Mini Mince(meat) Pies

Ever since returning from the semester of college that I spent in Oxford, England, I’ve missed mincemeat pies. Yes, I’ve missed them for nine years. Up until now, I’ve just accepted that. But no more! I felt it was time to test my cooking skills and make my own.

After perusing the interwebs for recipes, I cobbled together a list of things I wanted in the mincemeat. Meat was not one of those things. Though it seems that traditionally they did contain meat – hence the name, mincemeat – the ones that I tried way back in my Oxford days did not. At least, not as far as I know.

Once I assembled my ingredients, I played with the quantities until I came up with this combination. (DISCLAIMER: I in no way claim that this recipe is “authentic” or anything. It was pieced together from the internet, which we all know is extremely accurate and never lies.)

• 1 1/2 cups raisins
• 4 apples, peeled and diced very small
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
• 1 scant cup of dried figs, chopped*
• 1 cup green holiday cherries, chopped*
• 3/4 cup candied citrus peel (recipe here)
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cloves

(*Next time I think I would leave out the cherries, they weren’t needed. Maybe the figs, too. I only included them because I couldn’t find currants. We’ll see.)

I put everything in a pot and simmered on the stove until the apple softened and the house smelled wonderful.

 

Then I made up a batch of Pam’s Pie Crust and cut it into little shapes with a cookie cutter. I pressed a small circle of dough into a mini muffin pan, making it fit by removing a small wedge from the circle first. I filled each little pie, then put the tops on and baked at 410 degrees F according to these directions. I had a little leftover dough so I made a couple in a regular muffin tin, too.

Yum! They were very tasty. The pie crust recipe made enough for one full mini muffin tin (24 pies) and a few extra in the regular muffin tin. But I had a lot of leftover filling, so I put it in the freezer to use another time. Which is good, because I’ll definitely want to make them again soon!

Cookies!

One of the projects that kept Paul and Veronica busy last week was a super batch of butter cookies. It happened in stages, making up the giant bowl of dough one day, then rolling, cutting and baking the next. Finally it was time to decorate!

 

Veronica was in charge of sprinkles, which was fine by her.

 

Jacinta got to “decorate” a cookie. Which meant licking the frosting off and starting over again. And again.

 

All the sprinkles have to be sampled, right?

 

Done! Didn’t I say it was a super batch?

 

Along with the more traditional Christmas shapes, Veronica picked out a few others that she liked. Thank you to Deb and Clint for the timely gift of fun cookie cutters, without which this cookie would not have been possible.

 

Nor this one. Dinosaurs are popular in our house.

 

This fish was the cookie that Veronica picked out to eat first. She took a few bites then set it aside to “save for later”. She still hasn’t finished it. Girl just doesn’t have a sweet tooth.

 

Jacinta, on the other hand…

 

A fun Christmas baking project. Now what to make next?

Pineapple Meringue Pie

I saw this recipe last week on Tasty Kitchen, and just had to make it. It took a few days before I had enough time, and during those days my taste buds were in an agony of anticipation. It looked so good!

Finally on Tuesday I was able to put it together. I had some pie crust dough frozen in the oven which saved some time. (Oven??? Of course I meant freezer. Oy.) Instead of crushed pineapple, I used some fresh pineapple that I had on hand and just pulsed it through the food processor to get it to the right consistency. And even though I had never made a meringue pie before, the instructions – and my Kitchen-Aid – made it very easy.

You have to try this pie! It is simply delicious.

Here’s the step-by-step tutorial on Tasty Kitchen.

And the recipe, Grandma Inez’s Pineapple Pie, courtesy of Perry’s Plate. Whose pie pictures are much prettier than mine.

Go. Eat. Enjoy!

Christmas Baking

One of my favorite things about the holidays is all the tasty food that goes along with them. From Thanksgiving until New Year’s there is no lack of edibles, no matter what your taste is. And a sure way to tell that Christmas is approaching is the heavenly smell of something in the oven, that staple of Christmas fare – Christmas cookies!

 

This year I decided that Veronica was old enough to give me hand.

 

No, the smiles on our faces aren’t because of the six pack of beer that I neglected to move off of the counter. You can see they’ve all still got their caps on. *Hic*

 

 

Operating the sprinkles was the job of choice.

 

And she was good at it!

 

A little too good. How do you dispose of excess sprinkles?

 

Eat them of course!

 

Yum!

 

Jacinta helped by sitting and being cute. She was good at her job, too.

 

It’s always been a tradition in our family to bake butter cookies for Christmas, so it was fun to share with my daughter. Just like my mom did with me and my siblings, and her mom before that. And while it makes me miss my grandmother a lot, it’s nice to know that a part of her still lives on with us when we continue to share holiday traditions like this one.

Happy Baking, everyone!