I know I’ll probably say this about a lot of the things I’m going to bake this season, but I’m going to say it anyways: these are one of my favourite Holiday treats. I could eat a whole batch. But I don’t. It’s all I can do to hold myself back from doing so though. They should be your favourite too: they freeze well, travel well, and look cute — perfect for that tin of cookies/treats you bring to that next get-together, no?

(I do, however, have a confession to make about them: I’m never quite sure what to call them. I’ve settled on ‘turnovers’ but they could just as easily be called ‘mini-handpies’ or even ‘empanadas’. I’m going to remind myself not to sweat it.)

The pastry is *very* forgiving and has always turned out flaky for me. (score!) You can make it a day or two ahead and keep it in the fridge, or go crazy way beforehand, and stick it in your freezer to have ready for when you need it. Another point to cheer about this pastry, is that you can make it by hand or in a food processor. I’ve done it both ways, and it’s worked great both ways for me.

Another bonus: if you’re not into mincemeat, use something else that you do like — just make sure that it has a similar texture (chunky and thick not sloppy). I’ve tried making turnovers like these with jams, and they tend to split open and ooze. A chutney would probably work great.

Afterwards, if you have mincemeat left over at the end, and want to try making something else, try making a batch of Mincemeat Muffins (another favourite!)

The Recipe:

Makes about 30 turnovers (if you plan on making more, do so in separate batches — this recipe does not double well)
Pastry from Fanny Farmer

2 cups / 500mL flour
1/2 tsp / 2mL salt
3 tbsp / 45mL sugar
3/4 cup / 185mL cold butter
2 egg yolks
4 tbsp / 60 mL water

1/2 cup / 125mL mincemeat

milk for brushing
sugar for sprinkling

How-To:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees (F) / 215 degrees (C)

Make pastry by either

• sifting flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Cut in cold butter, and pulse until butter pieces are the size of peas. With the machine on, drop egg and water through chute. Continue to mix until dough comes together in a ball — this will take approximately 20 – 40 seconds.
  OR
• sift flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender or two knives, or with cold fingers — work until butter about the size of peas. Mix the egg yolk and water together, then stir into the flour mixture — a wooden or other large spoon works great for this. Continue until it comes together in a ball.

Wrap pastry in plastic wrap and chill for 20 or more minutes.

When ready to use, divide pastry into 2 or 3 sections. Start with one, and refrigerate the portions not in use. Roll pastry very thin — approximately 1/8 inch / 2mm thick. (Thinner dough bakes better in this shape.) Dip a glass or round cookie cutter that is about 3 1/4 inches / 8mm in diameter into flour, then cut out circles from the dough, re-dipping the glass or cutter in flour after each circle.

Place each circle of dough on your cookie sheet. On each circle, place 1/2 tsp / 2mL of mincemeat — I used regular cutlery teaspoons for this and only used half a spoonful for each circle of dough (it might be more than a strict 1/2 tsp /2mL.) Fold the circle in half and seal the edges first with your fingers, then with a fork. Brush each with milk and sprinkle with sugar (you could substitute an egg wash in this step if you wanted.)

Use a knife to vent the top of each turnover — stars are traditional for mincemeat, but feel free to get creative! Bake for 10 minutes — crusts should be golden around the edges. Remove to cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Notes:

• pastry works best when butter is very cold, especially when using a food processor.

This weekend I went to the market and innocently bought the larger size of peach basket thinking “Hey! We can totally use that up! No problem! Easy peasy!” Yeah, I’m so naive sometimes.

By the time I was walking away from the stall, I already knew I’d have to get creative to make sure that none go to waste. But, I like a challenge, and these peaches are pretty tasty, so I thought I’d use some up by making a pie. I’ve made pastry before, and I’ve made tarts, but I’ve never made a pie, so this was going to be something new — not necessarily impossible, but new. No worries though, ’cause I knew Fanny Farmer had my back.

I’ve also had an awful lot of candied ginger on hand for a while, and since peaches an ginger are pretty tasty together, I thought I’d adapt the recipe for ‘Fresh Peach Pie’ and make it my own.

Oh. My. God. It smelled so good coming out of the oven that the BF & I couldn’t wait to try it. Little did I know that pies don’t set until they are cooled, and cutting into it too soon meant the filling pooled in the pan. That’s why the photo above has flat pastry and fruit all over the plate.

Please don’t base your decision to try this pie on my badly styled photo — make this pie ’cause it’s totally worth it :-)

The Recipe:

Makes one 9-inch pie

Pastry
2 1/2 cup / 350g / 625mL flour
1/2 tsp / 2mL salt
3/4 cup / 185mL butter
6-7 tbsp / 90-105mL cold water

Filling
4 cups / 1L peeled & sliced fresh peaches (approximately 10)
1 tbsp / 15mL lemon juice1 cup / 200g / 250mL sugar
4 tbsp / 60mL flour
1/4 cup / 60mL chopped candied ginger
milk for brushing (optional)
sugar for sprinkling (optional)

vanilla ice cream for topping (optional)

How-To:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F) / 220 degrees (C)

Begin by making the pastry: mix the flour and salt together. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives. Continue to cut and mix until the butter is about the size of peas. (It will have an uneven texture, but go for averages.) Sprinkle the water onto the mixture one tablespoon at a time and mix in. Do not use all the water if you don’t have to — you only want to use enough for it to hold itself together when pressed into a ball.

Divide the dough in two, and chill one half. With the other half, roll out flat enough to fit a 9 inch pie pan with a little folding over the edges. Place in the fridge if hot in your work area.

Make the filling: Mix the peaches and lemon juice together. Cover with the sugar, flour and candied ginger, and stir to combine.

Pour the peach filling into the pie crust. Roll out the other half of the pie dough flat enough to cover the pie. Place on top of the filling. Crimp the edges with a fork or with your fingers and slice vents in the top to allow the steam to release when baking. Optional: brush with milk and sprinkle the top with sugar.

Bake at 425 degrees (F) / 220 degrees (C) for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees (F) / 180 degrees (C) and continue to bake until golden brown on top — approximately 30 – 40 minutes.

Enjoy!