These puff pastry mincemeat swirls or pinwheels are super quick & easy to make with all the festive mince pie flavours & almost zero hassle. Now that's a result!
As much as I love traditional sweet shortcrust pastry mince pies and wouldn't go through festive season without my Almond Pastry Mince Pies, there are times when you need something super quick and hassle free but full of flavour and certain to please the crowd.
What can I say, these puff pastry mincemeat swirls or pinwheels do the trick EVERY SINGLE TIME and they're vegan too (just make sure to use vegan friendly puff pastry as well as mincemeat)!
In the era of ready rolled puff pastry readily available and super delicious, it would be silly not to use it when creating yummy nibbles to feed family and friends around Christmas time. Cheeky festive breakfast perhaps?
Try enjoying these with a cheeky glass of my vegan eggnog for super festive treat! You could also try my puff pastry mince pies with their more traditional look or these indulgent puff pastry cinnamon twists.
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Quick and easy, perfect when you're short on time.
- All the flavours of mince pies in the shape of pinwheels.
- Recipe uses shop bought shortcuts - puff pastry and mincemeat.
- Easy to adapt.
- Great for making ahead.
- Freezer friendly.
- Vegan
- Perfect addition to your party food table.
📝 Ingredients
Here's what you will need to make my Puff Pastry Mincemeat Pinwheels:
Puff Pastry - I use shop bought ready-rolled puff pastry.
Mincemeat - Good quality shop bought one is great or you can use homemade one if you've got some.
Clementine or Satsuma - Preferably organic as we are using zest. Orange zest can be used as well.
Walnuts - They add lovely crunch. You can substitute them with your favourite nuts or leave out altogether.
Almond Flakes - Optional but such a lovely touch on top of your swirls!
Plant Milk (or beaten egg if not vegan)- For brushing over the pastries.
Icing Sugar - For dusting over baked swirls.
🔪 Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
Unroll puff pastry sheet and spread it generously with your favourite mincemeat.
Grate over zest of one clementine or satsuma and sprinkle some chopped walnuts.
Roll your puff pastry sheet lengthwise like you would Swiss Roll.
Using sharp knife cut your roll into 20 even slices which you place cut side up onto prepared baking sheet.
Brush the edges of your swirls with a little beaten egg (if not vegan) or some plant milk and sprinkle over few almond flakes (if using).
Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until puffed up and golden.
Dust with some icing sugar if you wish and enjoy!
💭 Pro Tips
- Make sure you take your puff pastry out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before making your swirls to make it easier to unroll.
- Feel free to use any mincemeat you like. Personally, I use Robertson's Classic Mincemeat which I then pimp up with the zest of a clementine for that lovely citrussy flavour and some chopped walnuts.
- Even though, in the recipe below I've suggested the entire jar of mincemeat (400g), I tend to use half or three quarters of that per puff pastry sheet. Feel free to adjust quantity as per your preference.
🥡 Storing
Storing: Puff pastry mincemeat swirls are best eaten on the day you bake them but will still be nice the following day or even the day after that if kept in the airtight container.
Reheating: You can always revive their crispness by putting them in the hot oven or the air fryer for a few minutes.
Freezing: Freezer friendly before and after baking. Make sure to open freeze them in single layer first and once frozen you can transfer them to freezer friendly bag or container to save on space.
When freezing baked swirls, let them cool down first.
Unbaked swirls can be baked from frozen following the same instructions but adding few extra minute of baking time.
Baked ones can be left out on the countertop to defrost and then warmed up in the hot oven or air fryer.
Alternatively you can reheat them from frozen in the oven preheated to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 for approx. 4-5 minutes.
❓FAQs
I've already made a few suggestions like adding some satsuma or clementine zest and nuts but you could go even further and sprinkle some ground cinnamon, mixed spice or even chocolate chips over the mincemeat. Yum!
Have you tried my Puff Pastry Mince Pie Swirls?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below and share your views or tips in the comments.
Some more sweet & festive recipes you might enjoy
Almond Pastry Mince Pies
Ginger Shortbread
Gingerbread Brownies
Gingerbread Cake (Traybake) - Vegan
Dark Chocolate Cranberry Chestnut Cookies
Easy Chocolate Gingerbread Biscuits
📋 Recipe
Puff Pastry Mincemeat Swirls
Ingredients
- 375 g ready rolled puff pastry sheet (vegan friendly if required) see notes
- 400 g jar good quality mincemeat You will most likely use approx ¾ of that.
