mince pie squares

with spiced marmalade & ginger filling, and guinness shortbread base

do you have leftover guinness butter and a craving for mince pies? i have just the recipe for you

to me, the best part of a mince pie is the squidgy filling and store bought mince pies are always too much pastry and not enough squidge

these mince pie squares are baked in a loaf tin and cut into squares to minimise the amount of time you spent fighting with pastry dough in a muffin tin, and maximise the filling:pastry ratio

they will not win any beauty awards, but they will be hoovered up in a number of hours

makes eight squares

ingredients

spiced marmalade & ginger filling

100g marmalade

75g raisins

30g glace ginger, chopped finely

0.5 tsp almond extract

0.25 tsp ground ginger

0.25 tsp ground nutmeg

0.25 tsp ground cardamom

guinness shortbread

110g guinness butter (leftover from burnt honey & rye gingerbread)

80g plain flour

optional: caster sugar to sprinkle on top

method

spiced marmalade & ginger filling

add the marmalade (100g) to a small saucepan over low heat

heat gently until the marmalade has warmed and loosened

add the raisins (75g), glace ginger (30g), almond extract (0.5 tsp), ground ginger (0.25 tsp), ground cardamom (0.25 tsp), ground nutmeg (0.25 tsp), and a pinch of salt and let simmer for 10 minutes over low heat to allow the raisins to plump up

remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes

strain out any excess liquid to prevent the shortbread base getting too soggy

guinness shortbread

beat together the guinness butter (110g), flour (80g), and a pinch of salt until just combined

wrap in baking paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes

preheat the oven to 180°C

line a loaf tin with baking paper

press two-thirds of the shortbread dough into the base of the loaf tin

spoon over the cooled spiced marmalade & ginger filling

crumble the remaining shortbread dough over the top

optional: sprinkle with caster sugar

bake for 20 minutes or until the shortbread is golden brown

let cool before removing from the tin and slicing into squares