Vegan Mince Pies

Ingredients

• 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
• 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 (or vegan BLOCK butter/margarine) (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

1. 1

   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.

2. 2

   Heat gently, stirring, until the coconut oil has melted then simmer very gently, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.

3. 3

   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).

4. 4

   To make the coconut oil pastry, place the flour, icing sugar, salt and orange zest in a food processor and pulse to combine.

5. 5

   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.

6. 6

   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.

7. 7

   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.)

8. 8

   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.

9. 9

   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.

10. 10

    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.

11. 11

    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.

12. 12

    Place the tray of mince pies in the freezer for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5.

13. 13

    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!