Fruit Mince

As a child I was never a fan of fruit mince - I think the word mince had me imaging there was meat in grandma's fruit mince pies (I was borderline vegetarian). It was something I never cooked with until a girlfriend gave me her fruit mince recipe a couple of years ago and I became obsessed. The flavor is amazing, the texture is divine and now I use Fruit Mince in quite a few recipes during the Christmas season.

Doesn't that look delicious? Nothing beats homemade and you wont buy Fruit Mince this plump and lush in stores, plus its not loaded with sugar - there's natural sweetening in the ingredients. It does take a little work preparing and cooking but its well worth setting aside a couple of hours and making your own.
I use Fruit Mince in pies, muffins and cookies, and if you pop back tomorrow I'll share another way I use it which is totally delicious!

This Fruit Mince recipe combines gorgeous ingredients -  pink lady apples, dried fruits, spices, orange zest, vanilla and apple juice. The pink lady apples work the best because they are naturally sweet but you could also try golden delicious or fuji. And don't be afraid to experiment with different ingredients. You could add currants, dried apricot, dates, cherries or mixed peel as well, just add a little extra apple juice (or a little rum) so the fruit can soak it up.

The most time consuming part is dicing up the apples but don't be too fancy, the peels stay on so rustic is best. The ingredients are thrown into a big pot and then gently simmered for an hour. Make sure you keep an eye on it though as the apple juice needs to absorb slowly to plump up the fruit. If you find the juice is reducing too fast, add a little extra apple juice and keep the heat low.
The smell of this Fruit Mince cooking is intoxicating, and it will have you dreaming up ways to use it in your baking.

The recipe makes about five cups of Fruit Mince and I store mine in mason jars in the fridge. If you make it a week or two before you need it, the flavors intensify and its even yummier (if that's possible).
This recipe changed my whole outlook on Fruit Mince so if you're on the fence yourself or if you just want to make a healthier version then give this recipe a try.
You can download my recipe by clicking on the link or right click on the photo below and save it to your computer for later.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and a big thanks to Bonnie for sharing it with me, you changed my life! Don't forget to pop back here tomorrow and see one of the baked goods I make using this delicious Fruit Mince. A little hint - its almond flavored :)

Until then....happy baking :)