100g(½cup)dried fruit, finely chopped (I used a mixture of dates, dried cranberries, dried figs, prunes and dried apricots, but you can use whatever dried fruit mix you like)
25g(¼cup)walnuts, finely chopped (or sub pecan nuts)
1teaspoon(1teaspoon)unwaxed orange zest(or sub ½ teaspoon orange extract)
1(1)apple, grated - no need to peel
½teaspoon(½teaspoon)ground ginger
¼teaspoon(¼teaspoon)ground cinnamon
½teaspoon(½teaspoon)mixed spice(or sub a mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves)
3tablespoons(3tablespoons)maple syrup(or sub any other sweetener)
Brandy or sherry(ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary - or sub apple or orange juice)
Place the dried fruit, walnuts, orange zest, grated apple, ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice and maple syrup in a bowl and add a generous amount of brandy or sherry, until everything is roughly covered.
Keep covered in the fridge for around 24 hours, to allow the flavours to develop.
For the pastry:
Combine the coconut oil, ground almonds and flour in a bowl, along with about 7 tablespoons of water, until it forms a firm dough - add the water a few tablespoons at a time so that you don’t add too much!
To assemble:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
Lay out a sheet of baking paper on a counter. Sprinkle the surface of the paper and a rolling pin with a generous amount of flour.
Take just over half of the pastry dough and use the rolling pin to roll it into an even rectangular shape, as thin as you can without it breaking.
Use a circular cookie cutter to cut out a circle of the pastry dough.
Place the pastry circle in a greased muffin tin and gently press down - make sure to do this carefully so you don’t crack the pastry.
Repeat until you get another 11 circles and place them in the muffin tin too - you will need to roll out the pastry a few times.
Place a heaped teaspoon of the mincemeat into each pastry crust.
Roll out the remaining pastry dough and use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out a star shape (or a smaller circular one if you don’t have a star-shaped one).
Place this on top of the mincemeat on one of the pies.
Repeat until you use up the rest of the pastry - you will need to roll out the pastry a few times.
Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, until the pastry crust is firm to the touch and golden brown.
Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a few days.
Video
Notes
*You can alternatively use almond flour.You can also make this without soaking the dried fruit a day in advance - place the dried fruit and alcohol (or juice) mixture in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 1 - 1 ½ minutes. Then leave to soak for 30 minutes.