Cherry & Almond Mince Pie Sandwich Cookies

Sandwich cookies can be made for any occasion, pumpkin ones for autumn, lemon ones for summer and we've chose cherry and almond mince pie ones for Christmas. They are so good and are also filled with some delicious brandy buttercream. The cookie is nice and soft to chew into and its flavours pair perfectly well with those of the warming mincemeat and buttercream. We think the cookie looks a little bit like a scone, just with mincemeat instead of jam. So, without further ado, let's get on with the recipe!

Happy Baking!

The Chai Home 😋

INGREDIENTS

Approx 7 servings (we used a 5cm diameter ice-cream scoop)

For the cookie

• 130g of butter (room temperature)

• 100g of muscovado sugar

• 75g of caster sugar

• 1x egg

• 300g of plain flour

• 1x tsp of vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda

• 230g jar of cherries in syrup/kirsch, sliced in half (drained 100g)

• handful of flaked almonds

• 1x small lemon (zest and juice)

• 1x clementine (zest and juice)

• pinch of salt

For the filling

• 100g of butter (room temperature)

• 100g of sieved icing sugar

• 3x tsp of brandy

• 1x tsp of vanilla

• approx 2x tsp of mincemeat per sandwich

METHOD

For the cookie

Preheat the oven to 200C and line your baking tray with a silicone sheet.

Add the butter and sugars to a free standing mixer and beat together until creamy.

Now add the egg and vanilla extract and combine together.

Next, add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and the lemon and clementine zest and juice. Mix together again until the cookie dough forms.

Fold through the chopped cherries and flaked almonds until they are fully incorporated.

Using the 5cm ice-cream scoop, evenly transfer all off the cookie dough to your lined tray, leaving an inch between each cookie (you may need to cook in separate batches).

Bake for exactly 13 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to fully cool (the cookies will appear undercooked until they have cooled).

Meanwhile begin preparing the fillings.

For the filling

Add all of the ingredients besides the mincemeat to a large mixing bowl and mix together well until the buttercream forms. Transfer to a piping bag.

(If you're mincemeat hasn't already been made, do so now. Click on the 'mincemeat' highlighted in blue in the ingredients for our recipe!)

Divide your cookies in half. Half for topping with mincemeat & buttercream and the other half for making your sandwich.

Now, decorate half your cookies with a layer of the mincemeat, then add the layer of buttercream using a piping bag. Make sure to use the flat side of your cookie.

Once all the buttercream and mincemeat has been used up, sandwich all the cookies together.

Serve and enjoy!

Merry Christmas!