“According to a Middle Ages custom, if you eat a mince pie every day from Christmas day until 6 January (12 nights) you will have happiness for the whole year!”
This recipe makes 12 Mince Pies, so I don’t suggest sharing them!
“Mince Pies, like Christmas Puddings, were originally filled with meat, such as lamb, rather than a dried fruit mix. They were also first made in an oval shape to represent the manger that Jesus slept in as a baby, with the top representing his swaddling clothes” – thank the lord they decided to leave out the lamb, otherwise Christmas would be not only about the Turkey, but about the lamb as well. Well done to the Vegan genius that pulled this off!!
No added sugar, can be made Gluten Free, Vegan
INGREDIENTS
Mince Filling:
½ cup apple sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp rice malt syrup
¾ cup mix of dried fruit (choose the dried fruit you like best, but you do need raisins!)
50ml orange juice
1 tsp vanilla essence
¼ tsp cloves
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ground ginger
Pinch salt
Pie Crust:
¾ cup flour (gluten free flour as a substitute)
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp rice malt syrup
pinch salt
2 tbsp ice water
METHOD:
Set oven to 200C and grease a muffin pan.
The filling: Place all filling ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a simmer for a few minutes (approx. 5). Stir occasionally. Set aside to cool.
Place flour, rice malt syrup, and salt into a food processor and process to combine. Add in flour and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the ice water and pulse a few times to combine. Remove the dough. Prepare a rolling surface. (TIP: Sometimes rolling between 2 sheets of baking paper helps!). Then roll out dough to a 5mm-8mm thickness.
Make use of all the dough whilst using a cookie cutter to cut out the rounds to form the base of the pies. You should be able to cut 12 with some dough left over. Place the bases in the prepared muffin pan. They should form small “cups”. Use a fork to lightly press or decorate the overhanging sides. Use the remainder of the dough to cut out the pie lids using a smaller cookie cutter. Again, you will need 12. Roll the dough very thin to cut out stars or any other pattern you like. These will be used to decorate the top of the pies. If the dough becomes soft and difficult to work with, place it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. (My Christmas climate is warm so this is often a problem!)
Scoop about 1 tsp filling into each cup. Place the cut-out lids on top and then the star shape on top of that. Place in the oven for 15 – 20 min. Remove from oven.
Serve hot or cold.
Serving suggestion: lightly dust with icing sugar.