Mince Pies

Aren't they pretty?

I'm sure I've mentioned that I have a cousin who can't eat gluten. Well I happened to spending Christmas with him and his family (they are my family too, obviously) in London. Apparently the non-celiac part of the family loves mince pies and can never find decent gluten free ones, so my cousin never eats them. They were making dinner, so I promised to bring desserts (including mince pies). I made a traditional apple filling, which is simple enough (and already gluten-free.) The problem was the crust. I wanted to try a shortening based pie crust, but I couldn't find crisco, so that plan went out the window. My next idea was my favorite crust, pâte brisée. Unfortunately I cannot find my favorite gluten free flour here in the UK, so I'm experimenting with other brands while I visit. The brand I happened to be trying is heavy in potato flour and my pâte brisée tasted like potato. Yuck. Third time was the charm, happily. My pâte sucrée didn't come out perfectly but it was good and not strongly potato-y. Plus the filling was the real star. (Get it, star? Because I made little stars on top... Okay, bad joke, I know.)

Anyway, everyone seemed to like them. The whole family thought they yummy even compared to mince pies with gluten in them--and coming from Brits, that's high praise!