Mincemeat for Christmas

the adult dessert

Illustration by Vicki Smith

Hello,

A fresh evergreen wreath on the door and twinkly lights along the roof lines welcome visitors during the holiday season with the expectation of sweet treats inside. Cookies should naturally be available for children, but mincemeat pie with brandy offers a little more sophistication for adults. My cousin Angie and I were texting the day before Thanksgiving and lamenting the fact that making pie crust was not second nature to either of us the way it was for our mothers. I mentioned that I missed having my mom’s mincemeat pie on Christmas day with a cup of black coffee and learned that one of our aunts made her own mincemeat. This was news to me as my mother bought the mincemeat in a small box, and it still was always delicious. After looking up several recipes and realizing how simple it is to make as well as easy to customize and useful in cookie and cake recipes in addition to pie, I was on board.

Mincemeat pie is a traditional Christmas dessert in England and is mentioned in the works of both Shakespeare and Dickens. Originally, however, mincemeat pies were a savory rather than a sweet dish that included different types of meat and suet, the fat found near an animal’s kidney. In the 14th-century cookbook The Forme of Cury, a mincemeat pie recipe included boiled pork, stewed bird, rabbit, eggs, cheese, sugar, and saffron. During the Tudor period (1485-1603), mincemeat pies were large, rectangular creations with thirteen ingredients to represent Jesus and his apostles. They were flavored with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, spices brought back to Europe from the Holy Land during the Crusades. Superstitions were part of the baking process, with good luck bestowed on the baker who only stirred in a clockwise motion and ill luck on anyone who sliced into the pie with a knife. Angie and I would not have had to worry about our crust as the pastry of the time was made of just flour and water, called a casket, and meant only as a vessel for the filling.

Mincemeat Recipe

Ingredients

1 Granny Smith (or other tart apple), peeled and grated

1/2 c. raisins

1/2 c. golden raisins

1/2 c. dried cranberries

1/2 c. dried apricots, finely minced

1/2 c. figs, finely chopped

zest and juice of one navel orange

1/4 c. brown sugar

4 T. butter, cut into small pieces

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. ginger

3 T. brandy

Directions

Place all ingredients, other than the brandy, in a medium saucepan. Turn the heat to medium, then lower the temperature and heat on low, stirring frequently for 15 minutes. Cool. Add brandy. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Yield: about 2 1/2 cups or enough for one pie.

I used about 1/2 cup of the mincemeat to make little puff pastry pies. The puff pastry was the frozen variety from the grocery store. I allowed one sheet to come to room temperature, rolled it out on a floured board, and cut out small rectangles (unevenly, as you can see). I placed one tablespoon of mincemeat in the middle of a pastry rectangle. Using a pastry brush, I added water to the perimeter of the rectangle and placed another rectangle of pastry on top, sealing the edges with the tines of a fork. These were baked at 400 degrees for about 18 minutes or until lightly golden.

Yield: 6 little pies

Note: The puff pastry pies should be consumed soon after leaving the oven. The pastry on the leftovers that we reheated was no longer tender.

Photos by Vicki

Thanks for reading, clicking the little heart, commenting, and sharing! It is much appreciated.

Vicki

I still send out Christmas cards.

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