A Christmas tradition

As 2025 draws to a close, we’d like to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank you for your continued support, and to send our warmest wishes to you and your loved ones this Christmas.

In what has become one of our favourite festive traditions, we’re delighted to share our Christmas recipe of 2025: beautifully buttery puff pastry mince pies. Wonderfully simple to make and irresistibly moreish, they’re perfect served warm with a cup of tea -or perhaps a glass of glögg! Captured here, freshly baked in an Everhot Stove, their golden layers promise a warm and comforting Christmas treat.

Read on for the full recipe below and, if you fancy something a little extra indulgent, why not revisit last year’s jammy meringue bites as well? After all, the more the merrier!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas,

From Jo & Jamie and the Marlborough team.

The ingredients you’ll need for the Mince pies

Plain flour, for dusting

500g/1lb 2oz pack ready-made puff pastry

1 large free-range egg, beaten

350g/12oz mincemeat golden granulated or demerara sugar, for sprinkling

The ingredient you’ll need for the Pear and Cranberry Mincemeat

300g/10½oz mincemeat

25g/1oz dried cranberries

1 large orange, zest only

½ pear, cored and finely diced, no need to peel

The method

1. First have all your ingredients for the mincemeat at the ready, then simply mix the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
2. For the mince pies, dust your work surface and a rolling pin with a little flour, and roll out the pastry to £1 coin thickness. Stamp out the twelve lids first using a 7cm/2¾in round cutter. Now stamp out twelve bases using a 9cm/3½in cutter - you will need to re-roll the trimmings to get all twelve bases.
3. Push the pastry bases into the holes of a 12-hole fairy cake tin, then press the excess pastry flat around the rim to make a border. Brush some of the egg around the rims of the pastry, then spoon the mincemeat into the cases - you’ll want about 1½ tablespoons in each
4. Lay the pastry stars on top of the mincemeat centres. Brush the star tops with the rest of the beaten egg, then sprinkle with the sugar. Chill the pies for 15 minutes while you heat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
5. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before carefully lifting from the tin, then serve warm or cold.