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If, like me you love a good mince pie and every year find your self holding back on that first mince pie of the year then this Gluten Free Mince Pie Collection is for you!
This post includes traditional mince pies, flavoured mince pies, chocolate mince pies and frangipane topped mince pies. But wait, there’s more! If you like the flavours of mincemeat than you’ll love my other mince pie inspired recipes that make surer no mincemeat leftovers go to waste when you’ve made all you pies.
This post even gives you tips on how to eat your mince pie, the best ways to store mince pies and wait for it – what festive tipples to drink with your mince pies!
Like I said, I’ve got you covered. Gluten free, dairy free, egg free or vegan? Yep, I’ve got recipes for you because all my recipes are gluten free and many are dairy and egg free too – not that you’d ever guess.
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Jingle off to the good bit
- Different types of gluten free pastry
- Best butter or butter alternative to use in gluten free pastry
- Tips on how to get your pies to go golden brown
- Gluten free mince pie collection
- Mince pie alternatives
- Mincemeat Leftovers?
- Hot or cold mince pies?
- How to store mince pies?
- What to top your mince pies with?
- What to drink with mince pies?
Different types of gluten free pastry
There are different type of pastry out there whether you have no dietary requirements or many to consider. The good news is that my pastry recipes cover nearly all dietary needs, assuming you are okay with shop bought gluten free flour blends and can source butters/plant butters that suit your needs. I tend to use three types of pastry on this website, I’m yet to break into the world of puff pastry but I will work on a puff that everyone in my family can eat one day (i.e. gluten and dairy free).
Savoury Shortcrust Pastry
My standard savoury gluten free shortcrust pastry is a 80/20 mix of butter and solid white fat (e.g. Trex or Crisp n Dry), then 200g plain gluten free flour with cold water (approx. 50ml) added to combine.
Variations on this are to add an egg instead of the water, add ground flaxseed and water to make a flax-egg [see below], or add yeast flakes for a umami/cheese flavour. The last addition works amazingly well with quiche recipes such as my Vegan Mature ‘Cheese’ Quiche.
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
The most common sweet gluten free pastry I use in my recipes is once again an 80/20 mix of butter and Trex, 200g of plain gluten free flour, 50-60g of caster sugar and 50ml water (or egg, or flax-egg).
This is my most used style of pastry and appears in most recipes in this Mince Pie Collection.
Sweet (Extra Short) Shortcrust Pastry
For a rich luxurious pastry that’s extra short I use 100% butter, 200g plain gluten free flour, 50-60g sugar (caster or light brown) and an egg or flax-egg.
The last pastry is shorter due to its higher butter content and the more sugar you add the richer the flavour. I talk more about the best butters/plant butters in the next section below.
How to make a flax egg
to make 1 flax egg you need the following ingredients:
– 1tbsp ground flax seed
– 3tbsp water
– 1tsp psyllium husk (optional but does add elasticity to baking)
Simply add all ingredients to a glass and stir before measuring out the other recipe ingredients, by the time you come to use your ‘egg’ mixture it will have thickened to a frog-spawn consistency (thicker if you added psyllium husk)
Then just add to your baking as you would an egg. For 2 eggs double the ingredients but note that recipes that require more than two eggs may fail due to lack of support in the structure.
Best butter or butter alternative to use in gluten free pastry
The best butters if you can tolerate dairy are unsalted blocks of butter. Steer clear of margarines, olive spreads and cooking butters if you can as these have added water and less fat. Okay, so fat isn’t always good but your pastry will thank you for it!
I find that the best plant based ‘butters’ are hands down the block of butter. Again, I’d recommend avoiding dairy free spreads as they are pumped full of water and have little in the was of stabilisers.; By this I mean that you’ve already lost the gluten in the flour (an important elastic building block) and if your dairy free too you’ve lost natural animal fats (also an important brick in the structure).
Therefore you need a plant based ‘butter’ that starts solid and will harden again to be solid ergo – excellent cement for your baking! Husband works in construction, can you tell?
My go-to blocks of plant butter are Flora Plant Butters and Naturli’ Vegan Block [CONTAINS ALMOND] they currently cost any where between £1.85-£2.25 depending on where you shop.
Tips on how to get your pies to go golden brown
Gluten free pastry can have a reputation for looking rather anaemic and un palatable. But I think you’ll agree that the images prove that, with my Mince Pie Collection, there’s not a pale pastry to be seen!
