isithalal.food · Recipes

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.

British · Dessert · Easy · 16 mince pies · 75 min

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.

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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.

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.

Ingredients

Filling

• about 600 g (1 large jar) mincemeat with vegetable suet and no brandy, rum or other alcohol on the label
• 2 (2) satsumas, segmented and finely chopped
• 1 (1) apple, finely chopped
• 1 (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 (1 + 1) large egg, plus 1 beaten egg for glazing
• a little (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.

Allergens

gluten (flour), milk (butter), egg

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.

Photograph from our ingredient library: homemade mince pies, not the finished dish.