Vegan Mince Pies

Incredibly easy vegan mince pies, packed with homemade mincemeat and homemade pastry – no rolling required!

We’ve all grown accustomed to store-bought mince pies (there are even store-bought vegan mince pies most places now too) so the idea of making your own from scratch is a little daunting.

But here’s why you should really give this recipe a go. These are the easiest vegan mince pies I’ve ever made in my life. The pastry is buttery and crumbly but WILL NOT fall apart in your hand. Meanwhile the filling is FRUITY AF and just so festive.

Makes 12 mince pies

You’ll need:

For the mincemeat filling
65g raisins
95g currants
35g chopped mixed peel
75g shredded vegetable suet
65g dark brown sugar
½ lemon zest and juice only
½ orange zest only
50ml brandy
Pinch nutmeg
1 small apple, peeled and grated

OR use 410g pre-made mincemeat from a jar

For the pastry
200g vegan butter block style, frozen plus extra for greasing
400g plain white flour aka all purpose flour
70g caster sugar aka superfine sugar
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
50ml water ice cold
35ml plant milk

For decorating
100g icing sugar, sieved

Here’s how:

If using homemade mincemeat, start this process the day before you plan to bake. If using store-bough mincemeat, skip to the pastry.
In a medium bowl, combine all the mincemeat ingredients in the order listed. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 24 hours.
For the pastry, place the vegan butter, flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times or until the mixture resembles a coarse sandy texture. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and use a fork to stir in the ice cold water. Mix just until the crumbs start to clump together into larger lumps. Do not overmix. Turn the very crumbly mixture out onto a counter and knead one or two times to create a crumbly ball of dough.
Grease a non-stick 12 well cupcake tin with some extra vegan butter and preheat the oven to 180c. Use a small cookie scoop to add a walnut-sized ball of dough into each well (this should leave just under half of the dough left for creating the pie lids). Use your thumbs to push the dough down and up the sides of each well by around 1.5cm to create your pie crusts.
Divide the mincemeat between the pie crusts.
To make the lids, dust a counter with a little flour then take another slightly smaller ball of dough and press flat against the counter with the palm of your hand until it’s roughly the size of the top of the pie. Place the pie lid over a filled pie and roughly push the edges of the lid and the crust together (you do not need to be super neat, the pastry should seal itself loosely). Brush the top with a little plant milk.
Place the cupcake tin of filled and covered pies in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes.
Carefully run a small sharp knife around each cupcake well to loosen the pies and gently remove them. Place the pies on a wire cooling rack until fully cooled.
To decorate the pies, cut out a design from a piece of card. Place on the top of a pie and dust with icing sugar, using the card as a stencil. Remove the card to reveal the design before serving.

Hints and tips:

The easiest way to decorate your pies is to use a paper plate to make a stencil. Place on top of the pie and dust liberally with icing sugar.
If you’re gluten free, this recipe works great with a simple sub for a decent gluten free plain flour blend.
If you’re booze free, brandy is super easy to replace. It can be swapped out for either apple juice, orange juice or grape juice. This’ll keep the pies kid friendly too!
If you can’t get hold of vegan butter, or simply don’t want to use it, swap it for coconut oil. It’s a simple gram for gram swap, but make sure you freeze the coconut oil before use.
Scared of getting a soggy bottom on your pies? The risk of a soggy bottom is increased if you use your own homemade mincemeat, but there’s a hack to keep things deliciously crispy downstairs. Place a pizza stone or a thick metal tray in your oven as it pre-heats. When ready, place the cupcake tray on the hot stone/tray to make sure the base of the pastry bakes first.
Unbaked pies can be frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw before baking. Baked pies will keep for 3 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature. To reheat, place pies on a baking sheet and warm at 150C for 10 minutes.
If dough becomes too warm during shaping, pop back in the fridge for 10 mins. Use ice cold water and chilled butter for best pastry texture.
Let baked pies cool completely before removing from tin to prevent breakage.
Dust your work surface lightly with flour if dough sticks while rolling.
Store any leftover pastry wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Original source: https://schoolnightvegan.com