I can’t believe I’m turning into a baker! I have to say I have a lot of help from people like Kelly at Spunky Coconut. I’ve adopted her blog this month as part of Book of Yum’s monthly Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger. This is a fun event that I love to participate in but often get sidetracked and miss the deadline.
So as many of you know I’m hosting a Boxing Day party at my house for my extended family. One of the desserts I wanted to make for our wonderful British relatives coming is Mincemeat Pies or as they refer to them and Mince!
I needed a good crust that I could both eat and serve to those who eat gluten. Kelly has a great recipe for a pie crust on her blog and in her cookbook. I really liked the fact that it combined both almond flour and coconut flour. I also learned something new about baking powder, it has corn in it! Yep. Could be one of those things that is bothering me and I couldn’t figure out the ingredient. So I used her grain-free corn-free baking powder recipe.
So I got busy making the dough.
After seeing this photo you’ll know why I don’t bake often. I’m super messy! I was of course covered in flours and for some reason when I grabbed an open bag of potato flour it spilled down inside my shirt. Makes a good body powder.
I followed Kelly’s instructions except I used agave instead of Stevia. Well I changed one more thing too. Since I was making these mini pies I rolled out the dough and used my bisquit cutter to make circles that I then pushed into my mini muffin pan. It worked out great.
I ended up with 23 Mince Pies. I also cheated on the mince filling. I wanted these to be as British as possible so I picked up a Mincemeat mix from Robertson’s at the British Pantry that is sold in the UK. It’s very sweet but that’s what mince is right.
I think these came out really well. I did taste one so now there are only 22 left for company. After they cooled I promptly put them into the freezer to keep safe until Boxing Day.
So the recipe is very simple. Use Kelly’s pie crust recipe but don’t pre-bake it. Grease your tin with coconut oil. Roll out the dough and cut it into circles and place in each muffin space. Add an overflowing spoonful of mince mix. Top it off with a star that you have cut from the pie dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. There you have it. Now if you don’t have a mince mix you can always try one of the following recipes from David Lebovitz and BBC.
I hope you will stop over to visit Kelly at the Spunky Coconut. She has wonderful recipes and tips on how to live gluten-free, casein-free and sugar free. You’ll also love her newest cookbook, The Spunky Coconut Grain-Free Baked Goods and Desserts: Gluten Free, Casein Free, and Often Egg Free
Now before you head on to your day, it’s your last chance to win a cookbook. Go to my post on Chipolatas and follow the directions. Your chance ends at 10pm ET tonight, December 8th.
You ARE turning into a baker! Those mince pies are gorgeous and what a lovely shot of them at the top–wow! Your British relatives will be impressed for sure, Diane. 🙂
LOL on the new body powder … no chemicals, right? 😉
Can't believe that the giveaway ends tonight. It's been both a short week and a long week … having a bugaboo distorts reality a bit. 😉
Way to go, Diane!
Shirley
Shirley I think it will take a long time before I call myself a real baker. Now you, you're a real baker.
I love this recipe Diane! My father-in-law absolutely loves mince meat pies, but he really needs to lose weight and cut back on all of the carbs. These are perfect for him!
I bake a lot, and I'm still super messy when I bake 🙂
Alisa I'm glad to hear I'm not the only messy baker. Unfortunately the mess is usually all over me too.
Diane,
WOW, I am so impressed! Seriously? You made these? These look like professional baker treats and that photo is spectacular. What a great post, not that I'll be taking on this challenge anytime soon, but I love the whole idea of these little mini pies. You did a great job and I love it that you infused your zesty little attitude into the baking and into the post.
LOVE this. Wish I could stop by and steal one out of your freezer. 🙂
Melissa
xo
Thank you Melissa. It was so easy that really anyone can do it. If I can do it well it has to be easy. I will say they are super super sweet or maybe just sweet and I've not been eating sugar so they just seem super sweet. Either way I'm thinking one per person is more than enough but I have a few extra just in case. Just let me know when you're in town and I'll invite you in so you don't have to sneak one out.
You definitely are a baker – these mince pies are beautiful and I bet they taste great too 🙂
Valerie I think I'll only consider myself a baker when I am making more of these items completely from scratch. I tried that once with pumpkin scones and they were a little off. I'll keep trying because I'll never learn unless I try.
Diane, these are beautiful! Those little pies look amazing!
Thank you Iris. They were fun to make and oh so sweet!