isithalal.food

Halal-conscious recipe

Mince pies without brandy

Sweet butter-pastry mince pies filled with a jar of mincemeat made with vegetable suet and no alcohol, freshened with satsuma, apple and lemon.

  • Cuisine British
  • Meal Dessert
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 16 mince pies
  • Time 1h 15m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
Homemade mince pies with star and heart pastry lids on a plate
Photograph from our ingredient library: homemade mince pies, not the finished dish.

Photo: moonsetsky · CC BY 2.0

Why Halal checks matter here

Many jars of mincemeat and shop mince pies list brandy or other spirits, traditional mincemeat uses beef suet, and the pastry fat needs a look.

Mince pies are a Christmas bake of sweet pastry and mincemeat: dried fruit, apple, sugar, spice and suet. The Halal question is in the jar. Some UK mincemeat lists brandy, and traditional recipes use beef suet; others list vegetable suet and no alcohol at all (see mince pies for the pack records).

This version follows BBC Good Food's recipe, which uses a whole jar of mincemeat freshened with satsuma, apple and lemon zest, and specifies a jar with vegetable suet and no alcohol on the label. The pastry is made at home with butter, so there's no lard to worry about, and no brandy goes in anywhere.

Keep the pastry cool and don't over-mix it, and fill the cases generously: the mincemeat sinks a little as it bakes.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Mincemeat Some UK jars list brandy (Waitrose Christmas Mincemeat; Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Matured Mincemeat), and traditional mincemeat uses beef suet. Choose a jar that lists vegetable suet and no alcohol, such as Aldi's The Pantry mincemeat on its pack record. See Mince pies.
  • Shop-bought pastry Some pastry is made with lard. This recipe makes its own butter pastry; if you buy pastry, read the fat.

Safe substitutes

  • Mincemeat with brandy → Mincemeat with vegetable suet and no alcohol

Allergens

gluten (flour), milk (butter), egg

Ingredients

Filling

  • about 600 g (1 large jar) mincemeat with vegetable suet and no brandy, rum or other alcohol on the label
  • 2 satsumas, segmented and finely chopped
  • 1 apple, finely chopped
  • 1 lemon, zest only

Pastry

  • 375 g (3 cups) plain flour
  • 260 g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
  • 125 g (⅔ cup) caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 1 + 1 large egg, plus 1 beaten egg for glazing
  • a little icing sugar, for dusting

Method

  1. Make the pastry. Rub the flour and softened butter together to a crumb. Mix in the caster sugar and 1 beaten egg, then tip onto a lightly floured surface and fold until it just comes together without over-mixing. Wrap and chill for 10 minutes.
  2. Mix the filling. Spoon the mincemeat into a bowl and stir in the chopped satsumas, apple and lemon zest. Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan).
  3. Line the tins. Roll the pastry out to 3 mm thick. Cut 16 bases with a 10 cm cutter and press them into muffin tins. Fill each with 1½ tbsp of the mincemeat mixture and brush the edges with beaten egg.
  4. Add the lids. Re-roll the trimmings and cut 7 cm lids. Press them on top to seal, glaze with beaten egg, sprinkle with caster sugar and cut a small slit in each.
  5. Bake. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool before lifting them out of the tins, and dust with icing sugar to serve.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Mince pies' (a sweet shortcrust of 375 g flour, 260 g butter, 125 g sugar and an egg, chilled 10 minutes; a large jar of mincemeat mixed with satsuma, apple and lemon zest; 16 pies in muffin tins with lids, glazed and baked 15 to 20 minutes at 220°C). The recipe names no brand of mincemeat; we specified a jar listing vegetable suet and no alcohol. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Mince pies — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    Makes 16: 1 large jar mincemeat (about 600 g), 2 satsumas, 1 apple, lemon zest, 375 g plain flour, 260 g unsalted butter, 125 g caster sugar, 1 large egg plus 1 for glazing, icing sugar; baked 15 to 20 minutes at 220°C (200°C fan). It names no mincemeat brand; we specified one with no alcohol.

  2. Mince pies analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    Brandy, suet and pastry checks, with UK pack records.

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