Mince pies

Ingredients

To make about 30 mince pie parcels you need:

• 150g raisins

• 75g dates (without the stones)

• 150g chopped cooking apples

• mashed banana

• 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 150ml unsweetened apple juice

• 6 sheets of filo pastry

• 150ml semi-skimmed milk

• icing sugar (optional)

Equipment

• an ADULT to help you!

• saucepan

• teaspoon

• wooden spoon

• sharp knife for chopping

• measuring jug

• kitchen scales

• baking tray (grease it with a little low-fat margarine to make sure the pastry doesn't stick)

• oven - heated to 190 degrees Celcius/Gas mark 5

• oven gloves

• pastry brush 

• sieve (for the icing sugar)

Step 1

Put the chopped apple, dates, raisins, mashed banana, juice and spices into a saucepan.
Heat the mixture on the hob until it is simmering. Let it simmer for 20 minutes, stirring it often, until it becomes a fruit pulp.

Step 2

Whilst the mixture is simmering you can get the filo pastry ready.
Roll the sheets of pastry out flat - remember to make sure your surface is clean.

Ask an adult to help you cut squares of pastry (10cm x 10cm) using some kitchen scissors.
Lightly brush the pastry squares with milk. Lay 3 squares of pastry on top of each other.

When the fruit mixture is ready ask an adult to take it off the heat. Let the pan cool down for a few minutes.
Now, use a teaspoon to put 1 spoonful of the mixture in the middle of each pastry square. Next, pinch the corners of the pastry together to make a parcel, with the fruit mixture in the middle.
Gently lift up each parcel and put it on the baking tray.

Step 3

Ask an adult to help you put the baking tray in the oven and bake the parcels for 10 minutes, or until they turn a little bit brown.

Step 4

When they are ready, ask an adult to take the parcels out of the oven and let the baking tray cool for a few minutes.
Then, put the mince pie parcels onto a plate and sieve a little icing sugar on top of them to look like snow.

Turn the page to see another way of presenting your mince pies...

Step 5

Instead of parcels you could make your mince pies into nests.
To do this, you need to cut squares of pastry as before and then lay the squares in the holes of a bun tray. Try to overlap the corners of each square a little to make a kind of 'nest' look.

Step 6

Then, add a heaped teaspoonful of the fruit mixture to each nest.

Step 7

Put the nests in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges of the pastry have become slightly brown.
When they are ready, ask an adult to take them out of the oven. Let the tray cool for a few minutes.

Step 8

Now arrange the mince pie nests on a plate and sieve a little icing sugar onto them.

Remember to save one for Santa!

Why not try making some warm winter punch to go with your mince pies?