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The buttery, sugar-free pastry makes these star-topped mince pies mouthwateringly  good – and ideal for take-home Christmas treats. For an edible gift idea, wrap individually in cello and ribbon or place even numbers in a clear box or festive tin.

After more edible Christmas gifts to make?

Ingredients

1¾ cups plain flour, plus extra, to dust

1⁄3 cup Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener Icing Powder or icing sugar, sifted, plus extra, to dust

200g unsalted butter, chopped, chilled

1 free-range egg yolk

1/3 cup water, chilled

¼ cup hazelnut or almond meal

1 free-range egg, beaten

Fruit mince

180g mixed fruit, roughly chopped

150g currants

¼ cup mixed peel

1 apple, peeled, coarsely grated

¾ cup Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener Golden or raw caster sugar

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp lemon juice

½ tsp each ground cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg

¼ cup brandy or sherry

30g unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup finely chopped roasted hazelnuts

Method

  1. To make fruit mince, combine all ingredients, except hazelnuts, in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 24-48 hours, stirring occasionally.

  2. Put flour, icing powder or icing sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process to combine. Pulse in short bursts, adding yolk and water a little at a time, until mixture comes together and begins to form a ball. Knead lightly on a floured surface until smooth. Flatten to a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

  3. Preheat oven to 160°Cfan-forced (180°C conventional). Dust bases of ten 10cmW x 2cmD loose-bottomed flan tins with flour. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 3mm thick. Cut out ten 11cm rounds, re-rolling offcuts if necessary, then line tins with dough, pushing into fluted sides. Trim edges.

  4. Using 5, 4, 3 and 2cm starshaped cookie cutters, cut out stars from pastry offcuts.

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  5. Sprinkle pastry cases with hazelnut meal. Stir hazelnuts into fruit mince and strain to drain excess liquid.

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  6. Spoon fruit mince into each pastry case and smooth surface to sit 3mm below rim. Arrange stars on top. Brush stars with beaten egg.

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  7. Put pies on a wire rack over an oven tray (this helps bases cook evenly for a crisp result). Bake pies for 35-40 minutes, loosely covering in foil in final 10 minutes if over-browning. Stand in tins for 30 minutes. Dust with extra icing powder or sugar. Store up to 1 week in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

    Be mindful that you will need to soak the fruit in these mince pies 1-2 days in advance.

    After more edible Christmas gifts to make?

Sarah Murphy

Sarah Murphy has worked in food magazines for over 10 years, and is known for her sweet tooth and love of creating hacks and twists on classic recipes. You can usually find Sarah baking cheesy garlic bread pull-apart for friends on the weekend, (but still hasn't mastered the art of sourdough yet!).