It’s that time of the year when visions of mincemeat dance in my head. It is one of my favorite pies whether actually containing meat or the more popular faux version.

Chunky Mince Pie Slices are the easiest way to get a mincemeat fix. Jarred mincemeat gets a little doctoring before being spread atop ready made puff pastry. Little puff pastry cutouts add a festive flair.

Chunky Mince Pie Slices

Ingredients:

280g mincemeat
25g pecans, some chopped and some whole
25g pistachios, halved lengthways
2 Tbs sliced almonds
25g dried cranberries
1⁄2 apple, cored and finely chopped
Zest 1 lemon, plus 2 tsp juice
375g ready-rolled puff pastry
1 Tbs ground almonds
50g confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 220℃/425℉.

2. Combine the mincemeat with the nuts, cranberries, apple and lemon zest.

3. Unroll the pastry and lay it on a lightly floured work surface. Slice off a strip across one end to leave a 23cm/9 inch square of pastry. From the strip, cut out star or snowflake shapes. Thinly re-roll the pastry trimmings until all used up.

4. Lay the pastry square on a baking sheet and scatter over the ground almonds. Spread the mincemeat mixture over so that it comes to the edge of the pastry. Lay the stars in lines across the mincemeat.

5. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Leave to cool. Meanwhile, mix the confectioners’ sugar with 2 tsp lemon juice. Drizzle over the cool pastry and cut into 15 slices.

Makes 15 slices

Recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine

I’m loving this catchy little slice of psychedelia from Georgia based musician Ben Asbury via his Axxa/Abraxas project.

Check out Axxa/Abraxas on Facebook and his Website. You can pre-order the new album here.

Cheers!