Air Fryer Mince Pies

Make the most of your air-fryer this Christmas with these easy vegan mince pies. Add clementine juice and zest to your pastry to give an extra festive flavour. These mince pies freeze well so you can prepare them ahead of time. I just love home made mince pies and thanks to the air fryer they are quicker and easier than ever to make. Learn how to make delicious, crispy mince pies in your air fryer with this easy to follow festive recipe.

PREP 10 minutes

COOK 10 to 15 minutes

MAKES 6 mince pies

KIT you will need an air fryer, pastry cutter, baking paper and mixing bowl

Ingredients for air fryer mince pies

500g of short crust pastry – I use store bought ready rolled for ease

Flour for dusting

350g of mince meat

1 large egg

To serve:

Some brandy cream or double cream

Icing sugar for dusting

Clementine zest (optional)

Method

Depending on the type of pasty your using, either roll it out to about half a centimetre thick or unroll it on to baking paper. So I used an eight centimetre circular cut out disc, and just make as many discs as you can. Trying to use up all of the pastry.

So start to spoon about a teaspoon of mincemeat into each pastry circle. Filling half of the pastry discs and leaving the rest of the pastry for the lids. So you could use a small star-shaped stamp, or a snowflake stamp on some of the tops, maybe half and half and put the stars and snowflakes on the plain ones.

Then in a bowl mix your egg to brush lightly around the edges. Then carefully place the lids on top and brush each mince pie with the egg wash. And I like to poke a little hole in the top of each, just to allow the steam to escape. Then use a fork to pinch around the edges to seal the pies. This makes sure the mincemeat stays inside the pie.

So leave your mince pies to chill for about 30 to 40 minutes. Set your air fryer to 180c and pop a layer of baking paper on the bottom of the basket. This will stop the mince pies from sticking to the crisper trays. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to cook your pies in batches. Cook for 8 to 10 mins and turn, you may need to cook for a further 3 to 5 minutes. Making sure your pastry is starting to brown, and your filling is piping hot.

Leave to cool and lightly dust with your icing sugar and clementine zest. Then serve with some brandy cream or double cream.