Mince Pie Granola

~ raw, vegan, gluten-free ~

A mince pie is a small British sweet pie traditionally served during the Christmas season. It usually has a meat product in it but who says we can’t mix things up a bit.

The typical ingredients used in a mince pie are raisins, sultanas, currants, shredded suet (beef or vegetarian), dark brown sugar, nutmeg, mixed spice, orange zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, and cooking apples. In this recipe, the nuts replace the meat.

Don’t forget that you can eat this granola as a snack, served as a cereal with your favorite nut milk, or even as a topping on raw ice cream!

Raisins… Sultans… Currants?

Raisins are dried white grapes. They are dried to produce a dark, sweet fruit. The grapes used are usually Moscatel.
Sultanas are also dried white grapes but from seedless varieties. They are golden in color and tend to be plumper, sweeter, and juicier than other raisins. Also referred to as golden raisins in the US.
Currants are dried black, seedless grapes. They are dried to produce a black, tiny shriveled – yet packed with flavor – fruit.

This is a fantastic holiday granola to give as a gift. I love packaging them in mason jars or brown paper bags. See photo before. This granola is oat-free but so full of chewy flavor! I hope you enjoy this recipe. Blessings and happy holidays. amie sue P.S. I originally posted this recipe on 11/04/11. Today, I updated the photo only. :)

Ingredients:

Yields roughly 10-11 cups granola

Wet Ingredients:

4 apples, chopped small (roughly 6 cups)
3 cups Medjool dates, re-hydrate
1 cup orange juice and the zest from the skin of 1 orange
1 Tbsp pumpkin spice
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt

Dry Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked
2 cups raw chopped almonds, soaked
3 cups raw chopped pecans, soaked
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, soaked
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins or dried apples

Preparation:

Combine all the wet ingredients in the food processor and using your “S” blade, blend everything together leaving the batter a little chunky. Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl.
Take 1/2 of the dry mixture and pulse together to a rough chop, again using the “S” blade in the food processor. Add to the mixing bowl along with the remaining dry ingredients. Mix well making sure everything is well coated.
Place the batter on the teflex sheets that come with your dehydrator.
- If you don’t have those you can use parchment paper, but don’t use wax paper because the granola will stick to it.
- You can either spread the batter out flat with an offset spatula, or you can drop it on the sheet in chunks which allows it to dry in clusters. This is my favorite way since we tend to eat the granola more as a snack than as a cereal.
Dehydrate at 145 degrees for 1 hour, then reduce to 115 degrees (F) for about 4 hours, and then flip the granola over onto the mesh screen that comes with the dehydrator.
Continue drying for about 16-20 hours or until desired dryness is reached. I tend to like my granola more on the chewy side than the crunchy side.
Once the granola is done and has cooled, store in air-tight containers. You can keep it on the counter for walk-by munching, or it can be stored in the fridge or freezer to extend the shelf life. On the counter, it should last several weeks if it lasts that long!

Culinary Explanations:

Why do I start the dehydrator at 145 degrees (F).? Click (here) to learn the reason behind this.
When working with fresh ingredients it is important to taste test as you build a recipe. Learn why (here).
Don’t own a dehydrator? Learn how to use your oven (here). I do however truly believe that it is a worthwhile investment. Click (here) to learn what I use.