A proper British Christmas isn't complete without a good mince pie. These keto sugar free mince pies are buttery and fruity but without all the carbs and sugar of the store-bought versions. You can happily enjoy one… or two!
Place everything except the brandy and almonds in a saucepan and simmer on a low heat for about 5 minutes until quite thick but with just a little moisture left. Option to press with a fork if you want less chunky apple. Stir through almonds and optional brandy and allow to cool.
Pastry
In food processor, pulse all the dry ingredients until combined. Add the butter chunks and cream cheese and pulse until combined. Add 1 large egg and pulse to combine again. Shape into a ball and wrap in greaseproof paper. Chill in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180C / 350F.
Roll the dough between two sheets of greaseproof paper until 3 - 4 mm thick. Use a 7.5cm cutter to but out bases x 6. Scrape the left over dough together and re-roll to make two more bases. Place bases in freezer whilst making the tops. Re-roll the left over dough to make 8 stars (7 cm cutter) or whatever shape you like for the top.
NOTE: If the dough becomes too warm to cut out at any point simply place back in the freezer for 5 - 10 minutes to firm up.
Grease a shallow muffin / Yorkshire pudding tin with butter and add a base. Add mince-meat (approx 1 tablespoon per mince pie) and then your pastry lid.
Press to seal slightly and brush with egg wash. Bake for approximately 18 minutes or until golden on top. Allow to cool and remove from pan. Dust with powdered sweetener to serve and optional whipped cream, keto custard or keto vanilla ice cream.
Notes
6g net carbs per mince pie. Makes 8 sugar free mince pies @ 60 g each. To reduce this recipe to 4.4g net carbs per mince pie, swap the apple out with zucchini. Use 1 ¼ cups / 150g chopped zucchini (peel and core them before chopping.) Also, increase the sweetener as you're now missing the natural sweetness of the apple. Many readers have now made these mince pies with fresh cranberries rather than the sugar free dried cranberries. I hear from them that it works well, you have to cook the mixture for longer to reduce the liquid and add a little more sweetener to taste. Important: Don't attempt to remove your keto mince pies from the baking tray until they are fully cooled! They are fragile while hot and firm up as they cool. Storage: Tupperware in the fridge for up to 3 days.