Ingredients
For the mincemeat
2 large eating apples, grated, skin on
500g Dried Mixed Fruit
60g glace cherries, chopped in 4 pieces
60g chopped almonds (optional)
100g shredded suet (beef or vegetarian)
175g soft dark brown sugar
2tbsp golden syrup
zest and juice of 1 lemon
zest and juice of 1 orange
2tsp mixed spice
4tbsp brandy, Amaretto or rum, or Adnams sloe gin or maybe more alcohol as it is Christmas!!
For the cracker
1 packet filo pastry (1 sheet makes 1 cracker)
Butter
Icing sugar
Method
for mincemeat:
Sterilise jars with lids by running through the dishwasher, or washing and warming in an oven
Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover with Clingfilm and allow flavours to blend overnight. The next day, stir the mincemeat to mix thoroughly, and pot in sterilised jars. Allow the flavours to blend for a couple of days before using.
Method for Filo crackers:
When your mincemeat is ready buy some filo pastry and some butter, and icing sugar and you are then ready for your festive mince pies with a great party twist!!
Melt butter till warm and get a pastry brush and take out one sheet of filo pastry and lay out length ways left to right.
The filo sheet is then buttered liberally and folded in half left to right then place one heaped teaspoon of mincemeat onto the middle of the filo sheet near the bottom of the sheet about 1 inch from bottom.
Then fold over filo from top to bottom until the sheet is fully wrapped around the mincemeat like a sausage roll then squeeze the two side ends to form a cracker style mince pie.
Bake the cracker at 180c till golden brown dust with a little icing sugar and serve with some mulled Aspall cider and have a cracking Christmas.