But they’re actually mince meat squares; they do however look like brownies, were mistaken for brownies, and have the same texture as a good brownie. Crisp on the outside, dense and fudgy on the inside and rich enough for one small square to be enough to satisfy any sweet craving.
With a good jar and half full of mincemeat looking for a new way to be used I went down the mince meat square route. The batter was thick and heavy as I poured it in to the baking tray (having never made my own pudding or Christmas cake I can’t be sure…but I imagine it smells something like this!).
The aroma filled the kitchen, molasses, nutmeg and cinnamon, when mixed together they just have this overwhelming power to consume a room (or should the doors be left open, a house). I waited my patience when the came out of the oven and left the slab of mincepie squares to cool for an hour while I caught up on some blogging/TV – all about the multi-tasking, though blogging get at least 80% of my attention meaning I end up being the person that hears the end of sentences and inevitably has to ask about a zillion questions to the other people in the room in order to fill in the gaps of the storyline! 
Anyway back to these squares…
I should have let them cool overnight but I had to do a taste test, get them cut up, pictured and ready to bring to work the next day. They were my Christmas office offering which went down a treat (the plateful disappeared by lunchtime – I hadn’t counted on so many people being mince meat fans!)
A little dusting of icing sugar and they were ready to go (had I left them overnight before cutting it would have been a synch; they were little bit crumbly when I cut them). Moist, chewy, delicious!
Between the plate of mincemeat squares, my handbag, SLR camera bag and my big bag of food for the day I was little laden down to say the least so I caved and took the lift! Something I hardly ever do…partially due to my slight fear of them and also because God gave me two good legs and I should use them! It would have been WAY too risky with all my luggage so I took the lazy option for the sake of baked goods!
Do you like to bring baked goods in to the office?
Any other alternative mincemeat recipes you like to make up around this time of year?
Vegan Mincemeat Squares
Servings – 12-16 squares (depending on how big you want them!)
Preparation Time – 5 minutes
Cooking Time – 25-30 minutes
Ingredients
- 120g (1 cup) plain gluten free flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp all spice
- 1 flax egg
- 2 tbsp vegan spread/margarine
- 150g (3/4 cup) brown sugar
- 2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
- 1 cup of mincemeat
- 50g (1/2 cup) walnuts roughly chopped
Directions
- Preheat oven to 200C (375F).
- Beat together vegan spread, sugar, molasses and flax egg until smooth and creamy.
- Add in mincemeat and walnuts before folding in sifted flour, baking powder, cinnamon and all spice.
- Place in a non stick baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes (until a toothpick inserted comes out clean).
- Allow to cool in the pan for at 1 hour (but ideally overnight in the fridge) before slicing in to squares.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I found this recipe while searching for “vegan mincemeat” (your pie recipe led to this one) and am excited to try both the pie and these “brownies.” They all look marvelous. Thanks for all the photos, too — helpful and inspiring. I’ll be browsing around; lovely blog!
Ah thanks Gerd! Enjoy! Merry Christmas!