I just made Fruit Mince for Xmas tarts

Blimey!I am ahead of myself!Someone gave me some lovely apples so I went to Bin Inn yesterday & got some ingredients.Have just made 5 jars & 1 x 2 ltr ice cream container of fruit mince ready for my Xmas tarts.

I doubled this recipe & added some more !

Fruit Mince
2-3 cups. Certainly enough for 2-3 dozen mince pies.
1 lemon, rind and juice
1 orange, rind
1 cup brown sugar
2 apples, cored and cut into large pieces (leave unpeeled)
2 cups sultanas
2 cups mixed fruit (use chopped dried fruit of your choice, or cake fruit mix)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp finely grated nutmeg (fresh is best, if you have it)
½ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
¼ cup rum, brandy or whiskey – or use orange juice if you prefer
Place the orange and lemon rind in the processor with the brown sugar, and whiz until finely chopped and mixed. Add the apple, lemon juice, and half of the sultanas and mixed fruit. Whiz until the apple is finely chopped, then add the remaining sultanas and fruit, spices, salt and rum/brandy/whiskey/orange juice, and whiz again, just until everything is combined.
You can use this straight away for mince pies (see below), or refrigerate or freeze for later use. There are other uses for Christmas fruit mince – you can bake filo pastry parcels filled with fruit mince for dessert, there are a few recipes for Christmas fruit mince muffins, or you could make festive cinnamon buns or a wreath of bread with fruit mince spread through the dough.

Happy Christmas!LOL

thats the spirit-- be prepared. I only make a few mince pies , so I wait for the mince to come to half price AFTER Christmas and store it then for the following year. Same with Eastereggs btw. There is a special box in my deepfreeze with last years cheap eggs in it. Frugalety lives !

Always best to make it months ahead. I have one in the fridge in an airtight clip top jar. Plenty of brandy and cointreau in it to preserve it, makes the best mince pies when it has been made well ahead of time. My one is page one of the Christmas thread and It has been there in the fridge a few months now LOL

cook essentials looked on page 1 and couldnt find it.Could you please post again.

Sure, here you go

Spiced Fruit Mince 750g sultanas;750g raisins,chopped;450g currants;500g seeded dates,chopped;500g seeded prunes,chopped;400g green skinned apples,peeled,grated;200g brown sugar;2 tbsp finely grated orange rind;1 tbsp mixed spice;2 tsp ground cloves;1/2 cup plum jam;375ml brandy. Mix all together in a lge bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap.Store in cool dark place or fridge for 3 days before using. Can be kept under refrigeration for up to six months

Cooks. So you will be making tarts in July! Or does the fruit mince last longer in the fridge than your recipe says!

thanks cookessentials. Sounds yummy.

I have had some in the fridge for a year which made beautiful Christmas mince tarts. The alcohol keeps everything pretty well preserved.