Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Christmas Baking - Part 2 (More Mincemeat)

Mincemeat Filo Triangles

I tried Jamie Oliver's new mince pies a couple of times this week with my mincemeat and wasn't very happy with the results. I followed his instructions from the online recipe and they didn't really work. I found 400 F is too hot to cook filo pastry, so they were a bit on the crispy side. It turns out that the instructions on his Christmas Special on the Food Network were different than the ones online.  (I hate Uncle Jamie!) Also, I think that Jamie Oliver may just be David Brent from the original British Office, so I am finding it hard to take him seriously (watch the clip of him making these tarts and you will see it too)! I gave the pies a second go and they turned out a bit better, but maybe next year I'll try just the puff pastry rolls...

Filo and puff pastry mince pies baking

Filo and puff pastry mince pies

To use up the extra filo dough I decided to try to make filo pastry triangles stuffed with mince and I think that these turned out great! I used about one and a half cups of mince and added a splash of dark rum, the zest of one orange plus the juice of half an orange, and a handful of almonds for crunch. I made them just like spanakopita. I took a sheet of filo, brushed with melted butter, then put another sheet on top and brushed with butter. I cut the sheet into 3 even strips, put a heaping teaspoon of mince on each strip and rolled each strip into a triangle, and then brushed with more melted butter.
Right before popping in the oven sprinkle with almonds. Bake for about 25 minutes at 350 F until golden brown. Sprinkle with icing sugar fresh out of the oven and enjoy!

Making filo mince triangles

Filo mince triangles ready for the oven

Filo mincemeat triangle

Unbaked triangles can be frozen between layers of wax paper in an airtight container for a few weeks. Bake from frozen for about 30 minutes and enjoy hot from the oven!

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