Create your own mincemeat for mince pies - a traditional British Christmas favourite. This recipe is easy to make, just leave it for a few weeks to mature before using. Make a half quantity if you wish.
250gramsapple grateduse a cooking apple for preference
250gramssugarcaster or granulated
1lemon, zest gratedpreferably untreated
50millilitresbrandy
5gramsnutmeg, mace and allspicetotal amount
Instructions
Prepare the fruit
Measure out and pick over all the dried fruit (except the peel) and remove any stalks. This is time consuming but worth it.
Zest the lemons with a zesting tool. Squeeze the juice into a medium bowl
Place the dried fruit, peel, zest, suet and spice in a large bowl and mix to combine.
Peel, core and grate the apples. A food processor is ideal for this. Place the apples in the bowl with the lemon juice and mix well. This will stop the apples going brown too quickly.
Add the apples to the fruit, suet and spice mixture and mix well. Add the brandy. Mix well and leave a few hours or overnight. Mix again, then put in jars.
Leave for 2-3 weeks before using.
Notes
This mincemeat stores really well in sealed jars. Leave for a few weeks before using to allow the flavours to mix together. If you use a gluten free flour, you may need to add some water so that the pastry forms a ball.