Ultimate Vegan Mince Pies (with Cream 'Cheese' Pastry

• Condiments

  • 1 100g block Margarine, dairy free

• Baking & Spices

  • 75 g Caster sugar
  • 200 g Plain flour

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 50 g Almonds, ground

• Dairy

  • 75 g Cream cheese, dairy free

• Other

  • a little dairy-free milk for binding and glazing
  • 450g jar mincemeat (shop-bought - check it is vegan, or homemade - see previous post for my Beetroot & Hazelnut Mincemeat recipe!

Found on thevegspace.co.uk

Ingredients

• 200g plain flour
• 100g block dairy-free margarine
• 75g caster sugar
• 50g ground almonds
• 75g dairy-free cream cheese
• a little dairy-free milk for binding and glazing
• 450g jar mincemeat (shop-bought - check it is vegan, or homemade - see previous post for my Beetroot & Hazelnut Mincemeat recipe!)

Directions

• Rub the margarine into the flour, (or blitz in a food processor) until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir through the sugar and ground almonds.
• Add the cream cheese and mix thoroughly to combine, then tip onto a clean, floured surface and bring together. You may find that this binds the pastry together into a smooth dough, but if not, add a tablespoon of dairy-free milk and continue to knead gently until a dough has formed.
• Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin with dairy-free margarine.
• Roll the dough to about 3-4mm thick, then cut out 12 large circles with a pastry cutter, and place into the muffin tins for the pie bases. Divide the mincemeat between the 12 mince pies - they should be fairly full.
• Re-roll the pastry offcuts a little thinner than before, and cut out either 12 smaller circles for the lids or your choice of decoration - I cut out 6 circles then a star out of the middle of each one, and alternated either the star or its cutout surround for each lid.
• Place the lids on the pies, squeeze together the edges to seal, then brush with dairy-free milk to glaze. Chill in the fridge until required.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C / 390°F / gas mark 6. Bake the mince pies for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and bubbling - watch them carefully for the last five minutes to make sure they dont burn. Leave to cool in the tins, then dust with icing sugar and serve.