Vegan Mince Pies

Ingredients:

For the mincemeat

• 175g currants
• 175g raisins
• 175g sultanas
• 175g dried cranberries
• 100g candied mixed peel
• 100g coconut oil
• 220g light brown soft sugar
• 50g almonds chopped
• 1 large bramley apple (or other variety of cooking apple) peeled, cored and grated
• The finely grated zest and juice of 1 large orange
• 1 ½ tsp of mixed spice
• ½ tsp of ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp of ground ginger
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1 pipette of CUBID CBD Natural Oil Drops (equivalent to 0.5ml)
• 240ml (1 cup) port, rum, whisky or brandy

For the Coconut Oil Pastry

• 400g plain flour
• 60g icing sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• The finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 200g solidified coconut oil cut into small pieces
• 50ml cold vodka
• 2 tbsp cold water
• Non-dairy milk for brushing

 

Method:

1. If possible, prepare the mincemeat the day before you bake the pies. Place the currants, raisins, sultanas, cranberries, mixed peel, soft brown sugar, coconut oil, grated bramley apple, spices and orange zest and juice in a large pan.
2. Gently heat and stir until the coconut oil has melted. Then let the mixture gently simmer for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool. After a little while, stir in the CUBID CBD Oil Drops and then the alcohol of your choice. Using a ladle, pour the mixture into two large, or four medium sized sterilised jars and set aside until completely cold (overnight is best).
4. For the pastry, grab your food processor. Place the flour, icing sugar, salt and orange zest and pulse to combine.
5. Place the coconut oil into the food processor and blend until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make sure there are no lumps of coconut oil remaining. If you have a small food processor, or a handheld device, do this in two batches.
6. Pour in the cold vodka and 2 tbsp of water and blend once more until the pastry starts to come together. If needed, add an extra drop of water. Bring the pastry together with your hands.
7. Lightly flour a surface for rolling the pastry out thinly. Use a cutter, approximately 10cm in diameter, to cut rounds. It may be easier to roll out the pastry one quarter at a time rather than all in one go. (If the pastry is too soft then you can pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm it up a little, but don’t let it get too cold.)
8. Using strips of baking parchment, line a 12-cup muffin tray. This makes it easier to get the pies out of the tray. Then gently press the pastry rounds into the prepared tin.
9. Fill each pastry base with a heaped spoon of mincemeat. Be generous, but don’t fill them to the top, as they will bubble when cooking.
10. Re-roll the remaining pastry. Using a cutter the same size as the pie hole, cut out six rounds. Use a star cutter to cut a star out of each round or carve your own decoration.
11. Place on top of each pie. If topping with a round, brush the edge of pastry with water and press down to firmly seal the edge.
12. Place the tray of mince pies in the freezer for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 190°C /375F/gas mark 5.
13. Brush the tops of the pies with non-dairy milk, then bake for 25-30 minutes until they are golden and bubbling. Using the strips of baking parchment, lift the pies out of the tray onto a wire rack and leave to cool before eating. Don’t leave them to cool in the tin as any mincemeat that bubbles over will cement them in!