Traditional mincemeat Ginger & cranberry tip

Homemade mince pies are one of my favourite parts of Christmas, and making your own mincemeat is a lot easier than you might think – everything just goes straight into the pan. The recipe is also easy to scale up or down to suit your needs. I always make an extra jar or two to gift to family.

MAKES 850g PREP 10 mins plus cooling COOK 10 mins EASY

V150g currants 150g sultanas 100g raisins 75g mixed peel 1 lemon, zested and juiced 75g suet (check it’s vegetarian and

gluten-free, if needed)

1 small cooking apple, peeled,

cored and inely chopped 1 tsp mixed spice 1 tsp ground cinnamon 200g dark muscovado sugar 100ml brandy

1 Put all the ingredients, except the brandy, in a large saucepan. Cook over a low heat for 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until the sugar and suet have completely dissolved. 2 Remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature before stirring in the brandy. The mincemeat may look loose at this stage, but it will continue to thicken. You can encase it in pastry as soon as it’s cooled. Alternatively, spoon the warm mincemeat into a large sterilised jar or several smaller ones (see tip, opposite). Will keep in a cool, dry place for up to six months.

GOOD TO KNOW gluten free

PER TBSP 61 kcals • fat 1g • saturates 1g • carbs 11g • sugars 10g • ibre 0.4g • protein 0.2g • salt 0.02g

Swap the raisins for 100g dried cranberries, then add 2 tbsp finely chopped stem ginger

and 1/2 tsp ground ginger.

Search for ‘unbelievably easy mince pies’ on bbcgoodfood. com to use your mincemeat in pies, or try our mincemeat Chelsea buns, mincemeat shortbread, or pear & mincemeat crumble cake.