TIP ONE – use a brown sugar. I often go for a soft light brown sugar for added colour and richness of flavour. But I also use golden caster sugar too. This is my favourite method for sweet pastry.
TIP TWO – use a pastry wash or glaze. This could be a simple diluted apricot jam, beaten egg or soya milk and brown sugar mix. All of which will add colour to your crust.
TIP THREE – toast under a grill or use a chefs torch. The later works well but you have to focus on one spot for a few seconds and the colour can end up uneven and slightly unnatural looking.
TIP FOUR – dust with icing sugar before baking. This method means that the powdered sugar melts and caramelises. This is great but can lead to scorching and burnt bits.
And for savoury pastry. Grilling works best but you want have the added colour from a brown sugar so to ensure a golden colour I mix a a bit of soya milk and naturally gluten free Henderson’s Relish or gluten Worcester sauce.
Gluten free mince pie collection
So here we are, presenting my mince pie collection to date. I have no doubt this collection will grow year-to-year as new trends pop up.
Mince pie alternatives
So maybe you love the idea of a mince pie and want to join in with the festivities but you’ve never really like the spiced mincemeat filling? Not to worry, I’ve got your back too! These Ecclefechan Tarts have never seen a pinch of spice so you get a fruity mini pie experience without the festive overload of twenty-billion spices!
The second recipe is technically an Easter on but get your hands on a gluten free fruit loaf and you can make these fruity treacle tarts. No need to add any additional spice, the fruit loaf will have that bit covered already.
Mincemeat Leftovers?
What do you do with any leftover mincemeat? That simple dollop it on a festive tart tatin or stir some into a rice pudding. There’s so many ways to use up mincemeat once you’ve made your mince pies.
Hot or cold mince pies?
Mince pies are equally delicious eaten hot or cold, but who could resist a warm mince pie on a cold winters evening with a glass of mulled wine?
The best way to heat mince pies for parties and guests is to pop them onto a baking tray and simply reheat them in a moderate oven for 5-10 minutes. The mincemeat warms up really quickly but won’t be the nuclear heat as if baking them from scratch!
For an added luxury you could remove the tops of the mince pies (if they have lids) and add a little dollop of brandy butter of a drizzle of your favourite spirit. Then heat them in the oven with the lids replaced.
If eating mince pies on my own I’ll always opt for the good ole zap in the microwave for 20-30 seconds (my microwave is 900w). Then I add the brandy butter afterwards as microwaves have a habit of sending the butter into major melt down!
Like your mince pies cold? Never fear, they still taste delicious with a lump of brandy butter or how about a big fat collop of my Homemade Vegan Clotted Cream?
How to store mince pies?
If you’re like me you’ll have made way more mince pies than you need. I tend to store mine in a Tupperware container but if I have made oodles too many I freeze a few for a later date (or you can keep them in the fridge).
That said, all my mince pies last ages. I’ve kept mine for two weeks and they’ve still been fine to eat hold or cold.
Gluten Free Christmas Gift Guide
Every Year I update this post on Glutarama’s website to give you the latest gluten free gifts perfect for a loved one or to gift yourself. The guide is broken into advent calendars, gifts for the Christmas Day, hampers for gifts or to cater for a gluten free Christmas and finally I try to find something a bit special to treat yourself in the new year.
What to top your mince pies with?
What to drink with mince pies?
Finally, now I’ve made your mind boggle with this mince pie collection, what’s the perfect tipple to go with your mince pies? Being dairy free I happen to have a few traditional favourites here that I’ve made safe to drink if you can tolerate dairy. I’ve also added links to the quintessential mulled wine recipe – but not one, two recipes!
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*disclaimer: I use affiliate codes on my website, the vast majority are to Amazon. If you click on any of the links or images in the post and make a purchase my family will benefit from a small % of that purchase at no extra cost to you.
For full transparency, in 2020 I made my first £25, and in 2022 I reached my next £25 (Amazon don’t transfer the money until you reach £25). I’m now up to £17.80 for 2023 so edging closer to the magical £25 mark!!
To date I have made £69.28 since I first started the scheme in 2017. It won’t pay the bills, that’s for sure but it does help to pay for ingredients or little treats to cheer me up!
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