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~ raw, vegan, gluten-free ~
These precious little pies were perfect for our holiday party at work. Everyone just loved, and I even had a friend come up to me and told me that he grew up eating mince pie and it tastes just like the cooked version.
A mince pie, also known as minced pie, is a small British fruit-based mincemeat sweet pie traditionally served during the Christmas season. The early mince pie was known by several names, including mutton pie, and Christmas pie. Typically its ingredients were a mixture of minced meat, suet, a range of fruits, and spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Be assured that no meat was used in this raw rendition.
I looked up the ingredient used for a commercially made pie (just in case you were looking to take the easy way out for the holidays and purchase an already-prepared one) … now does this sound appealing?
“FILLING: APPLES, WATER, CORN SYRUP, BROWN SUGAR, RAISINS, CANDIED ORANGE CITRUS PEEL (ORANGE PEEL, CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CITRIC ACID, PRESERVED WITH 1/10 OF 1% SODIUM BENZOATE AND SORBIC ACID, SULFUR DIOXIDE), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: CURRANTS, MOLASSES, APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, SPICE, SALT, VITAMIN C, ASCORBIC ACID, COATED, 97.5%, CITRIC ACID, MALIC ACID, PRESERVED WITH SODIUM BENZOATE.
CRUST: WHEAT FLOUR, VEGETABLE SHORTENING (PALM OIL AND SOYBEAN OIL WITH MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES), WATER, DEXTROSE, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: SALT, CITRUS FIBER, CORN SYRUP, WHEY, BAKING SODA, BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR WITH MALTED BARLEY, PRESERVED WITH POTASSIUM SORBATE.”
Why do we eat such unnecessary ingredients? Thank goodness we can easily make our own healthier versions of such treats.
The pumpkin spice mix is a combination of warm, sweet-smelling spices that can easily be made up in your very own kitchen. Combine in a small mason jar; 1/3 cup ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg or mace, 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cloves, and 1-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice. Tighten the lid and shake vigorously to mix.
This quantity amount will be more than what is needed for this recipe, but with Thanksgiving and the holidays just around the corner, it will be nice to have some extra on hand to play with. But don’t limit this spice to just the holidays, anytime a recipe calls for cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves, use this. It adds a nice depth of flavor.
Crust:
Filling:
Cashew icing:
Crust:
Filling:
Cashew Icing:
**Amie Sue’s notes: I ended up with 2 cups of extra filling. Maybe my apples were larger than they needed to be. But have no fear, nothing went to waste. I created a batch of cookies out of it. See here. I slightly modified this recipe from James Russell.
*This recipe was originally posted on Dec. 5th, 2010. Today, Oct. 22nd, 2014, I updated the photos… the recipe remains the same.
This looks so delicious!! I can’t wait to try this recipe! Before I can do that, though, what kind of spices go into the “mixed spice” blend?
Thank you!
Hi Stephanie….I used pumpkin spice. I changed it in the recipe to make that more clear. Thank you for asking! Let me know if you decide to make this. It is divine!
It is fantastic, I’ve discovered it through Russel two years ago and I honestly think it’s one of the best raw sweers ever! Wow!
I just ordered the molds to do these in LOL
thought I had everything but nope not these little guys
so once they get here I will be whipping this up asap
the cookies look fantastic and I think this is something my husband will enjoy which is always a plus
constance
One can never have to many molds, now can they? hehe Please keep me posted how they turn out Constance. Have a blessed and happy day, amie sue
Hi Amie Sue! I’m going to prepare the shells for the mince pies tonight/tomorrow and then I plan to store them in the freezer until Thanksgiving day when I will put them back in the dehydrator to “freshen” them up and then fill them for dessert! I’m so excited! I think these will be such a huge hit! I’m also making baklava and several other of your gorgeous, delicious recipes (breads, bars, etc.) this week to freeze until the day of. If you have any suggestions on the best way to go about this, I’m all ears! Hope you’re having a spectacular weekend!! -Maureen
Hello Maureen,
So wonderful to hear from you. Great job for being prepared. This will take a lot of stress off you and give you time to really enjoy the process, foods and most of all… your loved ones! What type of suggestions are asking about? I don’t want to ramble off on some tangent that may not be of what you were thinking of. lol No matter what you do or what you make… do it with love, grace and ease! No rushing, no stress my friend. Sending you hugs, amie sue
Hi Amie Sue, I’m so thrilled to be a site member! Your site just keeps getting better and better, I imagine your next step is to shoot videos as you prepare the more difficult dishes so….we can watch YOU in action and maybe Bob enjoying his favourites (Penny smiling and hoping). Anyway, I know that Agave is a necessary ingredient in many raw dishes, how do you respond when people are unhappy with our using Agave? I’d like some sort of good response because, although I know that there are better brands than others, I often have people respond negatively- suggestions 🤔
Good morning Penny,
I am thrilled that you are here too! :) Thank you for the kind words.
I have no idea where this site will take me… I would love to do videos but I am VERY VERY camera shy. But I can see the benefit of doing them. It’s a fear that I need to over come. I dislike that there is something out there that holds be back. :)
Ah, agave. I understand the position you are in. I have read articles that credit it and others that trash it. It gets so confusing. If you Google enough, you can find apposing sides for every different type of food out there. When I first went raw, agave was my go to sweetener, but over the years I have been switching things up. I am not locked into every ingredient being raw. So now I often use maple syrup over agave. But if I need a blond colored or neutral flavored liquid sweetener I will use raw agave. There are tons of “healthy” sweeteners on the market, each having their flaws and reported nutrient values.
I have a small write up on Agave: https://nouveauraw.com/members-only/agave-nectar/
But to try to answer your question, “how do you respond when people are unhappy with our using Agave?” First of all, I would advise you to rotate your sweeteners, and not get locked into just using agave. This will increase your range of nutrients that you are taking in, it will change up flavors that you are experiencing, and you will be able to share with others that you don’t just use agave as a sweetener. The more that you can turn to whole food sweeteners the better. I am referring to dried fruits, date paste, and date syrup (that you can make).
If you need other liquid sweeteners due to color, taste, and viscosity, create a arsenal of sweeteners such as; maple syrup, raw agave, raw coconut nectar, raw honey, yacon syrup, etc. This way you can openly share with those who want to argue with you as to why you use a particular sweetener… you can take the stage and explain why you used that particular sweetener that you did. Know your sweeteners. Know how their texture and flavor effect the recipe. Know their health benefits, and know your brands. Then you will be armed with answers. And when you have answers, it can often quickly diffuse an argument. Granted there will be those who just WANT to argue, but I don’t entertain those conversations.
I don’t know if this was helpful Penny. I hope it was. Please let me know. Have a blessed day, amie sue