For many of us, there are certain foods we associate with holidays and family. Like the Party Cheese Ball, mincemeat pockets are another food that my mom used to make every Christmas when I was a kid. She hasn’t made them in years and I’ve been itching to make them for some time—and to veganize them. I think I did a pretty damn good job, too! These are like little tiny apple pies and are perfect for the holiday season. I realize Christmas was yesterday, but why not ring in the New Year with these? This recipe makes about 56 pockets with about 1-1/2 C of mincemeat left over, it’s perfect to stuff some roasted butternut or acorn squash!
INGREDIENTS:
2 apples (any variety; I like Honeycrisp), finely chopped
1/2 C golden raisins
1/2 C dried currants
1/2 C coconut flakes, chopped fine
1/2 C almonds, chopped
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp ground cloves
zest from one lemon
zest from one orange
3/4 C liquid coconut oil
1/4 C white wine (Optional. You can also use a port, gin, or brandy)
Pocket dough
3 C flour
3/4 C granulated sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
3/4 C vegan margarine
3 tsp egg-replacer powder
4 Tbs water
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
DIRECTIONS:
The night before: In a large bowl, combine all of the mincemeat ingredients except the white wine. Cover and refrigerate.
To make the dough, whisk the egg-replacer with the water and set aside. Using a mixer, blend together the margarine and sugars, then add the egg-replacer, vanilla, and milk. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients. If it’s too dry, add a little more milk. Shape the dough into a ball, cover, and chill overnight.
The next day, place the mincemeat in a large skillet and add the white wine (if using). Cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Any liquid will cook off and the sugars will caramelize. Set aside.
To make the pockets, preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Work with a quarter of the dough at a time; refrigerate the remaining. It’s best to work in small batches so that the dough doesn’t get too dried out. Roll the quarter of dough into a ball, and on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out. The trick is to roll the dough as thin as possible. A thick dough will be difficult to fold over and plus, you don’t want more dough than mincemeat. Use a 2-3/4″ to 3″ cookie cutter (I used a cleaned soup can) to cut out circles. Place the cutouts onto the baking sheet. Place about a 3/4 to 1 teaspoon of the mincemeat down the center of the pocket. Gently fold over and crimp the edges with a fork. (This was the first batch and I found the dough was too thick; be sure to roll it out thinner than these below) :
Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.
Repeat with remaining dough. Enjoy!
- 2 apples (any variety; I like Honeycrisp), finely chopped
- ½ C golden raisins
- ½ C dried currants
- ½ C coconut flakes, chopped fine
- ½ C almonds, chopped
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ C brown sugar
- ½ tsp ginger
- ¾ tsp ground cloves
- zest from one lemon
- zest from one orange
- ¾ C liquid coconut oil
- ¼ C white wine (Optional. You can also use a port, gin, or brandy)
- Pocket dough
- 3 C flour
- ¾ C granulated sugar
- ¼ C brown sugar
- ¾ C vegan margarine
- 3 tsp egg-replacer powder
- 4 Tbs water
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ C milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
- The night before: In a large bowl, combine all of the mincemeat ingredients except the white wine. Cover and refrigerate.
- To make the dough, whisk the egg-replacer with the water and set aside. Using a mixer, blend together the margarine and sugars, then add the egg-replacer, vanilla, and milk. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients. If it's too dry, add a little more milk. Shape the dough into a ball, cover, and chill overnight.
- The next day, place the mincemeat in a large skillet and add the white wine (if using). Cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Any liquid will cook off and the sugars will caramelize. Set aside.
- To make the pockets, preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Work with a quarter of the dough at a time; refrigerate the remaining. It's best to work in small batches so that the dough doesn't get too dried out. Roll the quarter of dough into a ball, and on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out. The trick is to roll the dough as thin as possible. A thick dough will be difficult to fold over and plus, you don't want more dough than mincemeat. Use a 2-3/4" to 3" cookie cutter (I used a cleaned soup can) to cut out circles. Place the cutouts onto the baking sheet. Place about a ¾ to 1 teaspoon of the mincemeat down the center of the pocket. Gently fold over and crimp the edges with a fork.
- Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.
- Repeat with remaining dough. Enjoy!
