So, to save you the hassle of working out how long it will take to walk off that mince pie, how many calories you ate, or exactly how much fatter you will be after Christmas, we are imMINCEly excited to present the first ever...online mince pie calculator.

The maths is simple. Calories burned = mince pies earned.

Just plug in how long you have walked, type in your weight (to make our estimation more accurate), click go...and watch the mince pies you have burnt off magically appear (or indeed, the mince pies you can now consume over the Christmas period guilt free).

If you want more motivation to keep you walking through the festive period and beyond, then make your pledge to walk more and we will send you weekly snippets to keep you going.

Fun facts:

• Centuries ago mince pies were large dishes filled with various meats, mixed with fruits, peels and sugar
• In the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell made the eating of mince pies on Christmas day illegal. This was voted the 4th most ridiculous British law in 2007
• It's considered good luck to eat 12 mince pies in 12 different houses over the 12 days of Christmas, even luckier to eat each one in a different home
• English tradition demands that the mince meat mixture should only be stirred in a clockwise direction. To stir it anticlockwise is to bring bad luck for the coming year
• Mince pies should always be eaten in silence
• The most expensive mince pie is the 'ultimate' £100 (€149) being offered by London bar, Dion, which includes organic cranberries, stem ginger, orange blossom water and Hennessy cognac, the pie has been subjected to many makeovers in the name of innovation.

Who ate all the pies?

Ever wondered how many pies you could eat in 10 minutes? Well this chap managed 41! That means a whole lotta walking...29 hours in fact!

Mince Pie Recipe

The walking mince pie calculator does tend to get people in the mood for a bit of mince pie munching, so here is a recipe for easy peasy mince pies*:

Ingredients:
10 oz plain white flour, plus extra for rolling out the pastry
2 oz caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
6 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
a little cold water
pinch of salt
1 x 400g jar of premium quality mincemeat
a little milk or egg white

* Remember, a walk to the shops to pick up your ingredients = more mince pies for you!

1. Firstly you need to make the pastry. This is much easier using a food processor, but you can of course make it by hand - simply mix the ingredients in a bowl. Place the butter into the food processor along with the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt. Mix until the ingredients reach a breadcrumb type texture. Now gradually pour a little water into the food processor funnel until the mixture forms into a soft dough - don't add water too quickly as the dough will come together very suddenly, and you don't want it to end up too wet and sticky.

2. Remove the dough from the food processor and place onto a well-floured worktop. You can wrap the dough in clingfilm and place in the fridge for an hour or so to make it easier to handle. Turn your oven on to 200°C.

3. Roll the dough to a thickness of around 1-2 mm thick. Grease your baking tins well and cut your pastry, with a pastry cutter or glass, making sure that each circle of pastry is large enough to come all the way up the sides of each tray indent. For each bottom you cut, don't forget to make a slightly smaller top circle.

4. Once you have lined each tray indent with a pastry bottom, place a teaspoon of mincemeat into each pie and add a pastry top and seal the top and bottom by pinching them together around the edge.

5. Using a pastry brush, gently brush a layer of milk or egg white over the tops of the pies and sprinkle around a quarter of a teaspoon of caster sugar over the top of each pie to glaze them.

6. Place the trays of pies in the oven. They should take around 20 mins to cook - until they are just turning golden brown. If in doubt, carefully remove one from its tin and gently tap the bottom to make sure it feels firm and crisp.

7. Cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, the pies will keep for at least a week in an airtight tin.

For other mince pie recipes, including vegan and scrummy cranberry/orange mince pies, check out the mince pie club site.