Vegan mince pies – a vegan version of the popular Christmas treat with boozy, easy to make home-made mincemeat and crisp coconut oil pastry.
What is your favourite festive food? Mine is without a doubt mince pies. I get through a great number of them every Christmas and never ever tire of eating them.
There are a few vegan friendly varieties available in the supermarkets, but it is also really easy to make your own and they are much tastier! (Not that I will ever turn down a shop bought one either; all mince pies are good!)
These vegan mince pies consist of a deliciously boozy home-made mincemeat filling, encased in crisp, light coconut oil pastry. They are perfectly festive and incredibly more-ish!
Vegan Mincemeat:
A lot of shop bought mincemeats are naturally suitable for vegans as they are generally made with vegetable rather than beef suet; so feel free to use a shop bought one instead of making your own. Home-made mincemeat is very simple to make however, and again tastes much nicer than commercial varieties.
It is best to make the mincemeat at least a day, and up to several weeks in advance as it needs time to cool and set, and the flavour is best when it has had a little time to mature.
It is still utterly delicious if you only have time to make it the day before baking the vegan mince pies however.
I have been making variations of this mincemeat recipe for many years; all I had to do to veganise it was to swap the usual butter for coconut oil.
To make it you simply place mixed dried fruits, sugar, coconut oil, spices, grated bramley apple, almonds and orange zest and juice in a pan and simmer gently for ten minutes before stirring in a generous amount of booze then ladelling it into sterilised jars.
You can use whichever type of alcohol you prefer really – I like port best, followed by rum, whisky or brandy. I have also made it using a combination of the dregs from bottles of rum, JD and ginger wine and it was still delicious!
As well as varying the type of alcohol, you can also mix up the kinds of dried fruits you use, provided you keep the same overall amount. Dried cherries and chopped dried apricots and figs would be great swaps.
The recipe below will make more mincemeat than you need for one batch of vegan mince pies, but it will keep well in a sterilised jar for many weeks, or even months, ready for the next batch. You can halve the recipe if you don’t want that much however.
Coconut Oil Pastry:
Coconut oil pastry is wonderfully crisp and delicious. It is a little more awkward to work with than pastry made with butter or margarine however.
It is utterly un-workable with when it is too cold as it becomes extremely hard and crumbly. I like to make the pastry and roll it out right away, THEN chill it thoroughly before baking.
It can be made in advance and stored, well wrapped, in the fridge. You will need to let it come up to room temperature for at least an hour before rolling it out however. If it is still too cold you can give it a good squeeze with your hands to help soften it.
I find that it is best made in a food processor, as the cold coconut oil is tough to rub in by hand – it is do-able but will take you a while!
I also have a (not-so) secret ingredient to help create perfectly crisp and flaky pastry – vodka! Adding too much liquid to pastry to bring it together can make it tough. But unlike water, alcohol doesn’t contribute to the formation of gluten (which leads to leathery crusts); it also evaporates very quickly in the oven, leaving you with crisp, tender pastry.
You can’t taste it at all in the pastry and if you don’t have vodka then gin, whisky, rum or brandy will all work too.
How to Make Vegan Mince Pies:
You ideally need to prepare the mincemeat the day before you bake the vegan mince pies. Start by placing your dried fruits in a large saucepan along with soft brown sugar, coconut oil, grated bramley apple, spices and orange zest and juice.
Bring up to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool a little then stir in the booze of your choice. Ladle it into two large, or four regular sized sterilised jars and set aside until completely cold (overnight is best).
It will keep at room temperature for several months. Give it a good stir before using.
To make the coconut oil pastry, place flour, icing sugar, salt and orange zest in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add cold, diced coconut oil and blend until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make sure that no lumps of coconut oil remain; you may need to blend it in two batches if your food processor isn’t very big.
Add some cold vodka and water and blend again until the pastry starts to come together. You can add a drop more water if needed. Bring the pastry together with your hands.
Roll the pastry out thinly on a lightly floured surface and use an approx 10-11cm cutter to cut out rounds (I cut round the base of a small tart tin with a sharp knife as I don’t have a cutter big enough). It may be easier to roll out a quarter of the pastry at a time rather than all of it in one go. (If the pastry is too soft then you can pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up a little but don’t let it get too cold or it will be hard to roll out.)
