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Sure, you could simply pop to your local supermarket and pick up the 'finest' pack ofmince pies and undoubtedly 'taste the difference' - but there's something about homemade ones that just makes them taste superior.

I can't quite pinpoint if it was the festive aroma wafting through our home, making it feel all Christmassy, or the sheer delight on my daughter's face as she revelled in creating a colossal mess.

If the thought of crafting your own homemade mince pies sends shivers down your spine, it shouldn't. You can opt for the most time and energy-efficient method like I did, starting with the decision to bake them in my air fryer instead of the oven.

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You'd be astounded by what an air fryer can actually accomplish. To discover exactly how I went about producing not the most aesthetically pleasing mince pie in the world, but one of the heartiest and dare I say tastiest mince pies - keep reading.

Given that we're all mince pie enthusiasts in my household, I decided to experiment not only by making my own but also to see how well they'd fare in my Cosori air fryer. For a straightforward and stress-free experience, I loosely followed the BBC Good Food Air-fryer Mince Pie recipe.

This involved buying pre-rolled shortcrust pastry and ready-made mincemeat in a jar. Our job was to slice the pastry, place it in the 'cupcake case' - we didn't have the proper mince pie foil cases so we made do with what we had, which were somewhat foil-like, but more on that later. We then loaded the pastry with the mincemeat and topped the pies with the remaining pastry.

The recipe recommends baking the mince pies at 180C for a maximum of 13 minutes, rotating them after 8-10 minutes (presumably meaning turning them clockwise or anti-clockwise rather than flipping them over), and cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes. As I mentioned, I loosely adhered to the recipe, so I baked them for 10 minutes, turned them in both directions, then cooked them for another 5 minutes.

The pastry wasn't quite done underneath, so they went back in for another 5 minutes. By this point, the pastry was wonderfully crisp and golden, and the filling was slightly seeping as it bubbled under the heat.

To be entirely honest, our lack of proper cases was likely the reason why they weren't picture-perfect, but who cares? They're not for Instagram!

We also overfilled some of the pies with mincemeat, causing the flimsy cupcake cases to tilt and flatten under the weight. It wasn't the worst mishap, and if you're a fan of mince pie filling and crisp pastry, you would have loved them as much as we did.

After all, I did declare them the 'heartiest' mince pies I'd ever tasted! So, if you're gearing up to rustle up your own homemade mince pies in your air fryer, heed this advice: make sure you have the correct filling cases and avoid overstuffing your pies. Other than that, feel free to indulge!

An earlier version of this story was published in December 2024.