Christmas is coming, which means only one thing…MINCE PIES!
Now, I’m a sucker for pastry, sugar, alcohol…gimme it all. But like many others, I have lots of food intolerances meaning I can’t indulge too much on all the luxury buttery golden pastries.
So, this year I wanted to make something I can eat all night long without the guilt, and here it is!
My super healthy, gluten-free, vegan, and all natural Mince Pies. And the best thing about it? The pastry works amazing for little jam tarts too!
FOR THE ALMOND PASTRY
150g ground almonds
60g wholegrain oats (or GF substitute)
¼ tsp of sea salt
¼ tsp of bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp of maple syrup
15g butter, room temperature (or Vegan substitute)
1 medium egg (or Vegan flax egg)
FOR THE MINCEMEAT
2 apples finely chopped to the same size as the raisins
160g mixed fruit (swap out for goji berries, sultanas, dates & raisins if you’re being extra healthy)
Zest and juice of ½ orange
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
½ tsp of ground mixed spice
½ tsp of ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2½ tbsp of brandy or Jack Daniels Fire
25g of coconut oil
1 small pinch of sea salt
METHOD
1.In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the pastry ingredients together. You may need to get your hands dirty towards the end to ensure it’s all worked in properly. Then set it to chill in the fridge whilst you make the mince meat.
2. Chop the apples into small raisin sized pieces. Place all of the mince meat ingredients into a large sauce pan and simmer lightly for 15 mins. Apply a lid and remove after 10 mins to ensure all the liquid is evaporated.
3. Take 2/3 of the pastry and roll it out on a flat surface. The pastry is quite sticky as it contains no flour, so to avoid having to add any flour, roll it in between two sheets of baking paper.
4. Take a cookie cutter wide enough to fill the base and sides of a cupcake tin. Cut 15-20 circles (depending on how thick you want the pastry) for the mine pie bases and place then in the individual cupcake tin spaces (lightly butter or coconut oil the base of the tins to ensure you can remove the pies when they’re cooked).
5. Then pop the bases in the oven for 5 minutes to avoid soggy bottoms.
6. Time to add the mince meat YAY! Just heap a tablespoon of mince meat into each case ensuring they all have equal amounts.
7. Use a smaller cookie cutter and cut some lids for all the little pies using the remaining pastry. You can use any shape for these – stars and christmas trees also look really cute!
8. Finally, brush the tops with a tiny bit of melted butter and pop them in the oven for 10 minutes…yep, they only take 10 mins!
And that’s it! Super-healthy, gluten-free, guilt-free festive mince pies! Just leave them to cool on a rack for 5 minutes before feasting.
These tasty treats are best served on same day of baking, but can also be popped into a container to last 2-3 days longer!
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