Yellow Pea Pastry Mince Pies

Method

1. Put the flour, sugar and cubed butter into a large mixing bowl. Rub the butter and the flour between your thumb and fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and there are no lumps of butter.
2. In a small bowl, beat the egg together with four tablespoons of cold water. Pour into the flour mixture.
3. Slowly bring the ingredients together with your hands to form a dough, taking care not to overwork it (though overworking is less of an issue than it might be with a wheatflour).
4. Knead the dough lightly on a floured work surface, wrap it in cling film and refrigerate until firm (around 30 minutes).
5. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Dust the work surface with flour and roll the chilled dough out thinly. Grease the pie trays and using a pastry cutter (or rim of a glass) cut 24 discs and press them gently into the molds. Fill the cases with about a dessert spoon of mincemeat each. Use a pastry brush to paint water or milk around the rim of each pie. Cut 24 more discs (ideally slightly smaller than the first) and put them over the mincemeat gently pressing the edges. Use the back of a fork to help create a better seal.
6. Use any spare pastry to decorate the pies then pierce each pie with a fork to let the steam out and glaze with milk, egg or water and sugar.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden-brown.
8. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or leave to cool.