Free Mincemeat Pies

Free Mince Pie

Sugar free, gluten free, starch free, suet free, and alcohol free mincemeat pies. The date mincemeat was designed by Copilot. The pastry is a French tart turned on its head with the filling in the middle and the fragipan as the lid, then brushed with an orange marmalade glaze. Make the mincemeat in advance and let it mature in the fridge.

 

Version 1.1

Date: 13/12/2025

 

4 tablespoons (55 g) butter at room temperature

1/2 tsp (1 g) vanilla powder (optional*)

1/2 tsp (2 g / 2 ml) vanilla extract

1/3 cup (60 g) Pure Via Icing Sugar Alternative

1 egg

1 cup (130 g) chickpea flour

1/4 cup (24 g) milk powder

1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt

1 teaspoon (5 g) baking powder

3/4 teaspoon (2 g) xanthan gum

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons (6 g/7.5 ml) vanilla

1 cup (170 g) Pure Via Caster Sugar Alternative

2 heaped soup spoon sugar free marmalade

 

Make Date Mincemeat (see below).

 

Take butter out refrigerator to warm to room temperature or microwave on low to soften.

 

Heat fan oven to 160 C/320 F or conventional oven to 170 C/340 F, with the rack in the bottom of the oven.

 

Push the ground almonds through a sieve into small bowl, using a spoon.

 

Add room temperature butter to a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla powder, vanilla extract, powdered sweetener and almond flour and stir until you have a smooth mixture. Add egg and whisk the mixture until combined then sift in the xanthan gum and whisk until mixed and starting to harden.

 

Using a paper towel with some further butter, grease 12 cups of a muffin pan, making sure that you liberally grease the bottom of the cups.

 

Into a medium bowl, sift chickpea flour, milk powder, salt, baking powder, and xanthan gum and mix well to distribute ingredients. Add the oil and mix until completely combined, then stir some more to ensure there are no pockets of chickpea flour.

 

Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat well. Stir in vanilla. Add sweetener and mix well.

 

Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir with a spoon until combined. Keep stirring ― it will take some time for the egg and sweetener to be incorporated and start to form a dough. Use your hand to form the dough into a ball. Sieve some chickpea flour onto a board and into the bowl. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to 0.5 cm thickness. Using a 8.5 cm diameter circular cutter, cut circles out of the dough and gently slide into muffin cups without forcing them. Reroll and cut as necessary.

 

Place a small quantity of mincemeat to 2/3 fill each cup without pushing down. Put almond cream into a piping bag and pipe roses on each of the pies. Place the muffin pan in a hot oven and bake in hot oven for 20-23 minutes or until the edges of the bases turn dark brown. Remove muffin pan from oven to wire rack to cool. After 10-15 minutes use a small spatula to loosen the pies and remove from the tin to a wire rack to continue cooling.

 

Heat marmalade in a small saucepan on the stove until the jam is melted, stirring all the time. Sieve the melted jam into a bowl then brush onto the tarts.

 

*Kiddu Madagascar Vanilla Powder

 

Date Mincemeat

To create a mincemeat that incorporates dates and avoids both alcohol and suet, I utilised Copilot, which generated the following recipe. The result was a mincemeat mixture that is both flavourful and effective for this application. This approach ensures a rich, fruity filling without traditional ingredients like suet or alcohol, yielding a delicious alternative.

 

2 large cooking apples (such as Bramley)

3/4 cup (100 g) pitted dates, chopped

3/4 cup (100 g) raisins

3/4 cup (100 g) sultanas or golden raisins

1/2 cup (75 g) dried cranberries

1/2 cup (75 g) dried apricots, chopped

1/2 cup (100 g) Pure Via Soft Brown Sugar Alternative

zest and juice of 1 orange

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon (1.6 g) ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon (1.3 g) ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon (0.5 g) ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon (0.5 g) ground ginger

3 tablespoons (50 g) butter

2 tablespoons (30 ml) apple juice

 

Peel, core and finely dice the apples and add to a large saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients except the butter and apple juice to the pan and stir well.

 

Add the butter and apple juice. Stir well. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, until the apples and dates are soft and the mixture is thick and glossy. Add a little more apple juice if it looks dry.

 

Let the mincemeat cool completely. Spoon into sterilized jars and store in the fridge. It will keep for several weeks, and the flavors will deepen over time.

 

References & Further Reading suggested by Copilot

April J Harris: Suet-Free Mincemeat

Dishing Out Plants: Easy Alcohol-Free Vegan Mincemeat

EatHealthy365: Easy Mincemeat (No Suet)