Festive RecipesLazy Mince Pies

More-ish, mini vegan mince-pies

I’m not going to lie to you; I could eat mince pies everyday of the year. Especially the diddy little ones that are gone in one bite, so technically you can scoff a few at a time. Yes, I am a major mince pie addict. And that didn’t change when I decided to go plant-based, it just meant I was even more determined to create a healthy, vegan mince pie recipe that tasted just as good, as well as nourishing my body at the same time.

Ingredients (makes 24 baby mince pies)

1½ cup (200g) of almonds
8 medjool dates, pitted
½ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup of desiccated coconut (optional)
A generous dusting of cinnamon
1 jar of Meridian organic mince pie filling (or any healthy-ish brand)

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 180C. Ground all the almonds in a food processor on a high speed until fine and crumbly. Throw in the dates and the melted coconut oil until a dough forms. If too sticky, add in the desiccated coconut or place in the fridge for half an hour.

2 Roll out half of the dough on a clean surface, dusted with a little gluten-free flour. Aim for around half a centimetre thick. Using a small round cookie cutter, cut out 24 circles.

3 Generously grease your tin with coconut oil, placing each circle into each hole. Press down with your fingers so the tin is lined, if the dough breaks slightly, don’t worry, just press it back together. Bake for five minutes.

4 Remove from the oven and fill with a teaspoon each of mince pie filling. Roll out your remaining dough and cut out stars with your star cookie cutter. Place on top on the mince pie filling and place in the oven for a further eight minutes – or until they brown.