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These Gluten-Free Mincemeat Muffins are a wonderful alternative to a traditional mince pie. These muffins are light, fluffy, moist and full of Christmas spice and cheer.
If you are a huge fan of mincemeat and need a little more inspiration on how to use it once you are mince pied-out then these Gluten-Free Mincemeat Muffins are just the ticket. They are an absolute crowd pleaser over the festive period. Totally delicious, a cinch to make, without even requiring a food mixer, and they can be made with any mincemeat, shop bought of homemade (although I can't advocate enough making your own mincemeat!).
They are gluten-free, made with a combination of white rice flour and chestnut flour. These Mincemeat Muffins are light and fluffy, but also deliciously moist thanks to the generous amount of apple puree and mincemeat in the batter. I have tried making them with all kinds of mincemeat, with suet, without suet, with nuts and without and they have all been wonderful.
Table of contents
Why you'll love this recipe
- Gorgeous crunchy streusel topping.
- Delicious Christmas Muffins, with bags of festive flavour.
- Only 2 gluten-free flours required. Chestnut flour and rice flour.
- No xanthan gum READ MORE >>> Why I never bake with xanthan gum
- Easy to come together and quick to bake.
Gluten-free flours required
Rice flour. This neutral and delicate gluten-free flour is the perfect choice here as it allows the flavours of the season to shine.
You can use white or brown rice flour.
Chestnut flour. This flour gives a gorgeous festive flavour to the muffins. Plus it helps with the structure and texture of the bake thanks to the high protein content in the chestnuts.
Substitution recommendation. You can substitute the chestnut flour with another nut flour like almond flour.
Ingredients needed
- Mincemeat. You can use shop bought or homemade.
- Apple puree (apple sauce). If you are using shop bought then make sure it is unsweetened. If you are making it yourself then you need 4-5 medium sized apples.
- Sugar. Soft light brown sugar adds a lovely flavour and moisture to the bake.
- Olive oil. Choose a mild, light and flavourless olive oil.
- Butter. Used to make the streusel topping.
- Eggs. This recipe uses medium eggs, about 60g each.
- Rice flour. As above.
- Chestnut flour. As above.
- Gluten-free porridge oats. It gives a little crunch to the streusel topping. You can substitute with millet flakes if you need to avoid oats.
- Mixed spice. For a little extra festive flavour.
- Raising agents. We use both bicarbonate of soda and baking powder here.
- Salt. Using salt heightens the flavours of the muffins. I recommend kosher salt for baking as it has a gentle flavour.
Favourite mincemeat recipes
It's a solid choice to make your own mincemeat. It is so much more flavourful than shop bought. If you need some options then these ones are wonderful.
- Easy Mincemeat Recipe. This mincemeat is a traditional mincemeat for all your festive needs.
- Boozy Cranberry Mincemeat. This mincemeat is vegan, nut free and bursting with fresh fruity flavour, doused in a lovely splash of Cointreau.
- Victorian Meat Mincemeat. This is definitely one to try. It's made with real beef although it is still a sweet mincemeat, the best one you will ever have!
How to make the apple puree
The apple puree needed for this recipe is just a very simple apple sauce. You can buy unsweetened apple sauce from the supermarket but it is very easy to make your own.
- Peel, core and cube your apples.
- Place in a medium sized saucepan with a couple of tablespoons of water.
- Heat on low with a lid fitted over the saucepan. Stir the apple pieces every so often and over about 15-20 minutes the apple should soften. Stir it occasionally with a wooden spoon to stop the apples from sticking and burning to the bottom of the pan.
- The apple sauce is ready when thick and the chunks of apple have totally softened.
Step-by-step instructions
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Make the streusel. Rub chestnut flour, rice flour, oats, sugar, butter and spice with your fingertips until clumpy but a little crumbly.
- Wet ingredients. Mix mincemeat, apple puree, sugar, eggs and olive oil together until well combined.
- Dry ingredients. Whisk the flours, spice, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt together until evenly mixed.
- Mix. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Assemble and bake. Pour into muffins cases, sprinkle over the streusel and bake for 22-24 minutes.
Pro tips
- The butter must be at room temperature to make the streusel.
- Do whizz up the apple puree the night before so that it has time to cool completely before using.
- This recipe uses 50mm high muffin cases
- Use a trigger release ice-cream scoop for filling the muffin cases. This makes filling the cases so easy.
- Remove the muffins from the muffin tin as soon as they are baked to cool down on a wire rack.
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How to store
These Mince Pie Muffins are best stored at room temperature in an airtight tin in a cool dark place. They are best consumed within 3 days of baking.
How to freeze
Allow to cool completely at room temperature then flash freeze in a single layer for 12 hours. At this point you can move the muffins to a ziplock bag and can be kept in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Defrost the muffins at room temperature before serving.
How to make dairy-free
Switch out the butter in the streusel topping for your favourite plant based butter alternative. The rest of the butter is dairy-free.
More gluten-free mincemeat recipes you’ll love!
- Almond and Mincemeat Christmas Sponge
- Gluten-Free Mince Pies with Homemade Pastry
- Gluten-Free Frangipane Mince Pies
- Bramley Apple Mincemeat Pudding
- Mincemeat Flapjacks
I urge you to give these Gluten-Free Mincemeat Muffins a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
Gluten-Free Mincemeat Muffins
Ingredients
For the streusel topping:
- 35 g white rice flour
- 30 g chestnut flour
- 50 g soft light brown sugar
- 90 g unsalted butter
- 40 g gluten-free porridge oats
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
For the muffins
- 200 g mincemeat - gluten-free
- 175 g apple puree - (about 4-5 apples if homemade)
- 120 g soft light brown sugar
- 80 ml light olive oil - mild and flavourless
- 2 eggs - medium sized, 60g
- 150 g rice flour
- 50 g chestnut flour
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- First line a 12 hole muffin tin with muffin cases and pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan oven / gas mark 4.
- Prepare the streusel by placing the flours, sugar, butter, oats and spice in a large mixing bowl and rubbing together between your fingers. The streusel should come together but still be crumbly. Set aside whilst you prepare the muffin batter.
- Pour the mincemeat, apple puree, sugar, eggs and olive oil into a large mixing bowl and beat together until combined.
- In another mixing bowl sift together the flours, spice, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl, then tip into the liquid batter.
- Beat together for a minute or so until everything is well mixed then evenly distribute between the muffin cases.
- Crumble the streusel on top of the muffins then bake in the oven for 22-24 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and immediately remove the muffins from the tin and leave on a rack to cool.
Notes
Pro tips
- Tip #1 Do whizz up the apple puree the night before so that it has time to cool completely before using.
- Tip #2 Use a trigger release ice-cream scoop for filling the muffin cases. This makes filling the cases so easy.
- Tip #3 Remove the muffins from the muffin tin as soon as they are baked to cool down on a wire rack.
Hi, forgive this American but what is mincemeat?
Hi Kate, mincemeat is the traditional filling of mince pies which are eaten at Christmas. It's made of boozy dried fruit, spices and suet. For more info visit my post on Easy Mincemeat where I go in depth into its traditions. It also is one of my favourite ingredients to use in all sorts of Christmas baking, like these muffins.
Is apple puree the same as apple sauce?
Yes, by apple puree I just mean apples that have been peeled, cored and then cooked down. No sweetener, no extra water or anything. Just cooked apples.
Hi, do you use bramley apples or eating apples for your puree
Hi Susan, I have used both in the past. Bramley apples are obviously a lot less sweet so if you use only bramleys then bear this in mind. A mixture of both is nice.