I’m actually really proud of these!  My sister is having her first Christmas back at home for 5 years after travelling around the world, and in that time she now follows a vegan diet.  All very well, but as Christmas is her favourite time of year, she was already worrying about what she would be able to eat and enjoy as most of the sweet treats have some sort of dairy in them, including her favourite; mince pies.

I took on the challenge and came up with the recipe below, which is not only vegan, but also (obviously!) gluten free!  They’re not your usual crumbly buttery pastry, but they’re still nice and crisp, delicious, and scream Christmas…they also got the sister’s approval, which was my aim!

Mince Pies

Prep Time: 30 minutes     Cook Time: 10 – 15 minutes     Servings: 10 pies

Ingredients

• 175g / 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten free if needed)
• 60g / 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 40g / 1/2 cup dessicated coconut
• 2 1/2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons honey, maple syrup or rice syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon water
• 200g of fruit mince pie filling (if not making from scratch ensure it is vegan and gluten free, but they usually are)
  

Method

1. In a food processor, blitz together the oats, ground almond and coconut until it resembles a crumby texture
2. Add in the oil, honey and vanilla and combine again until it starts to resemble a soft dough
3. Add in the water until it starts to come together and it starts to get sticky
4. Tip out the mixture onto a sheet of baking parchment and then add another layer of baking parchment on top
5. Roll out into a thin layer.  You will really need to use the baking parchment due to the sticky and crumbly nature of the pastry mix
   
6. Cut into circles using a cookie or pastry cutter
7. Grease a muffin or pie tin with a little coconut oil then drop in the circles of pastry and push into the sides until you have a pie base
   
8. Fill the pie shells with a tablespoon of fruit mince pie mix
9. Using the rest of the pastry, cut out star shapes and place on top of the pies
   
10. Bake in a low pre-heated oven at 150 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes, ensuring they brown but do not burn
11. Take out of the oven and allow to cool in the tin, before removing and further cooling on a rack
12. Enjoy! These are perfect on their own, but even better with some custard (or brandy butter if you’re not vegan!)