An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).

PX and pear mincemeat
Rich, sweet Pedro Ximenez sherry, with its flavours of raisins, fig and caramel, is the perfect tipple to splash into your mincemeat, and matches so well with fragrant pear. Serve any leftover sherry alongside mince pies, Christmas pudding or cake.
This delicious mincemeat will make about 1.6kg. The perfect addition to your homemade mince pies or try substituting the shop bought mincemeat in this easy mince pie recipe.
Ingredients
- 200 g
(7oz) raisins
- 200 g
(7oz) golden sultanas
- 150 g
(5oz) dried cranberries, halved
- 100 g
(3 ½oz) currants
- 50 g
(2oz) crystallised stem ginger, finely chopped
- 100 g
(3 ½oz) mixed peel
2 firm but ripe pears (about 300g/11oz), peeled, cored and cut into 1cm cubes
– we used Conference
- 50 g
(2oz) blanched almonds, roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp each ground cinnamon and mixed spice
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves, optional
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
- 150 g
(5oz) vegetarian suet or unsalted butter
- 200 g
(7oz) light muscovado sugar
- 3 Tbsp.
brandy
- 250 ml
(9 fl oz) Pedro Ximenez sherry
Directions
- Step 1
Tip all the ingredients, except the sherry, in to a large pan. Heat gently, until the butter or suet has melted, then simmer gently for 10min, stirring occasionally. Cool for a few minutes, then stir through the sherry and spoon into sterilised jars. Secure the lids tightly. Label and store in a cool place.
- Step 1
It will keep for up to 6 months. Once opened, store in the fridge and use within a week.


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