Buddy’s mince pie pinwheels recipe

1. Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C, fan 180ºC. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Roughly chop the dried fruit and tip into a large mixing bowl with the mincemeat. Add the zest of the clementines and mix well.
2. Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the puff pastry into a rectangle about 20 x 40cm and the thickness of a £1 coin. Thinly spread the mincemeat over the pastry, then roll up into a tight roll, starting with the longer edge closest to you. Beat the egg in a small bowl and brush the top edge to seal.
3. Using a sharp knife, slice the roll into 18 pinwheels about 1cm thick. Now, to make a Christmas tree shape: Starting at the top, place 1 pinwheel at the top edge of the baking tray, then place 2 beneath, then 3 beneath that, adding another pinwheel to each row, until you have 3 pinwheels left. Use these final pinwheels to make the trunk.
4. Brush the pinwheels with a little beaten egg, then roughly chop the nuts and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 20 mins until golden brown. Leave to cool, then dust with a little icing sugar before serving.

Once cooled, you can freeze the cooked mince pies in a plastic container. Simply place on a lined baking tray and reheat in a hot oven from frozen.

Switch up the dried fruit and nuts with your favourites – any type will work well.

You can create any shape you like – a wreath, a bell, a star – have fun with it!