Mince Pies

I did find a pack of Milk, Egg, Wheat and Soya free mince pies at the health food shop in Stortford a few weeks ago, but they are no longer available (although I did see them in Cambridge last Wednesday in the health food shop opposite Lakeland). As seems to be the case with many seasonal free from foods, they only produce a small amount and when they 
sell out, that's it for another year. 

Just in case you want to hunt them out yourself, this is the box with ingredients on the back. (Sorry, not nut free)


























If you can't get them now, or you want to have a go yourself...

I do know a good recipe though.

This pastry is fab, not gluten free, with the addition of barley flour, but it gives a lovely colour and texture to the pastry. If you need gluten free as well as wheat free, just substitiute the barley flour for another 1/2 cup of wheat free plain flour.

125g Dairy and Soya Free Spread  (Pure Sunflower/Vitalite)

125g Vegetable Shortening (Trex/Cookeen) - you can use all spread, but wouldn't be so crispy

1/3 cup (75g) Caster Sugar

1/2 cup (60g) Barley Flour

2 cups (330g) Wheat Free White Bread Flour (or Wheat Free Plain Flour, plus 2tsp Xanthan gum)

1 tsp Vanilla paste 

1/2 jar Mincemeat (if like me you find it too sweet, try grating in an apple or adding chopped frozen cranberries)

Whisk Sugar, Vanilla, Shortening and Spread until light and fluffy.

Stir in flour.

Kneed gently and shape into a ball. Cover and chill for 20-30 minutes.

Roll out 2/3 of the mix to 5mm (will be too crumbly if too thin).

Cut circles to fit a greased shallow bun tin (muffin tin will be too deep).

Fill each case with 1tsp of mincemeat.

Roll out remaining 1/3 pastry and cut circles/stars/snowflakes for lids. Moisten edges with a little milk substitute before sticking on lids. You can also wipe tops with milk substitute and sprinkle with caster sugar.

Bake at 200ºC for about 20mins, or until golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin for a minute before carefully removing them and cooling on a wire rack.

This pastry also makes great apple pie...

Christmas Biscuits (for hanging, or just eating)

In an attempt to get at least some Christmas recipes on in time, I'll start with these. Recipe adapted from this months BBC Good Food Magazine (Mary Cadogan's orange and cardamom tree biscuits)

Milk, Egg and Soya free
200g/7oz plain flour
50g/2oz rice flour
140g/5oz dairy and soya free spread
100g/4oz icing sugar (plus extra to decorate)
3-4tsp milk substitute
Crushed seeds from 6 cardamom pods (or cinnamon or ginger if you prefer)
grated zest of an orange


Milk, Egg, Soya and Wheat free

150g/5oz wheat free white bread flour (or wheat free plain flour plus 1tsp xantham gum)

100g/4oz oat flour (for gluten free, just substitute with more of above flour)

140g/5oz dairy and soya free spread

100g/4oz icing sugar (plus extra to decorate)

3-4tsp milk substitute

Crushed seeds from 6 cardamom pods (or cinnamon or ginger if you prefer)

grated zest of an orange

To decorate, use clean rubber stamps.


Put flours in a bowl and rub in the spread (like making crumble).

Mix in the icing sugar and flavourings.

Pour in the milk substitute and bring mixture together using a blunt knife or spatula.

Kneed lightly until smooth and allow to rest in a cool place for 20 minutes.

Roll out to about 5mm thick cut out biscuit shapes and place on tray.

Gently press stamp onto biscuit and, if hanging, make a small hole at the top for string/ribbon.

Bake at 180ºC for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and dust with icing sugar. Put back into oven for another 2 minutes to set the icing sugar. Remove from tray and cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Crispy Christmas Puddings

Thursday night, home late from work, kids tired and grumpy when I pick them up from childminder, get them home and stop them killing each other while I try to get dinner ready. Feed the monsters, do homework, finally get them to bed all the while imagining the bliss of flopping onto the sofa and not moving except to make a coffee...

Then remember it's the school Christmas fair the next day and I'm supposed to provide a plate of cakes. Oh bother...

Then it leaves the usual dilemma...

Cake with wheat and egg, or cake without? Decided on Chocolate Crispies, then realised the only dairy free 'milk' chocolate I have is Moo Free and School is nut free. Thank goodness for Mortimer's...

60g/ 2 oz Dairy and Soya free spread (Pure/Vitalite)

3 table spoons golden syrup

100g suitable chocolate (I used Mortimer's)

20g Marshmallows

90g/ 3 oz Rice Krispies

Ready roll icing and silver balls (check ingredients well as some contain wheat) to decorate

Slowly melt spread, syrup, chocolate and marshmallows over a gently heat (or in short bursts in the microwave).

When smooth and glossy, pour onto rice krispies and mix well to coat.

Spoon into paper cases (or leave to cool slightly and roll into balls before putting in cases).

Roll icing thinly onto greaseproof pastry dusted generously with icing sugar.

Cut out small stars, circles or snowflakes to top the chocolate crispy and push in a silver ball before icing dries out.


Then get on and try and figure out how you are going to get hold of a yellow top at this time of year for your son to be a chick (yes, that does say chick?!) in the school Nativity... 

Double Chocolate Cookies

Is it so wrong that we were eating these by 9am one Sunday morning? Breakfast had already been had and I'm sure that was something very nutritious...

These seem to have turned into our quick, need a biscuit default recipe. For those of you with the 'Sweet Treats' recipe leaflet we give out in clinic, it's just a chocolate version of the cookies on the front cover. 

100g Pure

100g Light Muscovado Sugar (or any other type)

1 tbsp Golden Syrup (or maple or agave)

1 tsp vanilla paste (or extract)

25g Cocoa Powder

125g Self Raising Flour or Wheat free plain flour plus 1 tsp baking powder

Chocolate chips (I used a 35g bag of dairy free buttons, 50g might be a better amount)

Whisk margarine, sugar, vanilla and syrup until light and creamy.

Whisk in Cocoa powder (if like me you are too lazy to sift and need to get rid of lumps, or you could just sift in with the flour)

Mix in flour until you can't see any more white.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Roll teaspoonfuls of mix into balls, place on tray lined with greaseproof paper (cuts down on washing up, as well as reducing risk of cross contamination if you use your trays for non-free from foods).

Flatten slightly and bake for about 10-12 minutes at 180ºC.

Try to leave to cool slightly before eating...