I know that it’s only September, and if you didn’t know any better here in England, you’d wholly believe it was July right now. This heat wave has come as a shock to us Brits, and has brought some terrible storms in it’s wake. And here I am, getting excited for cold nights, candles and Christmas.

Mince Pie ‘Meat’ is something which gets better with age, which is why I have been prepared this year and made mine now, so that it has 4 whole months to infuse. This mixture can be made up to 6 months in advance, if you like.

Mince Pies are the ultimate Christmas treat. Full of spices, fruit and of course, alcohol. What more could you ask for? (wink)

Seriously, this stuff is like Christmas in a jar. I almost didn’t want to close the lid, it just smells SO good!

Before we start on the filling, we are going to need a 1 Litre Mason Jar. I picked this one up from Sainsburys: and it only cost me £2.50. If you are using a brand new jar, it is essential to sterilise it before adding your mixture. There are two ways you can do this:

• Pour boiling water and washing up liquid into the jar and leave to soak for 10 minutes, then rinse.
• Use a baby Sterilising tablet. All you need to do fr this is fill the jar with hot water, and dunk the tablet in. Wait for it to fully dissolve and then rinse the jar.

Now for the fun part…

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Mince Pie Filling

Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 100 ml Brandy
• 250g Currants
• 375g Raisins
• 1 Orange and the Zest
• 1 Large Bramley Apple (or any other sour baking apple)
• Zest of 1 lemon, Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 Star Anise

1. First of all, Measure out your currants and raisins, place them in a large bowl. Add the brandy and lemon juice, and soak for 1 hour. (You can also soak overnight if you like)
2. Peel and chop up the apple and orange into small, bite size pieces.
3. Into your dried fruit mixture, add in the zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and fruit. Stir until well combined.
4. Pack the mixture into your jar, making sure to press down as you go to get rid of any air in the jar. Once your jar is full, add the star anise to the top and place in the fridge, ready for December!