Cranberry and Almond Mince Pies
A delightful festive twist on traditional mince pies, featuring sweet and tart cranberries paired with rich almond frangipane. They are perfect for holiday entertaining or as a special seasonal treat.
Nutrition
Calories: 190kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 2gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5.5gSodium: 60mgSugar: 14g
Ingredients
For the mincemeat
- 200 g fresh cranberries
- 150 g mixed dried fruit and candied peel
- 50 g sultanas
- 60 ml port
- 75 g muscavado sugar
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 clementine
- 25 ml brandy
- 2 tbsp honey
- A couple of drops of almond extract
For the pastry
- 9 oz gluten-free white plain flour blend
- 1 oz ground almonds
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 5 oz butter
- 1 beaten egg
Instructions
- To make the mincemeat, put the port, muscavado sugar, and cranberries into a large pan. Turn on the heat and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the dried fruit and spices. Grate in the zest of the clementine and squeeze in all the juice. Mix together and allow to simmer gently with a lid on until the fruit has absorbed nearly all the liquid.
- Mix in the pan, squashing down the cranberries. Allow to cool slightly, then add the brandy, honey and almond extract (you only need the tiniest amount!) and mix well until everything is fully incorporated. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and leave to allow the flavours to intensify.
- Meanwhile, make the pastry. Put the flour, ground almonds, and sugar into a large mixing bowl and add the butter in small cubes.
- Rub the mixture lightly between your fingertips until it is all combined. It should form a sandy texture. Add a couple of teaspoons of the beaten egg and a little water and bring together into a ball of dough. Wrap in clingfilm and put into the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Grease a shallow muffin tin and preheat the oven to 180oC.
- Roll out the pastry quite thinly (you want delicate, crisp pastry) and use a small, round cookie cutter (or a narrow glass) to cut circles out. Press the circles into the tin and fill each one with a teaspoon of the mincemeat.
- With the remaining pastry, cut out stars big enough to reach across the top of each pie. Glaze the pastry with the remaining beaten egg to give it a golden glow.
- Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes – as soon as the pastry is golden, they are done.
- Repeat this process until you have used up all the pastry and mincemeat. Make sure you give the tin a chance to cool before reloading.
- Leave the pies to cool on a wire rack then dredge with icing sugar, or serve warm from the oven with a little cream or brandy butter.
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