Need help with mince pies please?

Maybe you are judging it by the jarred product. I find bought mincemeat too sloppy and rich. Using your own you can afford to pack much more into each pie. I always make my own using a traditional recipe that actually includes minced beef. There is enough fruit sugar and brandy in it there is no danger of it going before it's used in pies and it is the best ever in taste.

Definitely far easier to buy them from Waitrose.
Especially the Heston from Waitrose with a twist of lemon (with cream) ?

My secret ingredient is Boyajian orange oil - really intense fresh orange taste and smell that survives cooking. A couple of tsps should perk things up a lot.

Dollop of marmalade and apple sauce glacé cherries and a dash of brandy will improve texture and taste. I always use butter and an egg (put through a sieve to get rid of stringy bits) for pastry.

It might seem tasteless due to the amount of sugar that manufactured mincemeat contains!
Try adding some finely grated orange peal, grated apple or even grated pear on top of the mincemeat before you put the lids on.

I would definitely add alcohol to a "dry" mincemeat!
Another vote here for Delia's recipe. We've an (unopened) jar of mincemeat in the fridge - DH made this last year to Delia's recipe. I'm trusting that it'll still taste delicious, when we use it this year.

Like you I was disappointed when I made my own mincemeat, I cam to the conclusion that I had spent too many years eating the stuff in a jar and won't change now. Can I suggest you make a tart with your mincemeat and tinned apricots, soon disappears here.

Tip it all into a large bowl and mix in a jar of the cheapest own-brand marmalade that you can buy. Add another glug of whisky, brandy or - my own choice - rum and stir well.
My auntie taught me this trick many decades ago, and it's worked for me for the last 52 Christmases...! ?

Yes, I think I would soften it with orange juice or there is a nice apple and ginger juice which I'm sure would revive it.

I made a batch of mince pies yesterday. I added Clementine juice and peel and cognac to some fairly old homemade mincemeat that had been lurking in the fridge. I also added same juice and peel to the pastry using half wholemeal flour and some ground cinammon. They were delicious.

This is the recipe I’ve used for the last 2 years. There’s no suet, and it’s really moist and tasty. Is there anything in that recipe you could add to yours to make it tastier?
pin.it/6BlWUkA

I would add lemon juice and grated peel.

You could also try adding a tablespoon or two of whichever orange marmelade you like best.

I've just looked at the recipe you used, (I didn't know Mary Berry) 1 tsp spice and half a teaspoon of cinnamon is is far, far too little. No wonder it is tasteless.

Add a teaspoonful at a time of cinnamon and allspice until you think it tastes right.

This recipe is unconventional but our favourite: www.food.com/recipe/cranberry-studded-mincemeat-by-nigella-lawson-482136
I'm vegan so use agave syrup instead of the honey, and sometimes whisky rather than brandy if that's what I've got in. Maybe mixed half-and-half with yours?

I always soak the dried fruit for cake/ mincemeat ( in brandy) for as long as possible - a few days at least. The fruit then plumps up and is moist. I know you can't do that now, but next time, maybe...........

I make my own, too. Mainly because I have an intolerance to oranges, I mix up my own mixed fruit substituting orange peel for chopped apricots. Mixed spice, ground nutmeg and cinnamon - Lovely! Plus, of course, Brandy. Yum!!

I always use any mincemeat with a dollop of apple purée.

You could make a mincemeat cake with it, the extra ingredients should stop the dryness

To rescue home made mincemeat that’s a bit dry..... tip I got years ago is to add a tin of peaches in syrup (chopping the peace slices roughly first of course). Works a treat and also perks up a jar of bought mincemeat if you need to use it in a hurry!

Or add grated cooking apple. Next time, use the GN’s recipe with extra grated apple and grated carrots.

Delia's recipe is perfect..not runny, not dry. I use it straight away.

I buy a jar of mincemeat add brandy, rum or whisky and leave it 6 weeks, just as good as homemade.

Drained and chopped tinned apricots enrich bought mincemeat.

MIL used to add grated carrot

It's about time an alternative to mince pies were sold. I can't stand them. How about a fruit pie as well. They can't just be me who doesn't like dried fruit.

Hymnbook

It's about time an alternative to mince pies were sold. I can't stand them. How about a fruit pie as well. They can't just be me who doesn't like dried fruit.

You can buy fruit pies already. www.mrkipling.co.uk/our-ranges/favourites/mini-fruit-pie-selection