EASY MINCEMEAT

Easy mincemeat image

Make homemade mincemeat for your Christmas bakes. It's a lot easier than you might think, and the recipe can be scaled up or down. This works well as a gift, too

Provided by Benjamina Ebuehi

Time 20m

Yield Makes 850g

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

150g currants
150g sultanas
100g raisins
75g mixed peel
1 lemon, zested and juiced
75g suet (check it's vegetarian and gluten-free, if needed)
1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1½ tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
200g dark muscovado sugar
100ml brandy

Steps:

Put all the ingredients, except the brandy, in a large saucepan. Cook over a low heat for 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until the sugar and suet have completely dissolved.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature before stirring in the brandy. The mincemeat may look loose at this stage, but it will continue to thicken. You can encase it in pastry as soon as it's cooled. Alternatively, spoon the warm mincemeat into a large sterilised jar or several smaller ones (see tip, below). Will keep in a cool, dry place for up to six months.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 61 calories, Fat 1 grams fat, SaturatedFat 1 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 11 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 10 grams sugar, Fiber 0.4 grams fiber, Protein 0.2 grams protein, Sodium 0.02 milligram of sodium