Vegan Mince Pies

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4.92 from 24 votes

Incredibly easy vegan mince pies with homemade mincemeat and homemade pastry - no rolling required!

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: English

Keyword: vegan mince pies, vegan mincemeat

Servings: pies

Calories: 408kcal

Author: Richard Makin

Equipment

2 x medium bowls
1 x food processor
1 x non-stick 12 well cupcake tin
1 x pastry brush
1 x sharp knife
1 x wire cooling rack

Ingredients

For the Mincemeat

65 g raisins
95 g currants
35 g chopped mixed peel
75 g shredded vegetable suet
65 g dark brown sugar
½ lemon zest and juice only
½ orange zest only
50 ml brandy
pinch nutmeg
1 bramley apple small, peeled and grated
OR use 410g pre-made mincemeat from a jar

For the Pastry

200 g vegan butter block style, frozen plus extra for greasing
400 g plain white flour aka all purpose flour
70 g caster sugar aka superfine sugar
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
50 ml water ice cold
35 ml plant milk

For Decorating

100 g icing sugar sieved

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

To make the mincemeat

If using homemade mincemeat, start this process the day before you plan to bake. If using store-bough mincemeat, skip to the pastry. In a medium bowl, combine all the mincemeat ingredients in the order listed.
65 g raisins, 95 g currants, 35 g chopped mixed peel, 75 g shredded vegetable suet, 65 g dark brown sugar, ½ lemon, 50 ml brandy, pinch nutmeg, 1 bramley apple, OR use 410g pre-made mincemeat from a jar
Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 24 hours.

To make the pastry

Place the vegan butter, flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times or until the mixture resembles a coarse sandy texture.
200 g vegan butter, 400 g plain white flour, 70 g caster sugar, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and use a fork to stir in the ice cold water. Mix just until the crumbs start to clump together into larger lumps. Do not overmix.
50 ml water
Turn the very crumbly mixture out onto a counter and knead one or two times to create a crumbly ball of dough.
Grease a non-stick 12 well cupcake tin with some extra vegan butter and preheat the oven to 180c. Use a small cookie scoop to add a walnut-sized ball of dough into each well (this should leave just under half of the dough left for creating the pie lids).
Use your thumbs to push the dough down and up the sides of each well by around 1.5cm to create your pie crusts.
Divide the mincemeat between the pie crusts. To make the lids, dust a counter with a little flour then take another slightly smaller ball of dough and press flat against the counter with the palm of your hand until it’s roughly the size of the top of the pie.
Place the pie lid over a filled pie and roughly push the edges of the lid and the crust together (you do not need to be super neat, the pastry should seal itself loosely). Brush the top with a little plant milk.
35 ml plant milk
Place the cupcake tin of filled and covered pies in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes.
Carefully run a small sharp knife around each cupcake well to loosen the pies and gently remove them. Place the pies on a wire cooling rack until fully cooled.
To decorate the pies, cut out a design from a piece of card. Place on the top of a pie and dust with icing sugar, using the card as a stencil. Remove the card to reveal the design before serving.
100 g icing sugar

Notes

Mincemeat can be made 1 day ahead. Store refrigerated.
Unbaked pies can be frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw before baking.
Baked pies will keep for 3 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
To reheat, place pies on a baking sheet and warm at 150C for 10 minutes.
If dough becomes too warm during shaping, pop back in the fridge for 10 mins.
Use ice cold water and chilled butter for best pastry texture.
Let baked pies cool completely before removing from tin to prevent breakage.
Dust your work surface lightly with flour if dough sticks while rolling.
Store any leftover pastry wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Nutrition