Vegan mince pie recipe

 Many of the commercial mince pies available from supermarkets have vegan options but they are so full of sugar that they hurt your teeth because they are made with sweet pastry, sweet mincemeat and then dusted with sugar so here is a vegan option that is wholewheat, light on sugar and delicious.

First buy a good jar of organic, low or no sugar if you prefer, mincemeat available at most good wholefood shops at this time of year.

Make 8 or 12 0z of wholewheat pastry (see previous blog) according to the size of jar of mincemeat you have. When the pastry has rested in the fridge for about an hour grease a couple of tart tins, I use a twelve and a nine tart tin, with vegan marg. Roll out a generous half of your pastry. If you have a set of three tart cutters use the largest to cut out the bases and the middle size for the lids. Place the pastry bases in the tart tins and gently press them into the bottom edges of each cavity. Next add about a teaspoon full of mincemeat into each pie, do not overfill or they will burst open, then roll out the pastry and cut out the lids with the middle sized cutter. Have a cup of cold water near the lids and either dip your finger a couple of times to wet around the edges of each lid or use a pastry brush, I use my finger which applies just enough moisture with two dips where as using a brush it is harder to just apply the moisture to the edge which is used to place the lid, moist edge down and gently press down onto the upright edges of the base to glue them together. Do this one lid at a time and when the pies are all made prick them with a pointed knife two or three times each to let the steam out and prevent them from bursting open at the edges.

Lightly paint the tops of the pies with soya milk and sprinkle on a little soft light brown sugar which gives a nice crunch when cooked. I have a fan oven and cook them in a preheated oven at 200c for about 10 to 15 minutes until just going golden, keep an eye on them. Adjust the temperature accordingly if you do not have a fan oven, I would guess they will take a little longer in a conventional oven but again just keep an eye on them. They will be very hot when you take them out of the oven so leave to cool for at least 15 minutes.