Christmas has come!

Mince Pies - A Sign that the Festive Season has Begun

Mince pies are the first sign of Christmas in the UK. These tiny tartlets, start popping up everywhere, from workplace canteens and coffee corners to the local Starbucks (...) It's supposed to be good luck to eat a mince pie every day of December and most people don't turn them down when offered.

MINCE PIES = PASTELILLOS DE FRUTA

TINY = DIMINUTO

POP UP = SURGIR, APARECER

TURN DOWN = (phr. vb) RECHAZAR

Mince pies have been eaten as part of a traditional British Christmas since as long ago as the 16th century. Then they were made of meat but are now made with sweet mincemeat; a mixture of dried fruits, sugar, spices and brandy.

SWEET MINCEMEAT =PICADILLO DULCE

Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without Mince Pies. Why? Take a look at this easy Christmas Mince Pie Recipe full of rich, sticky, sweet fruits wrapped in pastry. Delicious.

  

 Ingredients:

• 350g all purpose/plain flour (harina normal)
• Pinch (pellizco) of salt
• 225g butter
• 1 beaten egg + 1 cold water as needed
• 1 jar of mincemeat, shop bought or home made
• 2 table spoon (cuchara sopera) icing sugar

Preparation:

Heat the oven to 200°C

Make the Pastry

• Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean bowl.
• Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs (migas de pan), working as quickly as possible.
• Add the egg to the mixture and add cold water a teaspoon at a time until the mixture binds ( ligar) but don't make it too wet that it is sticky.
• Wrap (envover) the dough in plastic wrap and chill (enfriar) for a minimum of 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes

Assemble the Pies

• Choose a muffin or bun tin (molde para magdalenas)  for the size of the pie you want.  The number of pies will depend on the size of cup you choose.
• Dust a work surface lightly with a little flour and roll out two-thirds of the pastry to 3mm thick. Cut circles to line the cups of your tin, don't worry if the pastry doesn't come to the top.
• Fill the pastry lined tins 2/3 full with mincemeat.
• Roll out the remaining pastry to the same thickness (grosor) and cut smaller circles to fit as lids (tapas) on the tarts or to be decorative, cut stars or other fancy shapes.
• Dampen (humedecer) the edges of the tart bases with a little cold water and press the lids on. Make a small hole (agujero) in the surface of each pie with a small sharp knife to allow the steam (vapor) to escape..
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins (15 mins if making canape size) or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle (espolvorear) with the icing sugar.
  
  Mince pies are delicious served hot or cold ...

................................................................................................................ From: about.com