They’re traditional, they’re heart-warming, they’re absolutely delicious and they scream Christmas! What am I?
FRUIT MINCE PIES!
Even better? GLUTEN FREE PASTRY! Yes!
Ok ok, I’m quite excited about sharing this Christmas fruit mince pie recipe with you as I’m pretty chuffed with my efforts, regarding this homemade gluten free pastry. It’s incredibly easy and fool-proof (well I’d like to think so) and you’re going to love it.
One of my fondest childhood memories is spending an entire day at my Nan’s house baking Christmas fruit mince pies, every single year. We would play Christmas carols and bake literally hundreds of fruit mince pies, we have many family members and friends who look forward to these pies each year.
Now I’m all grown up, we still have a day where we bake our pies leading up to the festive season but now I want to share these pies with you, my friends. This particular recipe isn’t the exact pastry recipe my Nan and I use, because my Nan was in charge of the pastry and she literally just threw the ingredients into her mixing bowl and voila, pastry was formed magically, I admire that old school baking.
So I decided to develop my very own pastry but in a gluten free version. I’m super excited how this pastry turned out, it’s absolute perfection! However, I’ve only tried this gluten free pastry recipe with one particular gluten free flour blend, that is, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour. Seriously you guys, you HAVE to get your hands on a packet of this, it’s been the best and only GF flour blend that I have found works, without fail each time, for gluten free baking, especially converting a regular wheat flour recipe into a gluten free one. So please to yourself a favour and consider purchasing this flour blend, works beautifully in these Christmas fruit mince pies.
The filling? Simple! A little cheeky though, I use a store-bought fruit mince pie filling because it’s the exact one my Nan and I use every year, it’s all I’ve ever known. The pro’s to store-bought:
– Cheaper
– Quicker
– Makes your life easier
– Satisfaction Guaranteed
If you do however have your own fruit mince pie filling, definitely use that! If not, let’s make life easier during the holiday season and buy a jar, I won’t tell 😉
I hope you’re just as excited as I am for these gluten free Christmas fruit mince pies!
Enjoy Friends!
Fruit Mince Pies
Ingredients
Pastry
- 2 cups 300g all purpose gluten free flour*, or regular all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup 85g icing/confectioners sugar
- 180 g salted butter chilled and chopped into small cubes
- 1 medium-large egg yolk
- 2 Tbsp - 4 Tbsp chilled water
- 2 Tbsp milk of choice to brush pastry tops
- 2 Tbsp icing/confectioners sugar to dust
Filling
- 1 jar store-bought fruit mince pie filling**
- 1 Tbsp sweet sherry or brandy optional
Equipment
- Round cookie cutters + scalloped edge round cookie cutters
- Small round piping nozzle
Instructions
Pastry
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In a high-speed food processor, add flour and icing sugar. Pulse a couple of times to blend together.
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Add chilled cubed butter. Pulse for 15 seconds until mixture resembles coarse crumb.
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With processor running, add egg yolk through the shoot and pulse until just combined.
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Through the feed shoot, drizzle a tablespoon at a time of the chilled water while pulsing the mixture, until it begins to come together but not a ball of dough. If the dough is still too dry, add a little more water.
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Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Bring together and gently knead until it forms a smooth dough ball.
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Divide dough in 2 equal halves and flatten each into a round disc. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 180ºC (356ºF). Liberally grease a 12-hole shallow cupcake/muffin pan with melted butter or oil. (Or a specific pan designed for mince pies).
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Remove pastry from refrigerator.
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Roll out one half pastry on a lightly floured surface or on a sheet of baking paper. Gently roll out to 3mm-5mm in thickness.
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Take a round cookie cutter, the same size/large enough to fill moulds in your shallow pan. Cut out enough round bases to fill your pan (12 hole pan). NOTE: if you have extra dough bases cut out but no extra pan, save them and bake another round of pies after your first batch.
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Gently push the bases into your shallow greased pan.
Filling
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Open jar of fruit mince and pour in sherry or brandy, mix with a long spoon until combined. NOTE: adding the alcohol is completely optional.
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Fill each base with the fruit mince, approx. 1 tablespoons worth each, ensuring not to overfill as they can bubble over during baking.
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Take second half of dough, on floured surface or baking sheet, roll out to 3mm-5mm in thickness.
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Take a slightly smaller scalloped edge round cookie cutter and cut out shapes for the tops, enough to match the bases.
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Take a small round piping nozzle and carefully cut out the middles of the pastry tops.
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Place pastry tops over the top of the pies to cover the filling, pressing down slightly to the edges of the bases to secure.
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Return pan to refrigerator and chill pies for 15 minutes.
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Remove and lightly brush pastry tops with milk.
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Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden all over.
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Remove and cool in pan for 5 minutes.
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Transfer to a wire rack and dust pies with icing sugar.
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Serve warm or cool completely on wire rack and store away for later.
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Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Store pies in an airtight container, in the pantry or refrigerated, for 1 week.
*I use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour.
**Here’s the fruit mince I use.
If you don’t have a scalloped edge cook cutter, any smooth round cookie cutter will work.
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