This recipe makes around 36 mince pies.

Ingredients

100g 4 oz organic currants

100g 4 oz organic raisins

100g 4 oz organic sultanas

50g 2 oz organic dates

50g 2 oz candied peel

50g 2 oz glacé (natural) organic cherries

50g 2 oz organic flaked almonds

1 ripe banana, peeled

4 tablespoons brandy or whiskey, or fruit juice

1/2 teaspoon each ground ginger, freshly grated nutmeg, ground mixed spice

Organic vegan caster (superfine) sugar, to serve; organic vegan icing sugar to sprinkle

Pastry:

750g 1 1/2 lb plain (all-purpose) organic wholewheat flour

Pinch of salt

350g organic sunflower spread (or vegetable margarine)

6 tablespoons cold water

Instructions:

Make the mincemeat. Mix all of the ingredients apart from the caster sugar into the mixing bowl. Use a food processor to make a finer mincemeat.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC or 400ºF.  Grease or flour the muffin tin.

Make the pie pastry. Sift the flour and salt into a clean mixing bowl. Add the sunflower spread and using your fingertips, gently and quickly rub the fat into the flour. The mix is ready when it resembles breadcrumbs.

Pour in the cold water. Press the mix together to form a dough.

Remove from the bowl and place on a floured surface. Roll out fairly thinly. Cut 12 centimeter (4 3/4″) circles and 10 centimeter (4″) circles from the dough with round cutters.

Press a larger circle into the muffin tin. Place a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat into the middle of the pastry. Cover with a smaller circle. Repeat until all circles have been turned into mincemeat pies.

Press fork tines around the edges of each pie to seal closed and stab a fork in the middle. Alternatively, simply pinch the edges together and make one small neat hole in the middle of each.

Place into the preheated oven and bake for around 10 minutes or until the pies start to brown lightly.

Remove from the oven. Place the muffin tin on the cooling rack and leave to cool.

Sprinkle with the sugar. Serve warm or cold.