Mince Pies
MAKES 10 - 12
Think Christmas, think Mince Pies. Just because you are eating clean, it doesn’t mean that these traditional treats are off the menu this year! These little parcels are loaded with goodness, each bite is light and delicate and won’t leave you feeling weighed down or sluggish.
Pastry making can be difficult at the best of times, however I think I’ve nailed it with this recipe. A mixture of your favourite gluten free flour, ground almonds, dates, vanilla and coconut oil bind together to create a crispy, nutty pastry which is especially delicious when sprinkled with coconut sugar.
Ingredients
For the mince pie filling:
3 oranges
250g of raisins
200g of cranberries
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ginger
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp of vanilla extract
coconut sugar for topping
For the pastry:
350g of buckwheat flour (rice flour, quinoa flour, gluten free flour or ground almonds)
200g of ground almonds
1 large pinch of salt
6 tbsp. of butter (or coconut oil) (save a little bit for greasing)
12 pitted medjool dates
2 tsp of vanilla extract
3 tbsp. of water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 150°C
To make the filling:
Zest one orange and juice all three.
Place all the ingredients into a pot and place on a low heat for 30 minutes.
To make the pastry:
Place the flour, ground almonds and salt into the food processor and blend.
Add the rest of the ingredients (apart from the water) then slowly add the water so the pastry forms together.
Grease 10-12 cupcake tins with butter or coconut oil and push the pastry mix into the bottom of the tins with your thumbs until it fills the sides (about 1/2 cm thick).
Then place 1 tbsp of the mince mixture into each shell. Repeat this for all.
With the rest of the pastry, roll it out between two baking paper sheets and cut out circular shapes to place on top of the mince meat.
Sprinkle over some coconut sugar to give it a nice sweet top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until crisp.
