Mince Pie Crumble Bars (gluten-free)

These delicious Mincemeat Crumble Bars are the Christmas versions of the incredibly popular Fruity Crumble Bars I sold at my market stall. If you still have leftover mincemeat from making your classic mince pies then I urge you to give these a go. Actually I think there is a solid argument to put forward that they are actually better than mince pies (but don’t tell the Christmas purists that)!

They are so easy to make:

• The sweet mincemeat filling is just 3 ingredients which you whisk together (mincemeat, cream cheese and eggs).
• The crumble dough is quick to mix together.
• You push the dough into the tin, spread the mincemeat filling on top then crumble over the rest of the dough.

I’ll show you how to make these foolproof Mincemeat Crumble Slices perfectly first time so you can enjoy these this all festive season long.

Ingredients Needed

Suet-free mincemeat. I find these days that a lot of shop bought mincemeats don’t contain beef suet. Suet is fat and that’s unnecessary in the filling for these bars. I used my Homemade Cranberry Mincemeat in this recipe and it’s gorgeous as it gives this bake such an incredible freshy fruit and festive flavour. But shop bought or another homemade mincemeat recipe is fine to use too.

Cream cheese. You must use a full-fat cream cheese for a better flavour and greater stability

Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell). These are often classified as large eggs in the US. I recommend weighing your eggs to ensure the correct amount.

Unsalted butter. We need unsalted so we can control the salt content of the recipe. Make sure it is at room temperature.

Homemade gluten-free flour – FTL bend. This recipe uses my Homemade Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour which works really well here as the flour ratio has been carefully tested to ensure the mix between wholegrain flours and starchy flours is balanced. This also means we don’t need to use xanthan gum as the blend is strong enough and produces a well structured and textured bake which can hold together without needing any extra binders.

This flour blend is a mix of 4 different flours:

• Sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour).
• Sorghum flour.
• Oat flour.
• Tapioca flour (tapioca starch).

There are plenty of flour substitution tips ideas if you click on the original post for this homemade flour mix.

Gluten-free oats. The oats this recipe uses are rolled oats but you can use whichever gluten-free oats you can find (jumbo oats or porridge oats are fine too – they’ll just give a different texture).

Light Soft Brown Sugar. Using brown sugar adds a gentle molasses flavour and moisture to the dough, enhancing the depth of taste and providing a subtle caramel undertone, contributing to a more flavourful bake.

Baking powder. A leaving agent which causes the cake to rise and become light and fluffy. Do check your baking powder is gluten-free before use.

Salt. I like to use kosher salt in my baking as it has a round gentle flavour. Using salt in your baked goods lifts and sharpens all the other flavours.

Recommended Equipment

All of these items are helpful for a smooth baking process, but you can easily substitute with whatever you have on hand.

Baking Tin: This recipe works best with a 20cm (8 inch) square baking tin (with loose bottom). This will allow for easier removal of the bars.

2 x Mixing Bowls: 1 for the cheesecake mixture and 1 for the dough.

Digital Kitchen Scale: Optional but great for precise measurements. I have included an automated conversion of the ingredient measurements to cups and spoons but for utmost accuracy I recommend digital scales.

Silicone Spatula / Wooden Spoon: For mixing and spreading the batter and filling.

Baking Parchment. Line the pan up the sides too for easy removal.

Other equipment you might useful: cake lifter, mini foldback clips (19mm)

How To Make Mince Pie Crumble Bars

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Preheat the oven and prepare the tin: Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan-assisted / gas mark 4 / 350°F. Line and grease a 20cm (8-inch) square cake tin, ensuring the baking parchment extends up the sides.

Mix the mincemeat layer: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together cream cheese, mincemeat, and eggs until well combined. Set aside.

Prepare the dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine, then add butter. Rub the butter into the mixture with your fingertips until evenly combined and the dough forms rough clumps.

Assemble the layers: Press half of the buttery oat crumble tightly into the prepared cake tin to form the base. Spoon the cheesecake mixture evenly over the base, avoiding the edges of the tin. Scatter the remaining crumble mixture over the cheesecake layer, covering it fully, and press down lightly, especially around the edges for stability.

Bake: Place the tin in the oven and bake for 50–55 minutes.

Cool and serve: Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Removing From The Tin

The trickiest part of this recipe is removing the crumble bars from the tin as when they are fresh out of the oven they are still quite soft and fragile. They firm up as they cool. The best way is to use a baking tin with a removeable base so you can easily take the sides away. Then use a cake lifter to slide under the bars to transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

If you don’t have a cake lifter then I recommend just leaving the bars a bit longer in the tin to cool and firm up. They won’t be quite as crisp but honestly the difference is negligible. Try leaving the bars for about an hour before attempting removal.

More Gluten-Free Recipes Using Mincemeat

These Gluten-Free Frangipane Mince Pies have a crisp gluten-free pastry base with a spiced mincemeat filling and then topped with sweet almond frangipane for the best mince pies.

Gluten-Free Mincemeat Muffins are moist and packed with warm spices and fruity mincemeat and have a gorgeously crisp streusel topping.

Bramley Apple Mincemeat Pudding is a must at this time of year. It's one of my favourite recipes using leftover mincemeat and is also proved very popular as a lighter sponge cake alternative to Christmas Pudding.