Directions

Mince Pie Filling

1. Chop the apple into approximately 2cm chunks with the skin still on. Place in a saucepan on a low heat with 15ml water and the spices.

2. Add the zest & juice of both the lemon & lime to the saucepan.

3. Allow the apples to cook down for 10-15 minutes - you don't want them to go mushy.

4. Mix in the cranberries and sweetener. Taste the mix and adjust the spices & sweetener to suit your preferences. If added sweetener isn't working, add 1 tsp vanilla extract.

5. Add the roughly chopped nuts at the last second and mix. If the mix isn't thick enough, add a teaspoon of chia seeds and stir - these will absorb some of the moisture.

6. Turn off the heat whilst you make the pastry.

Pastry Option #1

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
   

2. Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and beat it together until it forms a dough ball.
   

3. Roll out the dough between greaseproof / silicone sheets.

4. Use a large circular cookie cutter or glass to cut circles of pastry. Place these in your muffin tin, gently pressing them into the mould.

5. If you have some dough remaining, you can roll this out to make a topping - add this after you've added the filling.
   

6. Bake the pie bases for just 5-10 minutes without filling.

Pastry - Option #2

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.

2. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.

3. Break the butter into chunks and combine this with the dry mix using your fingertips.

4. Add the egg and knead the mix into a dough.

5. Working on half of the mix at a time, roll the pastry between two sheets of greaseproof paper until it is a couple of millimetres thick. 

6. Remove the top sheet of paper and gently place it back on. Flip the pastry over so that the other layer of greaseproof can be peeled off. The dough will now easily come off the paper when you're cutting it.

7. Use a large circular cookie cutter or glass to cut circles of pastry. Place these in your muffin tin, gently pressing them into the mould.
   

8. If you have some dough remaining, you can roll this out to make a topping - add this after you've added the filling.

9. Bake the pie bases for just 5-10 minutes without filling.
   

Last Step

1. Divide the mince pie filling between the baked pastry bases and add the pastry topping if you had leftover dough.

2. Bake for another 10 minutes or so, just to make the pastry topping golden and to finish off the bases.