Rich, buttery, and perfectly sweet, these frangipane mince pies elevate the classic festive treat with an almondy twist. We’re making these all from scratch and I have a tip for making the pastry next-level delicious. I guarantee I to have to make more than one batch of these because all the family LOVE them.
The best mince pies are these frangipane Mince Pies with easy homemade pastry. Serve warm (nothing beats scoffing a still-warm mince pie from the cooling rack).
Or serve cold (a packed lunch treat to put a smile on your face) for a delicious traditional Christmas snack.
📋 Ingredients
For the pastry dough
I’m usually fairly lazy when it comes to pastry – buying the pre-made and pre-rolled stuff. However this is an easy version and only takes a couple of minutes to pull together (plus a bit of chilling time in the fridge).
- Plain Flour (all purpose flour)
- Icing Sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- Cold cubed butter
- Egg
- Orange Zest (that’s my secret ingredient)
You can substitute in shop-bought sweet shortcrust pastry but the orange zest in this pastry really gives the whole mince pie a lift and makes it extra Christmassy.
For the frangipane and filling
I did stick with the pre-made mincemeat though, you can make your own but the shop bought stuff is just as nice and saves on time. We also need:
- Ground almonds (almond meal)
- Almond extract
- Golden caster sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Flaked almonds
- Icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- Mince meat – this is the sweet, jammy, raisin-y stuff you buy in jars. Not meat!! No actual meat is used in mince pies!!
🥧 How to Make Frangipane Mince Pies
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
Make the shortcrust pastry dough
- Pulse the flour, icing sugar and cold butter in a food processor until the mixture is the texture of fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg and orange zest and pulse again until the dough just starts to come together.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to a single layer thats 4mm (a little over 1/8th of an inch) thick.
- Cover with cling film and place in the fridge to rest for 30-60 mins.
Pro Tip
For the perfect shortcrust pastry make sure the cubed butter is cold. Also we’re only pulsing the food processor until the dough just comes together, this will ensure we don’t overwork the dough resulting in a tough chewy dough rather than a soft crumbly pastry.
Make the frangipane
The frangipane is an easy home-made recipe too. Similar to the one I use in my peach and almond tart, you don’t need a mixer – just whisk it together in a bowl before spooning on top of the mincemeat-filled pastry cases.
- Place the softened. butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat it together until it goes a nice pale colour.
- Add almond extract and an egg and mix until combined.
- Then stir in the ground almonds then place in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
Bringing it all together
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F (fan)
- Cut the pastry into rounds using a fluted 8cm cutter and gently press them into your cake tin. You should get 16-18 minced pies so you may need to work in 2 batches.
- Add the mincemeat and top with a blob of the frangipane.
- Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown
- Place them on a wire rack to cool before dusting with icing sugar and serving.
Chris absolutely LOVEs anything with almond flavours, from my Rhubarb and Almond Cake, Frangipane Croissants and even eating the leftover marzipan when I’m decorating my Christmas cake or making a Battenberg, so I know these almond mince pies will be gone in mere hours!
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🍽️ What to serve it with
Serve them warm or cold, just as they are. Or you can top with a blob of extra thick cream or serve with homemade custard.
I guarantee Chris will have a big smile on his face with a nice cup of tea and a frangipane mince pie (or 3) in front of the TV every Sunday afternoon in December!
These have truly replaced the traditional mince pies in our house. The frangipane topping and the hint of orange in the shortcrust pastry just takes them to another level making them the best mince pies.
🍰 More fantastic baking ideas
? Frequently Asked Questions
In the UK mince pies are a Christmas staple but they are not anywhere near as common in other countries. In my opinion they’re missing out.
🥄 Equipment
In order to make these delicious festive Frangipane Mince Pies you will need:
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For the Pastry (or you can use ready-rolled sweet shortcrust pastry):
Pastry
-
First, make the pastry – Place the flour, confectioners’ sugar, and butter in a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form.
240 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, 3 tbsp confectioners’ (icing) sugar, 125 g (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) unsalted butter
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Add the orange zest and egg and pulse again until it just comes together (add a couple of drops of cold water if it’s still too crumbly to come together).
finely grated zest of 1 orange, 1 medium egg
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Place the pastry on a large piece of baking parchment. Squash together to form it into a ball, then place a second large piece of baking parchment on top. Squash the ball down with your hands, then roll it out to 4mm (a little over 1/8th of an inch) thick with a rolling pin.
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Place in the fridge to chill for 30-60 minutes.
Frangipane
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Whilst the pastry is chilling, make the frangipane. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat it together with a wooden spoon or hand mixer for a couple of minutes – until it goes paler.
90 g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened, 100 g (1 cup) golden caster sugar (or use superfine)
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Stir in the egg and almond extract until mixed.
1 large egg, 1/2 tsp almond extract
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Then stir in the ground almonds. Place in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
90 g (1 1/2 cup) ground almonds (almond meal)
Frangipane mince pies
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Preheat the oven to 190C/375F (fan).
-
Once the pastry is chilled, peel off both sides of the baking parchment and cut out rounds in the pastry using an 8cm/3″ fluted cutter. Re-roll the pastry as necessary. You should get 16-18 rounds.
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Press each piece of pastry carefully into the hole of a 12-hole cake tin (a regular fairy-cake tin – not a muffin tin, mine is 2.25 cm (just under an inch) deep). You’ll need two trays, or cook them in 2 batches.
-
Fill each pastry- hole with a tablespoon of mincemeat, then top with a tablespoon of frangipane and smooth the top slightly (it will spread as it cooks, so you don’t need to be too neat, its approximately 19g of the frangipane mixture per pie). Be sure not to top with too much frangipane, as it will overflow.
410 g (14.5 oz) jar mincemeat, 4 tbsp flaked almonds
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Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
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Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Then remove from the tray and place on a cool rack to cool further. Sift over a little confectioners’ sugar, then serve warm or cold.
2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
Storage:
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing:
Place cooled mince pieces in an airtight container and freeze. Defrost for a couple of hours at room temperature before serving.
Reheating:
If you want to serve them warm (from room temp/defrosted), place in the oven at 170C/325F (fan), on a baking sheet. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until hot.
Nutritional Information is per mince pie.
Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 136mg | Potassium: 40mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 325IU | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This frangipane mince pie recipe was first published in Dec 2015, Updated in Dec 2024 with new pictures, slightly improved recipe and with added information.
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