I was trolling around Instagram the other day and I came across a reel where a woman made Nutella Puff Pastry Gingerbread Men. Seriously cute. You can see that reel here. I bookmarked it with the idea in mind that I would like to try it.
But then the wheels in my head started rolling and I thought to myself . . . Do you know what would be even better than Nutella? MINCEMEAT! Yes!! Mincemeat! (Forgive me for shouting, I just love the stuff so darned much! I couldn't help myself.)
When I told you I could easily eat my weight in Mince Pies over the holiday season, I wasn't kidding. I just can't get enough of the stuff. You can easily make your own from scratch. I have a recipe here that I like to use by Delia Smith.
I also have another variation that I will sometimes make by Nigel Slater. It is from his Christmas Book and is very good.
Another great love of mine is Gingerbread Men. I have loved them since I was a child. The Gingerbread Man was one of my favorite story books when I was really small and in my head I can still hear my father's voice squeaking out "Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread Man!"
Yes, my father is responsible for my voracious reading habit. He is to blame. He is also to blame for my love of gingerbread.
When my children were growing up I would create a Gingerbread Cottage or some such for them every year at Christmas. It would have melted candy stained glass windows and all sorts of candy decorations. All of which would magically disappear, one by one, in the days running up to Christmas.
One year I decorated our Christmas tree out entirely in Gingerbread Men. Complete with dried currant eyes and cinnamon heart buttons. They were hung on with little gingham ribbons. I used the wrong kind of gingerbread however tasty it was and our whole Christmas was punctuated with the soft plops of gingerbread men falling as the ribbons worked their way through the gingerbread.
It was very pretty though, and smelled fantastic! They were hung all over the tree along with candy canes and popcorn cranberry garlands. I think that was my favorite Christmas tree of all time.
Making Gingerbread Man Mince Pies was such an easy thing to do. It hardly needs explaining, but I have done so anyways, so those of us who are not really seasoned baker will be able to bake them too.
These would be really cute at any get-together and of course on Christmas day itself. The number that you get depends entirely on the size of your sheets of puff pastry and the size of your gingerbread man cutter.
I used the President's Choice All Butter Puff Pastry which comes frozen and contains two 10 inch square sheets. I know that sheets of puff pastry can vary greatly in size.
I also used a Wilton Gingerbread Man Cookie Cutter that I bought at my local health food store. Here is one on Amazon so that you can see what it looks like. I really liked his shape. It is not so tall and is kind of chubby/wide.
I was really pleased with how they came out. Nice and flaky with sweet crunchy demerara glaze. The filling does ooze out a bit at the sides but that only adds to their charm and their taste. In my opinion anways.
Those oozing bits caramelize a bit and get crunchy in places, which is something I found to be very moreish when combined with that flaky buttery pastry!
I punched holes into the face and for button holes in them prior to baking by using the narrow end of a chop stick. I did have to re-punch a few when they came out of the oven, but I thought they were really cute regardless.
I thought about glazing them, but then I simply dusted them with some icing sugar, which I think was the perfect finish to them. An icing sugar glaze might have been much too sweet. What I love most about mince pies is that moreish mix of savory and sweet.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GINGERBREAD MAN MINCE PIES
Just a few simple ingredients. I am sure if you didn't have puff pastry you could use regular flaky or Rough Puff pastry and they would be just as cute and just as delicious!
- 2 sheets of frozen all butter puff pastry, ready rolled, thawed
- 1 small jar of prepared mincemeat
- 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water (egg wash)
- demerara (turbinado) sugar as needed
- icing sugar
HOW TO MAKE GINGERBREAD MAN MINCE PIES
These really are very simple and as I said, the number of gingerbread men you get will vary according to the size of your pastry and your cutter.
Preheat your oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Line with baking parchment and spray the parchment lightly with nonstick baking spray.Warm the mincemeat for about 10 seconds in the microwave to make it easier to spread.Unroll one piece of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and press out any kinks or cracks. Using a spatula, spread the mincemeat onto the pastry in an even layer. Unroll the other piece of puff pastry and lay on top to cover, pressing the two layers together lightly.Using a sharp edged Gingerbread man cookie cutter, stamp out as many gingerbread men as you can. (My cutter is a fat one about 4 inches tall and I got five gingerbread men out of the 10-inch squares of puff pastry that we have here in Canada.)Transfer to the lined baking sheet. Using the narrow end of a chopstick, poke holes for eyes and buttons into the gingerbread men.Brush lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with the demerara sugar.(You can transfer any off cuts to another baking sheet and brush them with some egg wash and sprinkle with sugar also. That way nothing goes to waste.)Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. They will ooze a bit, but that's what gives you those lovely sweet crispy bits along the edges.You may need to re-punch the eye and button holes. Leave to cool and then dust with icing sugar to serve.Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
These were really delicious and really cute. I shared them with my next door neighbor who really loved them. A joy shared is a joy doubled!
Some other mincemeat creations here in The English Kitchen are:
CHRISTMAS MORNING BREAKFAST BUNS - Easy and quick to make, they are composed of a rich and buttery buttermilk scone dough . . . enhanced with holiday flavours of orange and cinnamon . . . spread with mincemeat . . . homemade or store bought. Sliced into rolls and then placed into a baking dish and baked to perfection. A sweet glaze finishes off these delicious baked buns.
QUICK FRUITED TEA CAKE - A light and fruity farmhouse style of fruit cake that is quick and easy to make and needs no aging to perfection. It is deliciously edible on the day, especially when quaffed down with copious amounts of hot tea! This is a real winner of a tea cake. Perfect for ant time.
Yield: variableAuthor: Marie Rayner
Gingerbread Man Mince Pies
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 MinOh but these are lovely, with their buttery flakey pastry, sweet mincemeat filling, crispy edges and that golden sugar crusted glaze. Cute also!Ingredients
- 2 sheets of frozen all butter puff pastry, ready rolled, thawed
- 1 small jar of prepared mincemeat
- 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water (egg wash)
- demerara (turbinado) sugar as needed
- icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Line with baking parchment and spray the parchment lightly with nonstick baking spray.
- Warm the mincemeat for about 10 seconds in the microwave to make it easier to spread.
- Unroll one piece of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and press out any kinks or cracks. Using a spatula, spread the mincemeat onto the pastry in an even layer. Unroll the other piece of puff pastry and lay on top to cover, pressing the two layers together lightly.
- Using a sharp edged Gingerbread man cookie cutter, stamp out as many gingerbread men as you can. (My cutter is a fat one about 4 inches tall and I got five gingerbread men out of the 10-inch squares of puff pastry that we have here in Canada.)
- Transfer to the lined baking sheet. Using the narrow end of a chopstick, poke holes for eyes and buttons into the gingerbread men.
- Brush lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with the demerara sugar.(You can transfer any off cuts to another baking sheet and brush them with some egg wash and sprinkle with sugar also. That way nothing goes to waste.)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. They will ooze a bit, but that's what gives you those lovely sweet crispy bits along the edges.
- You may need to re-punch the eye and button holes. Leave to cool and then dust with icing sugar to serve.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Did you make this recipe?
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Here are the off cuts that I baked on another tray. They are a bit quizzical looking but equally delicious! Nothing went to waste here!
I saved all these cheeky little bake scraps for myself. Heaven.
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