Hot Christmas Mince Pies.

There is no smell more hot, or more Christmassy delicious than home made mince pies, served hot from your oven. You may have your own recipe, or a recipe passed down to you from your Mom. You might have found something on the internet you're longing to try out (included here is a delicious Delia Smith recipe), or you don't have time to make them from scratch so you're using prepared bought pastry and jars of filling. Whichever recipe you chose, here are some tips for making your mince pies as well as suggestions how to keep them stored and ready to serve, fresh and spicy, all through your Christmas season, even at short notice, so that you always have them ready - to serve up hot.

1. Make a list of everything you need to make your pies, including ingredients and dishes for making and serving them.
2. Get your kitchen clean and a work surface organized.
3. What kind of pastry baking tin?
4. How to freeze your mince pies, or keep them fresh for a few days.
5. How to warm them up and serve hot.

Here's the list of what you'll need to have, aside from your oven and all your recipe ingredients. Having everything organized ahead helps getting those pies made swiftly. The quicker you are making them, the more likely they will melt in your mouth.

1. Pastry tins (pans), preferably for 24 small pastries, non-stick tins are much easier.
2. Deep ceramic mixing bowl.
3. Rolling pin.
4. 1 refrigerator bag - to store the pastry in, after mixing, in the refrigerator.
5. A pastry brush to glaze the pies (with a beaten egg), or milk (if you don't want a glaze finish).
6. A dish with a few tablespoons of cold milk - to dampen down the edges of the bottom and top pie crust.
7. A pair or scissors to snip the pie tops (to let the steam out) before putting the mince pies in the oven.
8. An oven rack to put your mince pies on to cool down after the oven, a small one is fine.
9. A small sieve for icing sugar at the very end.
10. Pretty serving platter, or a Christmas paper napkin to cover an ordinary plate.

A pound sterling - £1. Is 3.15 mm thick

It's made from nickel and brass.

It weights 9.5 grams

The coin pictures Queen Elizabeth 11 and on the reverse, the Royal Shield.

The tips and secrets to making the pastry for your mince pies, if you are making your own, (or following Delia's) are

• cold hands,
• cold butter (or shortener of your choice)
• a few tablespoons of cold water, to blend at the end of deftly mixing
• leaving the dough in your refrigerator for 25-30 mins, so it's easier to roll out
• while the pastry dough is getting cold, beat an egg in a small dish so it's ready for glazing the pies (before putting them in the oven)
• pour a few tablespoons of cold milk into a dish ready for sealing the pies together.

Some of these tips will be useful to remember if you're using bought pastry!

Following your recipe, deftly mix the flour, the butter and a pinch of salt until it forms a ball, either with a food processor, or by hand in a deep ceramic or glass bowl.

Put this pastry ball in a refrigerator bag and set in the refrigerator for about a half an hour.

Turn the oven on 15 minutes before baking.

Lightly butter the pastry pans.

Roll out the pastry about £1 coin thick. (3.15 mm)

With a pastry cutter, cut out the bases and then with a smaller cutter, cut the tops of the pie cases. If you don't have pastry cutters, then a large wine glass and a shot-glass, turned upside down work just fine!

Place the larger rounds of dough in the baking pans.

Fill with a not- heaped teaspoon of Mince Meat.

Cover with the smaller rounds.

Dampen round the edges with cold milk, joining the tops and bottoms. (It is best not to over-fill the pastries because if the filling comes out during cooking it can burn and ruin the taste of the pies.)

Quickly glaze with little brush (with egg or milk).

Snip the tops with scissors.

Bake in the oven.

When they are a golden brown, but not dark, take them out and put them on an oven rack to cool down

Once cooled down, the mince pies will keep fresh a few days closed in an airtight container.

You can also freeze them, placing oven paper between the pies, in layers, in an airtight container. Simply wait for them to cool.

How to heat the mince pies:

• if you have'nt frozen them, simply heat the oven for 10 minutes on a low heat, then warm them up for about 10 minutes.
• microwaving them is fine too.
• from frozen you need to thaw them first, then heat gently in a warm oven (not a hot oven).

Hot Christmas Mince Pies have to be hot, sprinkled with icing sugar and served off a pretty platter. They are sweet and spicy served with Christmas drinks such as mulled wine, port, sherry or with cups of afternoon tea. They're great all over Christmas anytime, especially good with fresh cream dribbled over them too.

Happy Holidays!