There are few kitchen jobs more satisfying than opening a jar of your own mincemeat in mid-December. The smell alone — dark sugar, citrus zest, warm spice and a slug of brandy — tells you immediately that these pies will taste nothing like the pale, claggy versions that appear on supermarket shelves in October. The good news is that mincemeat is almost entirely a matter of stirring things together, and the pastry is a straightforward shortcrust you can make in a food processor. Give yourself an hour this weekend and you will have a jar maturing quietly in the cupboard and a tray of pies in the oven.

Why Homemade Mincemeat Beats the Jar

Shop-bought mincemeat is built for shelf life rather than flavour. It tends to be heavy on glucose syrup and light on booze, and the suet is often the cheapest available. When you make your own you control the ratio of fruit to sugar, so the result is sharper and more aromatic rather than simply sweet. You can use butter instead of suet if you prefer a vegetarian version, and you can be generous with the brandy, rum or whisky.

It is also remarkably economical. A batch made from a bag of currants, a bag of raisins, a couple of Bramley apples and a bottle of supermarket brandy costs roughly the same as three jars of the branded stuff, and it makes about six. The flavour deepens for a fortnight after making, so it pays to get ahead.

Making the Mincemeat

This makes about 1.5kg, enough for roughly four dozen pies and a bit left over for a mincemeat crumble. You will need a large bowl, a wooden spoon and two or three sterilised jars.

• 500g Bramley apples, peeled, cored and chopped small
• 250g currants
• 250g raisins
• 150g sultanas
• 100g mixed peel, chopped
• 175g soft dark brown sugar
• 175g shredded beef suet or cold grated butter
• Zest and juice of 2 oranges and 1 lemon
• 1 tsp mixed spice, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, a good grating of nutmeg
• 100ml brandy, rum or whisky
• 50g flaked almonds, roughly broken

Tip everything into the bowl and stir thoroughly with the wooden spoon until the fruit is glossy and evenly coated. Cover with a clean cloth and leave in a cool corner of the kitchen overnight — this lets the sugar dissolve and draw juice from the apples, which is what keeps the mixture moist.

Next day, stir again, then pot into sterilised jars, pressing down firmly to remove air pockets and topping up with a little extra spirit if the mixture looks dry. Seal and store in a cool, dark cupboard. It will be ready in two weeks and keeps for up to a year. Once opened, keep it in the fridge.

A Buttery Shortcrust That Holds Its Shape

Mince pies need a pastry rich enough to be worth eating but sturdy enough to carry a wet filling. This one does both. For 12 deep pies you will need:

• 350g plain flour
• 225g cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus extra for greasing
• 50g icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 2–3 tbsp ice-cold water
• A pinch of fine salt and the zest of half an orange

Pulse the flour, icing sugar, salt and zest in a processor, then add the butter and blitz until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add the yolk and just enough water to bring it together into a firm dough — stop the moment it clumps. Flatten into two discs, wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes. Chilled pastry is the single best defence against shrinking and soggy bases.

Filling, Assembly and Baking

Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas mark 6) and put a baking tray in to warm. Grease a 12-hole deep muffin tin generously, or use a proper mince pie tin.

Roll the first disc out on a lightly floured surface to about 3mm thick. Cut 12 rounds with a 9cm cutter and press them gently into the holes, easing rather than stretching the pastry. Fill each case two-thirds full with mincemeat — overfilling is the usual cause of volcanic pies. Roll the second disc and cut 12 lids with a 7.5cm cutter, or make a star for each with a small cutter.

Dampen the rim of each case with a little water or beaten egg, sit the lid on top and press the edges to seal. Brush the tops with beaten egg and scatter with caster sugar. Chill the whole tray for 20 minutes while the oven finishes heating.

Bake on the preheated tray for 18–22 minutes until deep golden. The hot tray is what crisps the base, so do not skip it. Leave in the tin for five minutes, then run a small knife around the edges and lift onto a wire rack.

Storing, Freezing and Small Tweaks

Once completely cold, dust with icing sugar and store in an airtight tin for up to a week. Add a strip of baking parchment between layers so they do not stick. To serve, warm them for five minutes in a low oven — the contrast of hot filling and cool, crisp pastry is the whole point.

Unbaked pies freeze beautifully: open-freeze on the tray, then bag them and bake from frozen at 190°C for 25 minutes. Baked pies also freeze well and reheat from frozen in 12 minutes.

For variations, swap 50g of the raisins for chopped dried figs, add a tablespoon of marmalade to the mincemeat, or stir a little grated stem ginger into the pastry. A spoonful of orange zest in the filling lifts everything. Make a batch for the freezer now, and December will taste considerably better for it.