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Mince pies – but not as you know them. Children will love Cook School’s chocolate-y twist on the festive favourite.
Cook School are a not-for-profit organisation that aims to equip young people with the skills, knowledge and confidence to cook delicious, affordable and healthy meals at home. Working with primary and secondary schools across the UK, they’ve hosted in-person and online cook-along classes for more than 250,000 students to date, all featuring straightforward ingredients and equipment, and easy-to-follow recipes. Follow them on Instagram and sign your local school up for free cookery courses on their website.
“Getting little ones into the kitchen over the Christmas season can offer a welcome retreat away from all the festivities,” says Amanda Grant, co-founder of Cook School. “And they’ll love getting stuck in – creating the pastry from scratch before lining the tins, adding the filling (not forgetting the all-important chocolate addition) and topping their pies with pastry circles or stars for an extra-festive finish.”
Makes 16 mince pies
Preparation: 30 minutes
Baking: 15 minutes
Equipment:
1-2 bun trays (with room to make 16 mince pies)
Bowl
Table knife
Spoon
Rolling pin
Cutters
Small sieve (optional)
Ingredients:
For the chocolate pastry:
200g plain flour
100g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
50g cocoa powder
150g unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
A little cold water
For the filling:
411g jar mincemeat
Zest of 2 clementines
75g dried cranberries
100g milk chocolate, broken into pieces
To decorate:
Icing sugar and cocoa powder
Method:
Turn the oven on to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas 3.
Rub a little butter over the small bun trays.
Spoon the mincemeat mixture into a bowl, add the clementine zest and cranberries and mix together.
Put the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour, until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
Add the egg yolks and water and mix together with a table knife, then use your hands to make a ball of pastry.
Break a quarter of the pastry off and roll it out.
Cut out 16 circles of pastry big enough (approx. 7.5cm) to line the mince-pie trays.
Repeat with another quarter of the pastry.
Use the rest of the pastry to cut out 16 slightly smaller circles (about 7cm).
Spoon the mincemeat mixture into the pastry circles, placing a piece of chocolate on each.
Top the pies with the small circles, use your fingers to press around the edges to seal.
Poke a hole in the middle of each pie. Bake for 15 minutes, until cooked.
Leave to cool for a bit, before dusting with icing sugar and cocoa powder.
Serve warm.
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