Mesmerising Mincemeat

Before we get started you will need a sterilised jar or two to store your cooked mincemeat in. I used a Kilner jar with a one litre capacity.  if your new to sterilising jars I've included a Tips for Dummies guide just for you!

Ingredients

• 250g Dark, soft muscovado sugar
• 250ml Dry cider (I used Henney's)
• 6 Tablespoons of brandy
• Juice and rind of a small lemon
• 1 kg Cooking apples
• 1/2 Tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 Tsp ginger
• 250g Currants
• 250g Raisins
• 80g Glace cherries quartered
• If almonds don't make your toes curl, you might want to include 75g's of them finely chopped

Method

• Get yourself a whopping big saucepan. Dissolve your sugar and cider over a low heat giving it all a good stir with a wooden spoon.
• Peel and roughly chop the apples and plop them into the saucepan with the sugar and cider mix.
• throw in the rest of the ingredients, save the brandy and give it a good old simmer for 30-40minutes or until it looks almost like a very thick smoothie.
• Take the pan off the heat, and let it all cool down for 3-4 minutes and then glug in your brandy (no drinking it yourself!) and give it a big lovely stir.
• Spoon or ladle the mincemeat into your sterilised jar(s). 
• Squirrel away for a time in the future when you come to make your mince pie's. Until that time smugly display your jar of mincemeat where people can see it and you can casually drop in 'oh that? that's my homemade mincemeat'.