Boozy homemade mincemeat

When it comes to Christmas there is only one tea time treat in our house, my bakewell mince pies. When ever I make them it has to be with my homemade mincemeat, with less sugar and more fruit that the shop bought ones you can't beat it for flavour and at this time of year all the treats that you make are worth the extra effort of making them homemade.

This recipe is really quick to make but will need at least a week in the fridge to mature and bring all of the flavours together, once made it will keep for a couple of months and the flavour will only get better.

The addition of vegetable suet, whilst looking strange in the jars, will melt away in your bakes and leave them wonderfully moist.

Most people will want to use brandy in their mincemeat but really any booze will do, a couple of years ago I had no brandy in the house and replaced it with some spiced rum and that is now my alcohol of choice.

750g pre-soaked mixed fruit with peal

150ml morgan's spiced rum

1 lemon zested and juiced

1 large bramley apple peeled and grated

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

250g dark muscovado sugar

200g shredded vegetable suet

To start this recipe take the fruit, lemon juice and rum and mix them together in a large bowl and allow the fruit to soak up the juices for an hour.

After the hour is up simply mix in the rest of the ingredients and spoon the mixture evenly into sterilized kilner jars or jam jars.

Keep the jars in the fridge until you are ready to use them. I would recommend that you do not use them for at least a week as the flovours will need time to mature.