Mince Pies

Who isn't intrigued by mincemeat?  Anyone?  Everyone has heard of it, and just about everyone has thought "ew gross" as they envisioned meat and raisins in a pie.  And while long ago in lands far away mincemeat did indeed contain beef, venison, or lamb, it has evolved from a savory meal to a mostly meat-free, delicious dessert.  I say mostly because there are some who still put meat in their mincemeat and others who use  beef suet (fat from around the kidneys ::shudder::).  In the past few years as I've really gotten into starting my own yuletide traditions, I always decide it's the year I'll try making mincemeat.  Yet I never did.  But this year, I had the foresight to plan my December weekends and thus I dedicated myself to making mincemeat. 

In looking through my cookbooks for a recipe, I not surprisingly found one in Nigella Lawson's How to Be a Domestic Goddess.  Furthermore, she had multiple recipes for mince pies with various crusts and/or toppings.  I opted for a basic mince pie, just pastry and mincemeat.  

I am thrilled with the results.  It is definitely sweet, but the tartness of the granny smith apples really keep the sweet in balance.  The spices are subtle, which I find refreshing as many holiday dishes are heavy-handed with the clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. These little pies are really quite addictive and I find myself returning to the kitchen time and time again to pick up another little delight.  That is what is so dangerous about doing bite-size desserts; you really just can't stop!

Hettie Potter's Suet-Free Mincemeat

(from Nigella Lawson's How to Be a Domestic Goddess, pg 264)

• 1 cup + 2 tbsp dark brown sugar 
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp medium-dry hard cider
• 2 1/4 pounds peeled, halved, and quartered tart cooking apples
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice (I used 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp allspice)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp currants (I used dried cranberries as currants are scarce in Louisiana)
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp raisins
• 1/3 cup natural-colored glace cherries, roughly chopped (I used maraschino cherries as I could not find glace)*
• 1/3 cup blanched almonds, fairly finely chopped
• ring and juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 6 tbsp brandy or rum
• 4 1-pint or 2 1-quart canning jars**

In a large saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the cider over a gentle heat.  Roughly chop the apples and add them to the saucepan.  Then add all the other ingredients except the brandy or rum, and summer for 30 minutes or until everything looks pulpy.  Take off the heat and when it has cooled a little, stir in the brandy or rum.  Spoon into sterilized jars.**

This should make around 4 pounds. 

* Glace cherries are candied cherries and are the type used in fruitcakes.  Usually, they are in all grocery stores around this time of year, packaged in little clear tubs, but for some reason, I couldn't find them.

** I halved the recipe because 1) I wasn't sure I would even like mincemeat, and 2) I didn't want to deal with canning anything.  So halving the recipe, I had enough for my pies and then about 1/2 to 1 cup left over, which I plan to put on top of vanilla ice cream or some other delicious thing. Like pancakes.  Definitely pancakes.   

Star-Topped Mince Pies

(from Nigella Lawson's How to Be a Domestic Goddess, pg 260)

• 1 2/3 cups cake flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, diced small
• juice of 1 orange
• pinch of salt
• approximately 3/4 cup + plus 2 tbsp mincemeat
• 1 large egg, mixed with a tbsp water to glaze (optional)
• confectioners' sugar for dusting
• a tray of miniature tart pans, each indent about 2 inches in diameter*
• 2 1/2 inch fluted round biscuit cutter**
• 1 1/2 inch star cutter ***

Measure the flour into a shallow bowl or dish, and, using a teaspoon, dollop in little mounds of shortening.  Add the butter, combine with your hands, and put in the freezer for 20 minutes.  Mix the orange juice and the salt in a small pitcher (I used a measuring cup) and put this in the refrigerator.  

Empty out the flour and fat into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until you've got a pale pile of oatmeal-like crumbs.  Add the salted juice down the funnel, pulsing til it looks as if the dough is about to cohere; you want to stop just before it does (even if some orange juice is left).  If all your juice is used up and you need more liquid, add some ice water.  Turn out of the processor and, in your hands, combine to a dough. **** Then form into three discs.  Wrap each in plastic wrap  and put in the refrigerator to rest for 20 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 425F. 

Roll out the discs one at time as thinly as you can without exaggerating; in other words, you want a light pastry shell, but one sturdy enough to support the dense mincemeat.  Out of each rolled-out disc cut out circles a little wider than the indentations in the trays.  Press these circles gently into the molds and dollop in a scant teaspoon of mincemeat.  then cut out your stars - re-rolling the pastry as necessary - and place them lightly on top of the mincemeat.  

If you want to glaze the  mince pies, then brush the stars with a pastry brush dipped into the egg and water mix.  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't: the difference really is one of appearance and only you can decide whether you want them pale and matte or gold and shiny.  (Mama Sarah:  I didn't glaze mine.  Next time I might).  

Put in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes; keep an eye on them, they really don't take long.  Remove from the oven, prising out the little pies right away and letting the empty tin cool down before you start putting in the pastry for the next batch.  Carry on until they're all down.  Dust over some confectioners' sugar by sifting it through a tea strainer before serving them.

makes 36.

*  I do not have a tray of miniature tart pans, but I DO have a mini muffin tray.

** I found a glass that was a bit larger than the muffin cups.

*** I did not have a star cutter, so I printed out a star that would fit within the muffin tray (because I cannot draw) and used it as a stencil, cutting out the stars with a sharp knife.

 **** I have a small 2-cup food processor which does not have a funnel, so things didn't go quite according to plan.  After a few attempts to combine the OJ with the flour, I pulled it all out of the food processor into a bowl and mixed it together with my hands. 

Because I used a mini muffin pan and am not the most efficient roller, I just made 24 pies and one small tart.  

Probably the ONLY thing I would do differently next time is chop my apples smaller.  They did not break down as much as I expected so there are fairly big apple chunks in my mincemeat.  Okay, I'd also either grind the almonds or omit them completely; they were a bit too hard when everything else was so soft.  

Other than that, these are divine  and you should make them so we can educate the world about the awesomeness of mincemeat!