If you have ever spent Christmas in England, then you have surely been treated to or you have seen mince pies sold everywhere. At Christmas in England, almost every house has these sweets, just like we have “kourabiedes (see recipe here)” and “melomakarona (see recipe here)” in Greece.
Mince pie is a dried fruit tart. The filling is called mincemeat, which you may translate it as “minced meat”, but it is actually fruit. It is believed that these tarts were originally filled with minced meat and fruits back in the crusaders’ ages, but over the years they became sweet tarts.
I suppose that many of you may not like English cuisine, but when it comes to sweets, I think they have very good ones. The best Éclair I had was on Cambridge, ages ago (before celiac). It was freshly made, filling at that time and on the top, was melted warm chocolate.
This year I was very lucky that my friend Mary Tselekidou brought me a jar of ready-made gluten-free mincemeat filling for Mince pies from England as a gift, so I didn’t have to make the filling myself.
These tarts are amazing and so festive!!!
Tip: Check off the ingredients you have used in the recipe or note the ingredients you have and add the rest to you shopping list to buy them. - Attention: All ingredients must be checked that are Gluten-Free and without traces of gluten.
Abbreviations: g=grams • kg= kilograms • cup=250 ml • tsp= teaspoon=5 ml • tbsp= tablespoon=3 tsp=15 ml • ml= millilitre= (1ml=0.034 fl oz / 1fl oz=29.6 ml) • l=litre/liter=1000ml
Finely chop the dried ones and place them in a saucepan over medium heat together with the grated apple and orange juice for about 2-3 minutes.
Then add all the other ingredients except the cognac and the almonds.
Let them boil for another 5-6 minutes until evaporating the liquid, stirring them from time to time.
Leave the mixture to cool down for more than a half an hour. Then add the cognac and the almonds and mix well.
Sift the flour into a large bowl and mix it with the xanthan gum. Add the frozen butter into small cubes.
Rub the butter with the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and add the icing sugar & clementine zest.
Beat the 2 eggs together in a separate bowl and add them gradually.
Use a fork to knead/mix it until it forms a ball of dough that may be slightly sticky.
Wrap the dough in cling wrap film and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes . It’s very important this step because it will make easier to work with the dough.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F & lightly butter a mold for 12 cupcakes. Even though I put papers, I also brush them with little butter.
When the dough is cold enough, roll out into a parchment paper about 3mm/ 1/8” thick or on a floured work surface, or between two sheets of lightly floured parchment paper.
As for the thickness, I found this rolling pin from Tupperware last year that has both 3mm/ 1/8” & 6mm/ 1/4” rings to make an even sheet.
We use a cookie cutter with a diameter of 9-10cm /3.5-4” to cut the bases.
Place them carefully at cupcake pan, pressing them gently. As you will see in the photos, they should not be very high.
Fill each tart with about 1.5-2 teaspoons of filling.
Knead lightly the remaining dough and roll it out again to a similar thickness as before and with a star or Christmas tree shaped cutter (ideally smaller than the pastry form) cut out to place them on the top of the tarts.
Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes (depending on how powerful your oven is) until golden brown.
Let them cool before removing them from the pan.
Ingredients
Directions
Finely chop the dried ones and place them in a saucepan over medium heat together with the grated apple and orange juice for about 2-3 minutes.
Then add all the other ingredients except the cognac and the almonds.
Let them boil for another 5-6 minutes until evaporating the liquid, stirring them from time to time.
Leave the mixture to cool down for more than a half an hour. Then add the cognac and the almonds and mix well.
Sift the flour into a large bowl and mix it with the xanthan gum. Add the frozen butter into small cubes.
Rub the butter with the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and add the icing sugar & clementine zest.
Beat the 2 eggs together in a separate bowl and add them gradually.
Use a fork to knead/mix it until it forms a ball of dough that may be slightly sticky.
Wrap the dough in cling wrap film and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes . It’s very important this step because it will make easier to work with the dough.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F & lightly butter a mold for 12 cupcakes. Even though I put papers, I also brush them with little butter.
When the dough is cold enough, roll out into a parchment paper about 3mm/ 1/8” thick or on a floured work surface, or between two sheets of lightly floured parchment paper.
As for the thickness, I found this rolling pin from Tupperware last year that has both 3mm/ 1/8” & 6mm/ 1/4” rings to make an even sheet.
We use a cookie cutter with a diameter of 9-10cm /3.5-4” to cut the bases.
Place them carefully at cupcake pan, pressing them gently. As you will see in the photos, they should not be very high.
Fill each tart with about 1.5-2 teaspoons of filling.
Knead lightly the remaining dough and roll it out again to a similar thickness as before and with a star or Christmas tree shaped cutter (ideally smaller than the pastry form) cut out to place them on the top of the tarts.
Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes (depending on how powerful your oven is) until golden brown.
Let them cool before removing them from the pan.
- Makes about 18 tarts, although I made 12 tarts and 3 larger ones.
- Don’t forget to always sift the flour.
- If you don’t have a cookie cutter with a diameter of 9-10cm/3.5-4”, you can use a glass or a cup with this diameter.
- Each oven bakes differently. My new oven is slower than the old one. The time I give each recipe is approx. Keep an eye on them as they bake and you’ll see if they take a little longer or a little less time.
Good Luck and Bon Appétit!!!
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31
Fantastic mince pies thanks
Thank you so much! I’l be waiting for your photo. You can upload it to Instagram tagging me @vivoglutenfreecom so I can also be proud for you.