Two of my favorite holiday pies are mincemeat and pecan, so I created this Maple Walnut Mince Pie recipe to honor them both! Not only that, but this recipe is entirely plant-based, and can easily be made vegan by substituting a gluten-free flour for einkorn in the crust recipe.
What is einkorn?
In this recipe, I call for einkorn flour, though you can substitute all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour as well. Einkorn is considered by many to be “man’s first wheat.” It was first grown by farmers over 5,000 years ago, and as such is a domesticated form of a wild wheat species. Its age gives it a number of interesting properties—whereas modern wheat contains 42 chromosomes, einkorn contains only 14! One of the chromosomes einkorn doesn’t have is the D chromosome, which some consider is connected to wheat intolerance in many people. Because of this, it may be easier to digest for some of us. It has a deeper, nuttier flavor than what you get from a standard all-purpose flour, and as such it pairs very well with rich mincemeat and nutty pecans or walnuts.
As we often do, we sweeten this pie with maple syrup and maple or coconut sugar. We source our maple syrup from Dutch Hill Maple, where you can also get maple sugar (as well as maple cream, maple candy, and more maple goodness). We call for using our All-Fruit Mincemeat, which is vegan and has no gluten-containing ingredients, so if you’re making a gluten-free pie, you should have no problems!
In Central New York, we are blessed to be surrounded by some of the world’s best maple trees. To celebrate the natural bounty they give us, I decided to decorate this pie with a maple leaf cut out from the trimmings of the pie crust! You can use whatever cookie cutter shape you have, though—no matter what it’ll be tasty.
This recipe also works if you want to make smaller mince tarts or hand pies, which are wonderful for giving as tasty, seasonal gifts to loved ones, friends, or coworkers. You may need a smaller cookie cutter to decorate with, and it’s nice to sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top to look like snow. If you decide to make this Maple Walnut Mince Pie recipe, we hope you’ll share your photos with us!
—Lynne Della Pelle Pascale, Farmer Street Pantry
Maple Walnut Mince Pie
Equipment
- pastry cutter
- 9-inch pie plate
- festively-shaped cookie cutter
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cup einkorn or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup shortening vegan and non-hydrogenated, cold
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 2-3 tbsp. cold water
Filling
- 3 tbsp. flaxseed meal
- 9 tbsp. water
- 3/4 cup dark maple syrup
- 1/3 cup maple or coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp. vegan butter melted
- 1 tbsp. corn starch
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1 1/2 cup walnuts chopped, toasted
- 1 1/2 cup Farmer Street Pantry All-Fruit Mincemeat (1 13 oz. jar)
Instructions
Crust (single crust plus decorative leaves)
- Stir together flour, sugar, and salt.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut the shortening into the flour mixture until the dough resembles shaggy oatmeal. Add enough water for the dough to form a ball. Press together and flatten into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out, approx. 30 minutes.
- Roll out into a circle on floured surface to approx. 1/4 inch thickness. Drape over 9-inch pie plate. Trim overhanging dough and crimp edges.
- Re-roll scraps. Using a cookie cutter, cut into maple leaves for decoration. Bake leaves in 350-degree oven for 508 minutes until just golden brown.
Filling
- In a large bowl, combine flaxseed meal, water, maple syrup, maple/coconut sugar, vegan butter, corn starch, and sea salt. Fold in the nuts and mincemeat.
- Fill the pie shell with filling. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 55-70 minutes. The center should still be slightly wobbly. Let cool to room temp. Decorate top with maple leaves (optional). Chill for an hour before slicing.