Fruit Mince Pies are a must for any Australian Christmas, and are relatively simply to make. To save time, you can make the prepare the fruit mince for the pies at the same time as you prepare the fruit mix for our Simple and Classic Christmas Pudding recipe.

As with the Christmas pudding you can also mix and match the fruit mince to your tastes, or to whatever you have in your cupboard.

We are using a food processor to make the sweet short crust in this recipe, if you don’t have one or prefer not to use one you can also use your hands or a dough cutter.

The pies can be made in different types of tins that could include egg tart molds, as I used, or muffin tins. You just need to make sure that you cut your pastry the right size to fit your mold.

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INGREDIENTS

FOR THE FRUIT MINCE

• 1 small Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and finely grated
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup dates
• 1/2 cup prunes
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon lemon rind
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 cup brandy or rum

FOR THE SWEET DOUGH

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/3 cup icing sugar
• 1 cup chilled butter, chopped
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons iced water

DIRECTIONS

1. To prepare the fruit mince, soak the fruit and almonds with the alcohol and leave for hours, overnight, or for several days, depending on how much time you have.
2. When the mixture is ready puree it in a food processor until it is slightly lumpy, but largely smooth. Set it aside in the fridge.
3. To make the dough, mix the chilled butter with the flour and pulse until they are mixed fully and resemble wet sand, or cut the ingredients together if using a dough cutter.
4. Add the egg yolks one at a time and ice water and pulse together until they form a soft dough.
5. Remove the dough from the food processor. Divide the dough into two balls, cover them in plastic wrap and let them rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 200 C, or 400 F.
7. When the dough is ready, roll it out so that it is around a 3-5 millimeters thick. Cut the dough in circles that come up to the edges of the tin that you are using.
8. Poke small holes in the dough using a fork or other sharp utensil. Then fill each tart with the fruit mince so that it comes up to just below the sides of the dough.
9. You can choose to top the pies with more dough, place decorative dough stars on top of the tarts or leave them open. If using pastry, brush the dough with a beaten egg to get a sheen.
10. Cook for around 20 minutes, until the dough is browned. Sprinkle sugar on top of the tarts (optional). Serve and enjoy!