Christmas Special… Healthy Fruit Mince Pies!!

Check out this amazing fruit mince pie recipe from The Healthy Chef. The almond crust tastes amazing and is great for those of us who follow a gluten free diet. The almond based crust also offers an amino profile where other crusts don’t and also consists of a Vitamin E profile which is an antioxidant and can improve the immune system… A festive post exercise recovery meal 😉 The pies will last for up to 7 days if refrigerated. For more tasty recipes and treats head over to the healthy chef website.

FRUIT MINCE PIES:

Almond short crust

2  1/2   cups (250g) almond meal or ground almonds
2 tablespoons honey, organic maple syrup or rice syrup
30 ml / 2 tablespoons of macadamia or light olive oil, almond oil, melted butter or cold pressed coconut oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

200g of fruit mince (recipe found below) enough for 10 pies

  • Combine almond meal, honey, oil, vanilla and egg into a large bowl.
  • Mix by hand until you form a soft dough.
  • Add a splash of water  if needed to form into a soft dough.
  • Roll out carefully between 2 sheets of baking paper and cut into circles, large enough to to cover the base and sides of your tart shells.
  • Make sure to prepare 10 tart shells before lining with a light coat of oil or butter, followed by a dusting of coconut or ground almonds to prevent sticking.
  • Fill lined tart shells with 1 tbsp of the fruit mince.
  • Roll out rest of the pastry and cut out in the shape of stars.
  • Arrange stars over the top of the mince pies.
  • Bake in a low 150 C (300 F) oven for 30 minutes or until golden.
  • Cool completely before  turning out of the tin.
  • Makes 10 delicious fruit mince pies
  • Store in an airtight container for 7 days.

 

Fruit Mince Ingredients & Recipe

Fruit mince:

500 g apples, finely diced with the skin (golden delicious, pink lady) these are naturally sweet and delicious
250 g raisins
100 g cranberries or sun-dried cherries
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 orange (you will need the zest from ½ orange)
500 ml fresh apple juice
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

  • Combine the apples, raisins and cranberries into a pot.
  • Add the apple juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla and the zest from 1 orange.
  • Cover the pot and simmer over a gentle heat for 30 minutes, making sure to stir every now and then. Make sure not to boil too fast, just a slow gentle simmer.
  • Add more apple juice if need  to keep the mixture plump and moist then simmer for another 30 minutes.
  • Turn off the heat and allow to cool.  Now at this stage your fruit mince will be ready to enjoy – but for those who want to add that festive cheer, you can stir through a generous splash of calvados ( apple brandy).
  • Your fruit mince is now ready and it’s delicious made into pies, tarts or folded into Christmas Baked muffins.

Enjoy guys and feel free to leave us your comments and reviews. Merry Christmas.

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