Mincemeat Sticky Buns

If you love a festive Mince Pie as well as a Sticky Cinnamon Bun, this is the baking recipe for you. Whilst these are cooking the house smells incredible and the addition of sweet vanilla icing makes these a treat you won't be able to resist.

It does take a little patience for proving time etc. but the results are really delicious as an afternoon treat or a breakfast delight with a festive twist. 

Mincemeat Sticky Buns with Vanilla Icing

The below makes 8-10. 

Here's how:

For the dough:

• 250ml full fat milk
• 1 egg
• 60g butter (room temperature)
• 450g plain white bread flour
• 65g caster sugar
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1.5 tsp cinnamon
• 7g sachet instant yeast
• 1 pinch of salt
• Olive oil

For the filling:

• 450g mincemeat (I used the Lidl Deluxe one which is delicious
• 30g caster sugar
• 60g butter
• 2 tbsp brown sugar (to be scattered over the buns pre-bake0

For the glaze:

• 2 tbsp apricot jam
• 1/2 tbsp water

For the icing and topping:

• 250g icing sugar
• 2 tbsp softened butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-4 tbsp milk 
• Handful dried cranberries
• Handful walnuts

Firstly you will need to prove the dough for 1-2 hours depending on how warm your home is, so find a suitable warm spot for this to happen, or purposefully warm up a room ready. Also lightly oil a large roasting tin, bottoms and sides ready for the buns, and do the same to a mixing bowl for the dough to prove in.

Pop the milk on a medium heat in a small saucepan until almost boiling, then take off the heat and add the butter and stir through then leave to cool down for ten minutes.

In the meantime, in a large bowl measure out the plain flour, caster sugar, mixed spice, cinnamon, yeast and a pinch of salt and give a gentle mix. Make a well or a hole in the middle of the mixture, and once cooled pour the butter and milk mixture in as well as cracking in the egg. 

Use at first, a wooden spoon to bring the dough together - by mixing the liquid and the dry ingredients together. Then ensure to flour a clean working surface, and your (clean) hands and bring the dough here to knead, which you will need to do for at least 10 minutes. 

The dough should end up being a smooth ball that springs back a little if you press down into it. When you're satisfied it's ready, pop into the oiled mixing bowl and cover with some cling film. This now needs to prove which can take between 1-2 hours; you'll know it's ready once it has doubled in size. 

Now on a floured surface turn out the dough and roll out to a large oblong shape with the longest side in front of you and should be about 1.5cm thick. 

Cream together the butter and sugar from the 'filling' ingredients until combined then spread all over the dough. 

Now spoon the mincemeat all over too, ensuring every area get's a good covering. 

Now take the long side closest to you and begin to roll up away from you until the dough's completely rolled up. You may want to cut off the ends to neaten up - but we don't mind the rustic ends so you then cut into 8-10 buns using a sharp knife and placing them neat-side upwards in the oiled roasting tin. Then cover this with clingfilm and allow the buns to prove in a warm spot for a further 30-40 minutes or until they have almost doubled in size. 

Scatter over the brown sugar before baking in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 22-25 minutes. 

Once golden brown and cooked through remove from the oven, and carefully transfer each sticky bun to a wire cooling rack to cool - you should need to pull them apart slightly, so go gently.

For the glaze, pop 2 tbsp apricot jam into a small saucepan with 1/2 tbsp water and wait for it to melt right down then brush it al over the tops of the sticky buns then leave to cool for 20 minutes.

Mincemeat Sticky Buns

For the icing, mix together the icing sugar, vanilla and butter and then add the milk 1 tbsp at a time and mixing the whole time until you're happy with the consistency, I love a fairly thick icing, but some are more partial to a thinner icing for sticky buns - so go with you preference. 

Finally roughly chop the dried cranberries and walnuts and scatter over the Mincemeat Sticky Buns - I did a combination purely as one of my daughters doesn't like walnuts, but you could do a mixture of both across all. I think crushed pistachios with cranberries would look really festive too but I didn't have any of those to hand today.

You can keep these for 3-4 days in an air tight container, but I doubt they'd last that long. Enjoy! 

Mincemeat Sticky Buns