Cranberry Minced Pies

Did you know that eating a pie every day for the 12 days of Christmas brings wealth and prosperity for the future 12 months? Well if you believe folklore then why not put that theory to the test and have a crack at these delicious sweet treats.

Classic Christmas Minced Pies don’t need to be full of unhealthy ingredients for you to get the same festive kick.

Typically traditional pastry cups filled with dry fruit and served on Christmas day are loaded with sugar and gluten but the ones I am sharing with you today have broken free from their shackles and are far removed from their counterparts.

There’s no need to suffer through a mouthful of thick gluey pastry and preservative laden ingredients.  You can include fresh cranberries, apples, sultanas or your own dried fruit mix in this recipe.

Whether you prefer them were topped with stars, finished with a pie lid or crafted with beautiful lattice work these pies will give you the right amount of crumble and a good ratio of delicious filling to casing, the golden rule when on the hunt for a good minced pie.  Dust them off with a sprinkling of stevia to add a touch of Christmas magic.

These yummy Cranberry Mince Pies are cute and fun and you can wash them down with egg nog inspired Chai Custard.

Why not get ahead of the game by making these mince pies now and popping them in the freezer until the big day?  You'll not be disappointed.

Cranberry Mince Pies

Makes 12 mince pies

Ingredients

Filling

• 150 gms cranberries
• 100 gms sultanas
• 100 gms currants
• 100 gms raisins or prunes
• 1 tsp ginger (ground)
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• ½ granny smith apple cored and chopped
• Zest of one lemon
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar

 Short Crust Pastry

• 375g gluten-free flour
• 150g butter
• 1 large beaten egg
• Pinch salt

Method

• Place all filling ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth
• Set aside to ensure flavours can meld
• Set oven to 180 degrees Celsius
• Grease and flour a 12 cup muffin pan
• In a bowl sieve flour and mix flour and butter until it resembles breadcrumbs
• Add beaten egg and mix until a dough is formed adding cold water if necessary mould with hands until it resembles a ball
• Chill in fridge for 30 mins
• With a rolling pin, roll out dough to 5mm between two sheets of baking paper and cut into rounds, reserving some for tops
• Place 12 x round in bottom of greased muffin pan and bake in oven for 5-10 mins until almost golden
• Remove from oven and add mince-meat filling
• Top with thin pastry lids or crosses of pastry and return to oven for 5 mins or until top is crunchy
• Remove from oven onto a cooling rack serve warm or cold
• Once cooled they can be stored in an airtight tin

Serve with Chai Custard.