- 1 large clemetine or satsuma (zest only)
- 30-50 g chopped walnuts optional
- handful of almond flakes optional
- 1 beaten egg (if not vegan) or some milk/plant milk for brushing pastry
- icing sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
- Unroll puff pastry sheet and spread it generously with your favourite mincemeat.
- Grate over zest of one clementine/satsuma and sprinkle some chopped walnuts.
- Roll your puff pastry sheet lengthwise like you would Swiss Roll.
- Using sharp knife cut your roll into 20 even slices which you place cut side up onto prepared baking sheet.
- Brush the edges of your swirls with a little beaten egg (if not vegan) or some milk/plant milk and sprinkle over few almond flakes (if using).
- Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until puffed up and golden.
- Dust with some icing sugar if you wish and enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per swirl and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- Make sure you take your puff pastry out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before making your swirls to make it easier to unroll.
- Feel free to use any mincemeat you like. Personally, I use Robertson’s Classic Mincemeat which I then pimp up with the zest of clementine for that lovely citrussy flavour and some chopped walnuts.
- These delicious swirls are the best on the day you bake them but will still be nice the following day if kept in the airtight container. You can always revive them by putting them in the oven for a few minutes.
- Freezer friendly.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in December 2019 and updated in December 2020 to include vegan option.
Marilyn says
Can I assemble and put in fridge to cook the next day.
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Marilyn, I think it should be fine but make sure to cover them well otherwise they'll dry up. Hope that helps.
Jan says
Hi - these worked out really well. Can you freeze them?
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Jan, Yes, they freeze really well. I would suggest open freezing them in a single layer and once rock solid, moving them into freezer friendly bag. This way you won't end up with one bog lump of pastries but nicely separated ones you can defrost as and when.
Sandy V says
I have not yet tried these but look forward to trying them to soon. However, I have a question first: the recipe references using a "prepared baking sheet." Is it necessary to grease the sheet or use parchment paper? (Or I have a non-stick baking sheet I can use.) Please let me know. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Sandy, By "prepared baking sheet" I mean the one lined with parchment/baking paper (sorry, should have made that clearer). I would recommend doing that even if you have a good non-stick sheet as they might still stick a bit (happened to me before). I hope you enjoy the swirls! 🙂
Sandy V says
I'm SO late to reply, Jo, but just want to say how much we enjoyed these swirls. Although there's a little English mixed in, I'm of Italian and German descent, and our family Christmas foods have traditionally centered on those cuisines. So have never really gotten into British Christmas foods like mincemeat, i.e. the denseness of mince pie, especially, has never appealed. But I'm an adventurous cook and have always wanted to try something with mincemeat, and this is the perfect recipe...fast, easy, and light. Thanks so much for sharing. I highly recommend it! Will be making again this year. 🙂
joskitchenlarder says
So pleased to hear Sandy, thank you! 😊
Helen says
Absolutely delicious what a fab idea? Thank you... Do you think you could make savoury versions? ie: Blue cheese & walnut? xx
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Helen and thanks so much for your lovely comment! Yes of course they would work with savoury filling. You could dot pieces of blue cheese all over the pastry, sprinkle with walnuts and roll it up. You could also add caramelised red onions for some extra flavour if you wanted too. Let me know how it goes if you give it a try! 🙂 x
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
These look so very very tempting.
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Jacqui! 🙂 They definitely are!
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
What an easy idea for a quick mince pie treat!
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Kat! Quick excuse to incorporate mince pie into breakfast lol. It's sort of Danish pastry after all.
Michelle Rolfe says
What a great idea Jo! I always have a package of puff pastry in the fridge as its always easy to turn into a dessert - and I love this idea. Perfect if people drop by unexpectedly during the holidays. Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare. Michelle
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Michelle! You just cannot beat these in terms of taste and speed.
Julia says
What a fab idea! The swirls look so delicious and so easy to make!
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Julia! 🙂 They are super easy indeed which makes them super appealing during hectic festive season.
Danielle says
I could eat swirls like this every day any day. Delicious, cute and absolutely great to have in the kitchen in the morning.
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Danielle! 🙂 They are lovely with your morning cuppa and one is never enough lol.
Mahy says
Incredible and delicious way to start a day. Any day actually, although these would work particularly good during the holidays!
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Mahy! 🙂 They would make a nice festive brekkie treat indeed. 🙂
Alexandra says
Such a delicious festive idea - they look absolutely scrumptious! Beautifully presented.
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Alexandra! 🙂