Ok, please don’t hate me? I know it’s only October and yes I am posting a recipe for mince pies. Just hear me out for a sec please? Because these Cream Cheese Pastry Mince Pies are totally, out of this world amazing and it would be completely unfair for me to have waited any longer to share these with you.
Phew! I said it.
Just look at them. They are so cute and little and perfectly bite size. They’ve even got a dusting of snow.Tell me you’re not interested now – thought so!!
Cream Cheese Pastry – the easiest pastry you will ever make:
So, who would have thought of putting Cream Cheese in pastry? Yet, this recipe is based on a Pampered Chef recipe I jotted down years ago at one of their parties. Since they, (the Pampered Chef’s) are masters of quick, delicious, recipes and whilst their cooking and bakeware may be a little on the pricey side, it lasts forever. Also, this is not a sponsored post, I genuinely love their stuff.
Anyway, back to the pastry. I first saw this made and demonstarted at a Pampered Chef Party (if you host one you get great discounts – just saying!). The Cream Cheese Pastry was used to make some mini Pecan Pies and delicious they were too.
With me being me, I like to fiddle around with recipes. Because the pastry has a subtle, yet beautiful tang to it, I was sure that it would pair beautifully with sweet mincemeat. Resulting in these Cream Cheese Pastry Mince Pies.
Making a recipe work
So, with recipes I tend to be a bit of a rebel. Because if someone tells me something isn’t going to work, I want to know why and then try to figure out a way to make it work.
It was heavily stressed, during the cooking demonstration, that this pastry could not be rolled out. Well I just had to take that as a challenge and prove them wrong. And so I did.
The Cream Cheese Pastry is unbelivably soft, which is why it produces such a tender crumb. Yet, if you chill it for long enough and work quickly and methodically with it, then my lovelies, you sure can roll it out. And this little tip transforms a one recipe pastry into a whole new realm of possibilities, including my Cream Cheese Pastry Mince Pies!
Since I haven’t ever made anything bigger than a regular sized mince pie, using this pastry, I am doubtful it woud have the strength to hold together for a large tart. But I am willing to be corrected. And now I’ve written that, I may have set myself a challenge!!!
Aside from the deliciousness that this pastry brings to the mince pies, it is so easy to make. No mixer, food processor, just a bowl and a fork – really it’s that simple. Here I’ll show you how.
Recipe : Makes 36 mini Cream Cheese Pastry Mince Pies (approx 18 regular sized ones)
225g/8oz Very Soft Unsalted Butter
200g/7oz Cream Cheese – I used Philadelphia I really do think that it is the best cream cheese to use in this recipe
275g/10oz Plain White Flour
Sweet Mincement – I use Waitrose
Jam any flavour
Method :
Making the Cream Cheese Pastry
Keep chilled and make your tart cases
A good tip, as this dough warms up very easily, is to have everything you need to make the pies, ready before you start rolling the dough.
Also preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan, gas mark 6, 400F.
Due to the high fat content I never grease my tin. Feel free to do so if you are unsure of it’s non stick ability.
Gather up the pastry and re-roll if needed to cut all of your pie bases out. Make sure you have plenty of flour on the work top, otherwise this pastry will stick.
And if the pastry does start to get too sticky, wrap up in cling film and pop back in the fridge for 20 minutes to chill it.
Adding the filling
Importantly, do not overfill your pastry cups, you will literally just end up with a heated mess.
I used a scant 1/2 teaspoon of filling in each of my mini pies.
You can see the 2 vertical lines on the left are filled with blackberry jam – youngest daughter not keen on mince pies!
Use the reserved third of pastry for rolling out the lids.
Top each pie with a cutout pastry shape. I used stars for mince pies and mini flowers for jam pies.
Sprinkle a little demerera sugar on the star topped mince pies for added sparkle.
Time to bake
Place into a preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until puffed and golden.
As soon as they are baked, remove from the oven and immediately remove the pies from the tin and place on a cooling rack. Be careful the filling is extremely hot.
These Cream Cheese Pastry Mince Pies are delicious warm just as they are, or drizzled with cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream……
They can be kept at room temperature for 3 days in an airtight container, or frozen, once cold for one month. Perfect to make before Christmas and stash in the deep freeze.
Cream Cheese Pastry Mince Pies are a revelation on your taste buds.
If you have enjoyed this recipe recipe for Cream Cheese Pastry Mince Pies you may also like these:
Chocolate Christmas Pudding Cookies
Peppermint Candy Cane Topped Brownies
While Christmas is first and foremost about celebrating the birth of Jesus, it is also a time for meeting up with friends and family. Almost every shelf in the shops are laden with edible Christmas treats and they do have a place. Yet making and baking homemade goodies is also fun too. Above all, homemade treats are made with love, something that cannot be bought. And they taste a million times better than their shop bought counterparts!
So, whatever you are making, baking and creating in your kitchens have fun preparing and sharing your feast.
Sammie x
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