Traditional Christmas Mince Pies vs Kouign-amann: The Butteriest Breton Cake

Both bakes lean on butter and sugar, but put them to very different work. For the mince pies, cold butter is rubbed into flour with a modest amount of sugar to make a tender pastry that encases a mincemeat filling, finished with an egg-glazed golden top and a dusting of icing sugar. The Kouign-amann instead folds a block of butter into a yeasted dough, scattering sugar between the layers so it bubbles into rich amber caramel. One is about tender pastry around a bubbling filling; the other is all buttery, caramelized layers, best served warm.