These Easy Mincemeat Crumble Bars make a delicious alternative to a traditional mince pie. These easy mincemeat slices are kind of a cross between a mince pie, a flapjack and a crumble – and are every bit as delicious as that sounds!
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Mince pie meets flapjack!
Want a twist on traditional mince pies this year? Why not make these Easy Mincemeat Crumble Bars?
They feature an oaty crumble mix on the base – pressed down, so it’s more like a flapjack. Then that flapjack layer is topped with a layer of mincemeat. Finally, you top the mincemeat layer with the same oaty crumble mix – but this time sprinkled so it’s more like the top of an apple crumble.
So basically these mincemeat crumble slices are a cross between a mince pie, a flapjack and a crumble – and every bit as delicious as that sounds!
How to make Easy Mincemeat Crumble Bars
These Easy Mincemeat Crumble Bars are so easy to make!
All you need to do is rub together oats, flour, sugar and butter to make the simple oaty crumble.
Then, tip half the mixture into a square cake pan, and press down lightly with the back of a spoon to pack it down slightly. Next, spread the mincemeat evenly over the packed down crumble.
Finally, sprinkle the remaining crumble over the mincemeat before baking for 30 minutes or until the top is golden.
(Full instructions given in the recipe card below.)
Tips for making Mincemeat Crumble Bars
These Mincemeat Crumble Bars are very easy to make, but to make things go even more smoothly, I have a few tips!
1) Split the crumble exactly in two
In order to make sure that the mincemeat layer is in the middle, I recommend you split the oaty crumble mixture exactly in two – you can easily do this by weight: 350g for the base and 350g for the topping.
2) Pack the first layer down
I strongly recommend you really pack down the base layer for these oaty mincemeat crumble bars – this is to ensure the crumble bars don’t fall apart when you cut them up.
3) Lightly sprinkle the top layer
On the other hand, make sure you lightly sprinkle the remaining crumble over the mincemeat and DO NOT PRESS DOWN. The idea here is you want this layer to be like the top of an apple crumble – with lots of peaks and troughs and nobbly bits!
4) Use enough sugar
I have used 175g sugar in this recipe on purpose. If you try to cut down on the sugar in this recipe, your mincemeat crumble squares will likely fall apart as it’s the sugar that acts as the ‘glue’ that holds them together!
5) Remove from the tin immediately
As soon as you remove these festive crumble bars from the oven immediately transfer them to a wire cooling rack, using the baking paper as a handle – it will likely crack a bit, but once it’s on the cooling rack you can squidge together the cracked parts and the heat will stick it back together! (If you try to do this later, the cracks won’t seal back together, as it will have cooled down too much.)
Mincemeat Crumble Bars – great for parties and presents!
These Mincemeat Crumble Bars are a great option for taking to Christmas parties – such a lovely alternative to mince pies!
They also make great homemade presents – simple pop them in some clear cellophane bags and tie with a pretty Christmas ribbon!
Love mincemeat?
Then you’re going to love these recipes…
- Iced Mince Pies
- Crumble Topped Mince Pies
- Easy Mincemeat Tart
- Easy Mincemeat Brownies
- Easy Mincemeat Christmas Cake
- Easy Mincemeat and Apple Crumble
Easy Iced Mince Pies
What to serve with Mincemeat Crumble Bars
You can either serve these mincemeat crumble bars as a dessert – warm with custard, cream or ice cream OR you can serve them cold as a snack.
What to drink with Mincemeat Crumble Bars
These delicious Crumble Topped Mince Pies go really well with Cream Sherry or Tawny Port. My top picks are Lustau East India Solera Reserva Sherry and Taylors Port 10 Year Old Tawny Port.
Another great option is a rich and fruity dessert wine, such as Muscat/Moscatel, Passito di Pantelleria or Tokaji.
Or, of course, they also go wonderfully well with a simple cup of tea or coffee!
How to store Mincemeat Crumble Bars
Store in an airtight container – for example a cake tin, where they will keep for up to a week.
Can you freeze Mincemeat Crumble Bars?
Amazingly yes! These mincemeat crumble bars freeze really well, making them a great make ahead option.
How to line a square tin for Mincemeat Crumble Bars
You will definitely need to line the tin for this recipe, but it’s really quick and easy to do! Simply cut two pieces of baking parchment which are as wide as the width of your pan, but much longer.
Grease the base and sides of your pan with a little butter (use an offcut of baking parchment to spread the butter) and lay one of the pieces of baking paper so it covers the base and two of the sides with a little bit sticking up above the pan on each side.
Grease the base of the pan and lay the other piece of baking parchment in the opposite direction, to cover the base and the other two sides, again with a little bit sticking up above the pan on each side.
Finally, grease the base and sides again, just for good measure. (In theory, it shouldn’t stick to baking paper – in practice, an extra layer of butter really does help the Mincemeat Crumble Bars come off the paper better!)
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Easy Mincemeat Crumble Bars
Ingredients
- 175 g rolled oats See Note 1
- 175 g plain flour AKA all purpose flour
- 175 g caster sugar See Note 2
- 175 g butter cut into small cubes
- 411 g jar mincemeat
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190C / 170C fan / gas mark 5 / 375F. Grease and line a square cake pan (e.g. a square brownie pan) that is 23 x 23cm (9 x 9 inch) – see above for lining instructions.
- Place the oats, flour and sugar in a bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon.
- Add the cubes of butter, then rub the butter into the other ingredients until the butter is evenly distributed.
- Tip half of the mixture (350g) into your square cake pan, smooth it over to ensure it evenly coats the base of the pan, then press down lightly with the back of a spoon to pack it down slightly. (This is to ensure your crumble bars don’t fall apart later!)
- Spread the mincemeat evenly over the packed down crumble later – go almost all the way to the edge, but not quite.
- Sprinkle the remaining crumble over the mincemeat and DO NOT PRESS DOWN. (The idea here is you want this layer to be like the top of an apple crumble – with lots of peaks and troughs and knobbly bits!)
- Bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the top is golden.
- Remove from the oven and, using the baking paper as a handle, immediately transfer to a cooling rack – it will likely crack a bit, but once it’s on the cooling rack you can squidge together the cracked parts and the heat will stick it back together!
- After 10-15 minutes, gentle slide it onto a chopping board and cut into 16 squares, using a big, fairly sharp knife.
- You can either serve these mincemeat crumble bars as a dessert - warm with custard, cream or ice cream OR you can serve them cold as a snack.
Notes
- You must use rolled oats for this recipe, not instant oats or jumbo oats
- You can use light soft brown sugar or dark soft brown sugar here if you prefer
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Disclosure
This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
Clare says
Made these during the week and tge result was great..Everyone loved them..I used soft brown sugar and progressed oats( ordinary porridge oats I use everyday )So easy to make..I was very proud of myself as I’m not the best of baking.The easiest recipe ever and so tasty..we had them with warm custard..
Eb Gargano says
Aw – yay, that is so great to hear! Thank you for such a lovely review and especially the 5* rating 😀