Easy almond mince pie puffs

Mince pies are a Christmas staple, and nothing beats homemade. But, how many of us have the right tin, patience or time to make traditional pies from scratch? That’s where these come in: no tins needed, no rolling or chilling, just some shop-bought puff pastry, a jar of mincemeat and some flaked almonds. Using puff pastry makes them lighter and means they can be served for breakfast. Or, make them larger and serve hot with vanilla ice cream as an alternative Christmas Day dessert.

MAKES 12 PREP 20 mins plus cooling COOK 15 mins EASY V

320g sheet ready-rolled pu pastry plain lour, for dusting

1 egg, beaten

150g mincemeat (vegetarian,

if needed)

20g laked almonds icing sugar, for dusting

1 Unroll the pastry on a lightly floured surface, and cut in half lengthways. Cut each half into six, so you have 12 squares. Working with one square at a time, fold in half diagonally to create a triangle. Lay the triangle out with the folded edge facing you. Cut a 1/2cm border along the other two edges, stopping just before the two cuts intersect. Carefully unfold the pastry, then brush the borders with a little beaten egg. Lift the far left corner of the pastry and fold it over to the right, pressing it down gently against the inner right corner to seal. Repeat from the far right corner of the pastry to the inner left corner. Arrange the pastries over two baking trays lined with baking parchment, and spoon 1 tsp mincemeat into the middle of each. Top each with a few flaked almonds. Will keep chilled for up to 24 hrs.

2 Heat the oven to 210C/190C fan/ gas 8. Brush the pastry with more egg and bake for 15-20 mins until pu ed up and golden. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy warm, or leave to cool completely. Once cooled, will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two days.

PER PIE 155 kcals • fat 9g • saturates 4g • carbs 16g • sugars 8g • ibre 1g • protein 3g • salt 0.2g