Chocolate - If you really want to experiment then try stirring in a little grated chocolate or melting it into the mincemeat. And once you’ve mastered those, keep reading. We have some fancier alternative mince pie recipes for you too. To make sure everyone can enjoy their best version of a mince pie we have also tested the shop-bought gluten-free mince pies on offer in the supermarkets. Our food experts have informed us that they have improved since previous years. So, if you still don’t want to get your bake on, then take a look our gluten-free mince pie Best Buys. How to get the best from your mince pies Dan Lepard, award-winning baker and Which? expert

Make sure you follow the reheating instructions on the box. Of course, you could always simply dust them with icing sugar and serve with a sprig of holly, while throwing another log on the fire and listening to Silent Night... With a fluted pastry cutter, cut out 6 x 8cm/3¼ in pastry circles for the lids (slightly bigger than the top of the muffin cups). Place a lid on top of each pie and gently push down. Sprinkle with caster sugar. If you don’t fancy making your own. Our experts have taste tested premium mince pies and there was one clear winner. Discover which supermarket made this year's best mince pies. Easy mince pies with pastry that will impress To make the pastry, place the flour and salt in a food processor and add the butter. Using the pulse function, whizz until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the icing sugar and pulse again to mix. Add the beaten egg mixture and pulse briefly to mix to a rough dough. The early mince pie was also known as a mutton pie or a Christmas pie and was filled with meat, such as lamb, beef and game, rather than the dried fruit mix they are today. The pies were bigger and oval shaped then and came about as a way of preserving the meat.Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. To make the sweet pastry, rub the flour, butter, sugar and egg together with a splash of cold water until it just comes together as a dough. Do not over work the dough. Wrap the pastry in cling film and set aside to chill in the fridge while you make the filling.

Tips for living well – get our free Food & Health newsletter - shop savvy, eat well, stay healthy How to make easy mince piesIf making the pastry by hand, put the flour into a large bowl. Grate in the butter using the coarse grater blade on a box grater. Coat the butter in the flour by lightly mixing it with your fingers. Using your fingertips, lightly rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the caster sugar and salt. Using a table knife, stir in the beaten egg mixture to make a rough dough, then turn out onto a lightly floured board and bring together into a ball. Wrap and rest in the fridge as above. Place the flour, sugar, almonds and butter in a food processor and process briefly until resembling breadcrumbs, then slowly add the egg through the feeder tube. (Or rub the butter into the dry ingredients by hand and stir in the egg.) Add all ingredients to bowl starting on lowest speed first (or the room will be engulfed by sugar dust!) and gradually increase the speed to fastest and mix for five minutes, until the mixture lightens in colour and texture. Orange/Lemon zest - Some people find that shop bought mincemeat can be a too sweet. Try adding some orange or lemon zest to balance out the flavours.