Nothing says festive-time quite like a homemade mince pie. These gorgeous little tarts make a wonderful summer gift… if you haven’t eaten them all yourself first!
Mince filling
4 large apples grated (e.g. Pink lady)
grated zest and juice of two lemons
½ cup dried blueberries (or cherries)
2 tbsp leatherwood honey
1 splosh/dollop apple juice concentrate
or runny honey
¼ cup Tassie whisky
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp each of nutmeg, ground clove, mixed spice
2-3 tsp cocoa (roughly)
Pastry
2 ½ cups light sifted flour (plain white)
2 tbsp crystallised mild flavoured honey (eg bush)
1 cup diced chilled butter
~1/4 cup milk to bring together
Method
To prepare the mince: put all ingredients into a pot and simmer for ½ hour stirring frequently. Use a lid between stirring to prevent it drying out.
Allow to cool (can be prepared up to a week in advance).
For the pastry: rub the butter and honey through the flour with your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs then add milk until the dough comes together. Press into a ball shape and chill for an hour.
Assembly:roll out the pastry with plenty of flour and use circle cutters to make bases that fit your moulds. Spoon a little mince into each base and top with star shaped cut outs. Bake in a fan forced oven at 180C for 15 mins or until just lightly golden.
