Vegan, Gluten-Free Mince Pies From Meridian


10 star-topped mince pies, cranberries scattered over, cinnamon stick, jar of Meridian almond butter, earthenware teapot and mug of tea on side

The classic Christmas treat gets a healthy makeover! Why not try this delicious wholefood version…

Preparation time: 25min+20min chilling
Cooking time: 20min
Makes 12 mince pies

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups ground almonds (alternatively use gluten-free flour)
  • 3 heaped tbsp Meridian Smooth Almond Butter
  • 3tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/4tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • Splash of coconut milk
  • 1 jar Meridian Mince Pie Filling

To Make:

  1. Preheat your oven to 170C. In a mixing bowl, stir together the ground almonds or flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
  2. In a saucepan, gently melt together the almond butter and maple syrup until smooth. Stir.
  3. Stir together the almond butter mixture with the ground almond mixture until it starts to come together. Add a splash of coconut milk – 1tsp at a time, stirring in between each addition – until the mixture comes together into a smooth dough (we needed just over 4tsp).
  4. Chill the dough for 20min until it’s firm enough to handle. Take 3/4 of the dough to make the pastry cases, setting aside the remainder for the stars on top.
  5. Between two sheets of baking paper, roll out your dough. Use cookie cutters to cut out 12 rounds. Press these into muffin tins (we used a silicone muffin pan), ensuring you press it up the sides. Place in the oven to bake for 8-10min, or until lightly golden.
  6. In the meantime, roll out your remaining dough and cut out 12 stars using cutters.
  7. Remove pastry from the oven and spoon in your mince pie filling (1 heaped tsp per pie). Top with the stars and brush each with  coconut milk.
  8. Place back in the oven to bake for a further 10-12min, or until golden. Allow to cool, then eat and enjoy!

Sarah Proctor

I've worked on a variety of regional newspapers and national magazines. My Weekly and Your Best Ever Christmas are fantastic, warm-hearted brands with an amazing, talented team. I'm a sub-editor and particularly love working on cookery, fiction and advice pages - I feel I should know all the secrets of eternal life, health and happiness by now, but hey, we all need that regular reminder!