeat and diced marzipan. If you have a non-stick tray, still grease it well, which will ensure that the pies can be easily removed from the pan once they’re baked.
• Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/160C Fan
• Make the Crumble topping by rubbing the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add in the grated zest of an orange and the ground (or freshly grated) nutmeg, if using.
• Take the ready-rolled shortcrust pastry and remove it from the packaging. Gently unroll it on the countertop. Take your pastry cutter. (The size of the pastry cutter needs to be large enough that the cut-out disc of pastry fills the cavities of your muffin tin.) The one I used for this tray was 3 1/2 inches in diameter.
• Cut out 12 pastry discs; these will be the bases of the pies. Place them gently into the greased baking tray and depress lightly so that they fill the baking cup.
• Dice the marzipan. Measure the mincemeat into a small bowl and add the marzipan to it. Mix to combine, breaking up any clumps of marzipan ( It can be a little sticky). Divide this mixture equally among the bases.
• Fill each base with mincemeat. Fill almost to the top, but be careful not to go over the edges.

• Using a teaspoon, divide the crumble topping among the pies. The aim is to cover the filling completely.
• Place on the middle shelf in the oven and bake until golden, approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

Storing Mince Pies

Your freshly baked mince pies need to be cooled and then stored in an airtight container. This way, they’ll last for about a week.

Mince pies are one of those things that can be baked ahead of time and frozen until needed. They’ll last quite happily for up to three months when frozen before they begin to deteriorate slightly.

To freeze mince pies

Baked or unbaked mince pies may be successfully frozen. To freeze, use resealable boxes; these will protect the mince pies whilst in the freezer from being damaged. Place a sheet of baking parchment between any layers to prevent them from sticking together.

When yoy’re ready to eat them, thaw (both baked pies or unbaked) on the counter for about an hour. For frozen unbaked pies, bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 350F/180C/160C Fan. For baked pies warm them through in a cool oven of 250F/120C/100C Fan for 10 to 15 minutes until warmed through. They’ll be delicious.

I don’t recommend a microwave for this task as it tends to make the pastry a little soggy and the insides of the marzipan mince pies molten hot. I wouldn’t want anyone to get a scalded mouth.

Serving Mince Pies

I suspect everyone has a favourite way of serving mince pies. I usually dust these pies with a little icing sugar, which always looks a little festive. However, there are other ways, warmed is always nice, and my father’s family always served them with rum butter, which I think is quite rich. They can also be served with a little single or double cream for a treat.

Frequently Asked Questions About this Marzipan Mince Pies Recipe

Other recipes you may like;

• Easy Mince Pies
• Last Minute Christmas Cake
• Delicious Cheese Straws
• Easy Bacon and Cheese Turnover
• Sausage Rolls using ready-made pastry

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