Mincemeat Crumble Bars

These are easier to make than mince pies, but just as delicious! I know rolling pastry and lining tins isn’t for everyone so this is a simple alternative.

You make a simple shortbread recipe that you press into your tin, no need for rolling or chilling and then you part bake the shortbread so you don’t end up with a soggy bottom. Once the shortbread is part baked you top it with sweet mincemeat and a delicious crumble topping and bake again.

I advise making your own mincemeat, but I love making everything from scratch. But if that’s not for you then enliven your shop bought mincemeat with the zest of 1/2 an orange and tablespoon whiskey before using.

Makes 18 bars

For the shortbread base:

160g butter, cubed
175g self-raising flour
60g cornflour
60g caster sugar
A pinch of salt if using unsalted butter

For the topping:

300g mincemeat
75g plain flour
25g ground almonds
50g cold butter, cut into 1cm cubes
A couple of teaspoons of cold water
50g Demerara sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

You will also need a 9 inch/23cm square deep(ish) baking tin

 Preheat the oven to 150°C (fan)/300°F/Gas Mark 2.

Melt the butter for the shortbread in a small saucepan over a medium low heat or in the microwave. Sift the flour and cornflour into a large bowl and stir in the caster sugar and salt (if using).

Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until it resembles a soft dough, you can use your hands to give it a quick knead to make sure there are no dry bits but try not to mix the dough too much. Press the dough into the square baking tin and smooth it out on top as much as possible, I find an offset spatula helps but you can also just use your hands. There is no need to butter or line the tin, the mixture is so buttery it will not stick.

Put the shortbread in the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes until just starting to turn golden. Take the shortread out of the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Turn the oven up to 170°C (fan)/325°F/Gas Mark 3.

To make the crumble topping put the flour and ground almond in a bowl. Add the cubes of butter and rub in using your finger tips until it resembles large breadcrumbs. Drizzle over the cold water and rub again, aiming to create some larger flakes/clumps in the crumble. Stir in the suagr and ground cinnamon, is using.

Put the mincemeat in a bowl and stir vigorously for a minute or two to loosen the mixture and make it easier to spread. Gently spread the loosened mincemeat over the part-baked shortbread aiming to make an even layer. Add the crumble topping, again spreading evenly.

Put the mincemeat bars back in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the crumble is golden on top.

Allow to cool, but cut into bars with a sharp knife while still slightly warm.

Note: I cut these into bars while they are warm and still in the tin but if you prefer you can line with baking parchment which hangs over the edges of the tin which will mean you can lift the bake out of the tin once it is mostly cool.