Vegan Mince Pies
Vegan mince pies - a vegan version of the popular Christmas treat with boozy, easy to make home-made mincemeat and crisp coconut oil pastry.
Makes 12-16 mince pies.
Servings 15 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 ¼ cups) light brown soft sugar
- 50 g (1.75 oz) 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 ½ teaspoons mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 240 ml (1 cup) port, rum, whisky or brandy
- OR use 411g pre-made mincemeat from a jar
Pastry:
- 400 g (3 + ⅓ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 60 g (½ cup) icing (powdered) sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 200 g (7oz) cold coconut oil OR vegan block butter/margarine cut into small pieces
- 50 ml (3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) cold vodka (optional)
- 2 Tablespoons cold water (plus extra as needed)
- non-dairy milk for brushing
Instructions
- 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, almonds, coconut oil, grated bramley apple, spices and orange zest and juice in a large saucepan.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 ¼ cups) light brown soft sugar, 50 g (1.75 oz) almonds, 1 large Bramley apple (or other variety of cooking apple), the finely grated zest and juice of 1 large orange, 1 ½ teaspoons mixed spice, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 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 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).240 ml (1 cup) port, rum, whisky or brandy
- To make the pastry, place the flour, icing sugar, salt and orange zest in a food processor and pulse to combine.400 g (3 + ⅓ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, 60 g (½ cup) icing (powdered) sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, finely grated zest of 1 orange
- Add the cold, diced coconut oil or butter 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.200 g (7oz) cold coconut oil OR vegan block butter/margarine
- Add the cold vodka (if using) and 2 Tablespoons of 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.50 ml (3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) cold vodka , 2 Tablespoons cold water (plus extra as needed)
- If you are making the pastry with butter, wrap it in clingfilm and refrigerate for an hour or so until firm enough to roll out. If you are using coconut oil, proceed to rolling it out right away.
- 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 190°C/170℃ fan/375°F/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!non-dairy milk for brushing
Notes
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
- The recipe makes more mincemeat than is needed for one batch of mince pies but it keeps well. Or you can make a half batch if you don't want leftovers.
- Make the mincemeat at least the day before you want to bake the mince pies; but you can make it weeks or even months in advance if you like.
- If you are making the pastry with coconut oil rather than butter then it is best to make it shortly before assembling the pies as it needs to be at room temperature to roll it out. The butter based pastry can be stored in the fridge for several days, let it sit out at room temperature for half an hour before rolling if it has become too firm.
- Remove the baked mince pies from the tin while they are still hot as otherwise any filling that bubbles over can make them stick.