Hello and welcome to another post of Boone Appétit. Right now in New York, it’s more dreary weather. The mountains of piled snow are trying to melt. This is proving difficult after last night’s icy rain which created a layer of ice on top of the snow. So needless to say it’s one of those days when you hunker down and maybe do inside chores or binge watch a show. For me I took the time to look back at the archives of my blog and I found something that I’m going to apologize for. In this post “Some Nostalgia For The Holidays” I gave you a recipe for making real mince meat using meat, but I didn’t give you any recipes for using the mound of mincemeat you would have made. So I’m going to remedy that situation today.
I understand that for many people mincemeat isn’t something that they think of making. Many also associate it with fruit cake which as we know is something to be re-gifted every year! Just kidding some fruit cakes are yummy , while others are not. There is also the problem of canned mincemeat in todays world. It’s just not the same thing and I’ll admit some of it is outright disgusting. I have neighbors that are of British descent and they make delicious little mince pies every year at Christmas and hand them out . They are tiny two bite, sized pies but tastes amazing. I think for those who are just starting out with mincemeat the little sizes would be best. Another route to go is making mincemeat cookies. I love these and they are simple to make once you’ve made the mincemeat. For those that need a little extra push the history of mincemeat might help them to give it a try.
The journey of mincemeat starts way back in the 13th century. Crusaders brought back many spices from the Holy land. The spices helped to preserve meat and fruits. It wasn’t long before the British started putting those ingredients into pies. Among the spices, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, became the cornerstone of mincemeat. These three spices then made their way into sermons and were compared to the three gifts the wisemen brought to baby Jesus. From there the mince pie became a Christmas tradition. However in the mid-17th century, Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas in England due to its supposed wasteful and gluttonous festivities. Thus leading the mince pie to be banned also. People wouldn’t stand for this and soon the Puritan views lost favor and the mince pie was once again on the dinner table. Colonist brought the tradition to America and the pies became a huge success. One story in the NY Times said wagons were so full of mince pies they had to be drawn by two horses instead of one. At that time mince pies were enjoyed throughout the year. Even during prohibition the Old Victory Distillery in Chicago went to court and won their appeal to keep making brandy for the mince pies. As refrigeration and preserving methods improved the mincemeat pies gradually lost favor and once again became a holiday tradition and the meat was removed from the recipes. Today you’ll be hard pressed to find traditional mince meat containing real meat. That is unless you make it yourself or know where to find it.
If you’ve been reading the blog awhile you know there’s a place in the Pennsylvania Dutch area where you can buy ready made mincemeat. You can read about it here. Luckily for me , my friend Barry was heading that way a couple weeks ago and he stopped in a bought me some mincemeat. Thanks Barry! This recipe has been in the Dietrich family for generations. I like it but they use brandy extract instead of the real deal. So I doctor it up a little and sometimes I’ll add more raisins and yes I’ll even be so bold as to add nuts! I encourage you to tweak recipes to your own tastes as well. There’s nothing wrong with doing a little customization since you’re the one who’s going to be it eating it! There’s many recipes for mincemeat on the web and they vary in ingredients but the spices usually have the core of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. The following recipe is going to make about two dozen cookies. They come out a little fluffy almost like little cakes. I like them that way and if you want to get adventurous you could even make your favorite buttercream frosting recipe. So once you have the mincemeat here’s the recipe for the cookies.
- Mincemeat Cookies
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 stick softened butter = 1/2 cup
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 cups prepared mincemeat
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Cream together the butter and sugar
- Add the eggs and beat until well incorporated
- Add the mincemeat and stir together
- In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt together
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir well making sure there isn’t any dry spots.
- Cover the mixture and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour. You can forgo this step and bake right away but I find letting it sit brings out the flavors a little better.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Grease a cookie sheet
- Place 1 tablespoon of dough on the cookie sheet for each cookie leaving about 1-2 inches of space between cookies.
- Bake for 15 min or until the bottom are slightly browned
- Cool and serve
- * You may also frost the tops using the frosting of your choice for a little extra decadents!
This recipe does take a little bit of time, but while you’re doing it think of the storied history behind it. The spices traveling with the crusaders and finally ending up in your cupboard. If the thought of meat with fruits still doesn’t sit well with you, think of Thanksgiving dinner. You eat turkey with cranberries or a cranberry relish. Sometimes you might serve pork chops with applesauce or bratwurst with cabbage and apples. So meat with fruit and spices isn’t all that crazy! I do hope you’ll give this recipe a try and mess around with it a little to give it your special touch. Please send in your results. As always any questions or comments you have can be posted in the box below and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and until next time…. Boone Appétit!
