Festive Power Bars

  • Prep time:

  • Cook time:

  • Total time:

  • Portion/Yield:

    Makes 6–8 bars

  • Difficulty:

    Easy

This recipe was created one year in my desperation to use up all of the sweet mincemeat mixture that I had made, as I had gone slightly overboard and needed to find a home for the mincemeat in a hurry. I do believe that this resulting recipe was a stroke of genius, even if I say so myself!

I am very fond of mince pies and, given half a chance, I can easily eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! With this in mind, I thought it would be good to create some ‘power bars’ as an alternative to mince pies, using my homemade mincemeat.

These tasty bars are perfect for when you need a quick snack or a pick-me-up with a cup of tea, or try one in the morning on your way to work when you don’t have time to stop for breakfast – they make the perfect festive breakfast bar!

photo of Festive Power Barsphoto of Festive Power Barsphoto of Festive Power Barsphoto of Festive Power Bars

Ingredients & Method

For the pastry base and filling

  • 85g plain flour, sifted
  • 50g icing sugar, sifted
  • 50g unsalted butter, diced
  • 1–2 tablespoons ice-cold water
  • 250g Luxury Sweet Mincemeat

For the topping

  • 25g plain flour
  • 25g rolled oats
  • 20g caster sugar
  • 1 tablespoon semolina
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 30g unsalted butter, diced
  • 20g walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 20g flaked almonds

Grease, then line a 22 x 12 x 7cm loaf tin with non-stick baking paper and set aside.

To make the pastry base, place the flour, icing sugar and butter into a mixing bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, then add enough water, mixing to form a firm dough. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/Gas Mark 3. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface to the same size as the base of the loaf tin and to about 1cm thickness, then transfer the pastry to the prepared tin, gently pressing it into the base of the tin. Spread the mincemeat evenly over the pastry base, then refrigerate while you make the topping.

For the topping, place the flour, oats, caster sugar, semolina, cinnamon and butter in a mixing bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the nuts and run your fingers through the mixture to combine thoroughly. Scatter the crumbly mixture evenly over the mincemeat and then press the topping down firmly with your hands. Bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven to a wire rack and leave to cool completely in the tin. Once cold, turn the large bar out of the tin and then cut it widthways into 6–8 smaller bars or fingers (see Cook’s Note). Serve each bar on its own for a delicious festive breakfast, or serve with Chantilly cream or vanilla ice cream for a lovely afternoon teatime treat.

Cook’s Note

Once cooked, cooled and sliced, the bars can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry cupboard for up to 1 week.