Mince Pies

Serves: 12 Prep: 30_mins Prep: 30_minutes Cook: 15_mins

Info

Mince Pies are a must over the festive season. Use our easy to make recipe which uses ground almonds and organic coconut oil in place of the traditional flour and butter for a more wholesome pie.

Ingredients

For the almond pastry:

200g ground almonds

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

¾ tbsp. of Biona Organic Maple Agave Syrup

15g Biona Coconut Oil

1 medium egg

For the Mincemeat:

2 apples (approx. 150g) finely chopped (no need to peel)

40g raisins

40g sultanas

40g currants

40g Biona Organic Cranberries

Zest and juice of ½ orange

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

½ tsp ground mixed spice

½ tsp ground cinnamon

2½ tbsp brandy

1 pinch grated nutmeg

25g Biona Organic Coconut Oil

1 small pinch of sea salt

Method

For the Pastry:

Preheat the oven to Fan 170°C.
Line a cake tray with mini cupcake cases.
In a bowl or food processor, mix together the pastry ingredients until they form a dough.
Cut into 3 pieces and chill in the fridge while you make the mincemeat.
Working with one third of the chilled dough at a time, roll between 2 pieces of greaseproof paper until a few millimetres thick.
Use a pastry cutter that fits the diameter of your cupcake cases.
Flatten out the cupcake cases, place a disc in the centre of each one, aligning the edges. Gently mould the disc to fit the case and then press the whole thing into a mini muffin tray.
Gather the scraps and re-roll the pastry – you should be able to make at least 24 discs from two thirds of the mixture. Keep the remaining third for the star shapes.
Bake the tart bases in the pre-heated oven for 5 minutes.

For the Mincemeat:

Finely chop the apples so that they are the same size as the raisins.
Place all the mincemeat ingredients into a large saucepan and cook on a medium heat, lid on, for about 15 minutes until the apples are soft. Stir every now and then to prevent sticking. Towards the end of cooking lift the lid and allow any extra liquid to evaporate on a low heat.

To Finish:

Fill each pastry shell with 1 heaped teaspoon of mincemeat.
Cut stars from the remaining dough and gently place on top of each pie.
Brush the tops with melted butter or an egg yolk wash, sprinkle with a little coconut sugar and bake for approximately 10 minutes until lightly golden.
Cool the tin on a wire rack for 5 minutes and then ease the tarts out onto the rack to cool further – they will crisp up as they cool.