Line a 12 cup muffin tray with strips of baking parchment – this makes it easy to get the baked vegan mince pies out of the tin. Gently press the pastry rounds into the prepared tin.
Fill each one with a heaped spoonful of the mincemeat – be generous but don’t fill them right to the top as it will bubble up as it cooks.
Re-roll the pastry trimmings and use a cutter the same size as the cavities in your muffin tin to cut out six rounds. Use a star cutter to cut a star out of the centre of each round.
Top each of the mince pies with either a star or a round. If you are topping them with a round then brush the edge of the pastry with water and press the top down firmly around the edge to seal.
Place the vegan mince pies in the freezer for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5.
Brush the tops of the vegan mince pies with a little non-dairy milk then bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling. Use the strips of baking parchment to lift them out of the tin onto a wire rack and leave to cool before eating. Don’t leave them to cool in the tin as any mincemeat that bubbles over will cement them in!
More Vegan Christmas Recipes:
Vegan Mince Pies
Makes 12-16 mince pies.
Ingredients
Mincemeat:
- 175 g (6oz) currants
- 175 g (6oz) raisins
- 175 g (6oz) sultanas
- 175 g (6oz) dried cranberries
- 100 g (3.5oz) candied mixed peel
- 100 g (3.5oz) coconut oil
- 220 g (1 1/4 cups) light brown soft sugar
- 50 g (1.75oz) almonds chopped
- 1 large bramley apple (or other variety of cooking apple) peeled, cored and grated
- the finely grated zest and juice of 1 large orange
- 1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 240 ml (1 cup) port, rum, whisky or brandy
Coconut Oil Pastry:
- 400 g (3 + 1/3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 60 g (1/2 cup) icing (powdered) sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 200 g (7oz) cold coconut oil cut into small pieces
- 50 ml (3 Tbsp + 1 tsp) cold vodka
- 2 Tbsp cold water (plus extra as needed)
- non-dairy milk for brushing
Instructions
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You ideally need to prepare the mincemeat the day before you bake the vegan mince pies. Start by placing the currants, raisins, sultanas, cranberries, mixed peel, soft brown sugar, coconut oil, grated bramley apple, spices and orange zest and juice in a large saucepan.
-
Heat gently, stirring, until the coconut oil has melted then simmer very gently, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
-
Remove from the heat, allow to cool a little then stir in the booze of your choice. Ladle it into two large, or four regular sized sterilised jars and set aside until completely cold (overnight is best).
-
To make the coconut oil pastry, place the flour, icing sugar, salt and orange zest in a food processor and pulse to combine.
-
Add the cold, diced coconut oil and blend until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make sure that no lumps of coconut oil remain; you may need to blend it in two batches if your food processor isn't very big.
-
Add the cold vodka and 2 Tbsp water and blend again until the pastry starts to come together. You can add a drop more water if needed. Bring the pastry together with your hands.
-
Roll the pastry out thinly on a lightly floured surface and use an approx 10-11cm cutter to cut out rounds (I cut round the base of a small tart tin with a sharp knife as I don't have a cutter big enough). It may be easier to roll out a quarter of the pastry at a time rather than all of it in one go. (If the pastry is too soft then you can pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up a little but don't let it get too cold or it will be hard to roll out.)
-
Line a 12 cup muffin tray with strips of baking parchment - this makes it easy to get the baked vegan mince pies out of the tin. Gently press the pastry rounds into the prepared tin.
-
Fill each one with a heaped spoonful of the mincemeat - be generous but don't fill them right to the top as it will bubble up as it cooks.
-
Re-roll the pastry trimmings and use a cutter the same size as the cavities in your muffin tin to cut out six rounds. Use a star cutter to cut a star out of the centre of each round.
-
Top each of the mince pies with either a star or a round. If you are topping them with a round then brush the edge of the pastry with water and press the top down firmly around the edge to seal.
-
Place the tray of mince pies in the freezer for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5.
-
Brush the tops of the mince pies with a little non-dairy milk then bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling. Use the strips of baking parchment to lift them out of the tin onto a wire rack and leave to cool before eating. Don't leave them to cool in the tin as any mincemeat that bubbles over will cement them in!
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