Mince Pies (With Homemade Mincemeat) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Filling
2 cups currants
2 cups raisins
1/2 cup brandy
3/4 cup chopped candied peel
1 lemon, juice and zest of
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 lb Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped into raisin-sized pieces
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup shredded suet (or frozen, grated shortening)
Pastry
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

For the filling, mix all the filling ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and let sit overnight to absorb all the liquid then spoon and pack into sterilised jars. Let it sit for at least 2 weeks (but longer is better) before using. (You can also just buy two 14oz jars of 'mincemeat' if you can find it).
For the pastry:
Cream the butter and sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the egg yolks and stir them in until smooth. Add the flour and salt, stir briefly then use your hands to gently knead into a uniform dough. Divide into two balls, flatten into disks and cover with plastic wrap then chill for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To assemble:
Remove one disk of pastry from fridge and unwrap. Roll out on a piece of floured baking paper until very thin - about 1/8-inch thick. Use a circular cutter to cut out twelve 3-inch circles. Place the circles into a mini tart/tartlette pan. Spoon in a heaped teaspoonful of filling. Re-roll the scraps of dough and cut out 12 stars to place ontop of each tartlet.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden and bubbling. Remove from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
Repeat the rolling, cutting and filling of the pies using the remaining pastry.
Store in an airtight container.