Mince Pies

Serves: 24 Cooking time: 20 minutes

There’s no escaping the fact that mince pies are always going to contain a fair bit of sugar, due to the dried fruit in them. With a bit of tweaking however, Stacey Hart (of Bake Off fame) has created a recipe that produces a deep-filled mince pie with a lot less sugar than some shop-bought ones, but which tastes just as luxurious.

Ingredients:

Mincemeat:

  • 600g apples peeled and finely chopped (gala)
  • 60g Total Sweet Xylitol
  • 150g raisins
  • 40g dried apricots cut small
  • 150ml brandy
  • 60g unsalted butter
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 8 cloves
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • Peel of one orange sliced
  • Peel of one lemon sliced
  • 200ml fresh orange juice

Pastry:

  • 2 muffin tins to fit 12 pies each
  • 375g plain flour
  • 250g unsalted butter cold
  • 80g Total Sweet Xylitol
  • 1 large egg
  • Pinch of salt
  • Egg for egg wash

Method:

For the mincemeat:

  1. Mix together all the ingredients in a large pan
  2. Place on the heat and slowly bring to the boil
  3. Boil gently for around 10 mins, stirring regularly
  4. When nice and thick, take off the heat and once cooled carefully remove the cloves, orange and lemon peel
  5. Using a hand blender, puree around half the mix and then stir - NB. Try to leave lots of bigger chunks do not over-puree!
  6. Store in the refrigerator until you want to use it

For the pastry:

  1. Place flour and butter in a food processor and pulse to get bread crumb consistency (or use fingertips with a light touch)
  2. Add the xylitol and pulse
  3. Add the egg and pulse together
  4. Work to form two balls on a floured worktop or board (don’t overwork)
  5. Refrigerate for 1 hour

 Finished pies:

  1. Preheat oven to 220C/220 fan
  2. Working with one ball at a time, roll out the pastry and make 12 circles and fit them in your muffin tin
  3. Spoon a generous amount of mincemeat into each pie
  4. Make your lids using either a round cookie cutter to cover the whole pie or a Christmas cookie cutter of your choice. I like to use a star or snowflake!
  5. Brush egg wash on the rim of the pie and stick the edges of the lid down
  6. Brush the top of the pie with egg wash 
  7. Bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown
  8. Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin
  9. These mince pies can be stored in an airtight container and eaten within 3 days or can be frozen and popped in the oven to warm up.
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