mincemeat pies

Frist off, I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving and was able to eat, eat and eat and drink and be merry. 'Tis the season whether you like it or not. I have mixed feelings about the holidays, part nostolgia, part hating the stress that comes with this time of year. However, rather than just sit and wallow in my own holiday hating attitude, I have resolved to make it better this year, perhaps better than ever. This resolution came about the day after Thanksgiving when I was taking it easy at my house, drinking a glass of wine and reading a book. All of the sudden I was aware of the looming dark cloud of Christmas off in the distance and had the sudden urge to run and hide under the covers. Instead, with a great deal energy, I pulled myself off the couch, poured another glass of wine and set off to my kitchen for some baking therapy.

I wanted to make something Christmasy, but not over the top. Nothing with sparkles or glitters or extravagant frostings. Something simple that evoked a feeling of comfort. Rumaging through cookbooks and random printed recipes I found exactly what I had been looking for in mincemeat pies. I say pies, plural, because I made them in a muffin tin to creat cute little pies, however, you of course could make one big mincemeat pie and it would be delicious all the same. I made these last year for a party with my friend Alex, who remembers mincemeat pie from growing up in Britian, and I have conveniently made them my own tradition to be excited about!

Traditional mincemeat pie has meat in it and traditional pasty crust has dairy in it; but here, you will find none of that. Extra apples in the filling make for a dense, rich mixture without using suet (a hard, saturated fat used a lot for those birdseed thingys). Vegan shortening and butter is available in health food stores but I actually found mine at Kroger in the health food section. I considered using a whole wheat crust like the one for my sweet potato pie, but I thought that the color and texture of one with white flour and vegan shortening would go much better, despite the fact that it is less nutritious. (Sorry)

So into the kicthen to whip up some mincemeat pies and combat the holiday blues. It's my new tradition- all my own. Nothing to do with childhood memories, ex-boyfriend memories, feeling alone while everyone else is wearing puff paint sweatshirts and singing carrols...all gone thanks to mincemeat! OK, I'm sort of kidding, and sort of not. It's important to have a tradition all your own if the holidays get you down. These things are super easy and cheap to make, it makes a lot and stores for a long time and it makes your house smell absolutely wonderful! Like one of those Christmas spice candles from Target, only better! It's the cheapest therapy I know.

I adapted this recipe from "How to be a Domestic Goddess" by Nigella Lawson. The filling I made straight from the book, but the pastry I adapted to be vegan using a few different ingredients. I hope you try these this year and enjoy sharing and nibbling on these tasty little unassuming creations. If you live in the South like I do, people may look at you a little funny when you present mincemeat pie, but once they taste it, all of that weirdness is forgotten. Once the filling is made it stores in the fridge for a couple of weeks, and the pastry can be stored in the freezer for a couple of months. This is handy to have stored away to make fresh baked goods for guests or a spur of the moment party. Once the mincemeat is cooked and pastry pulled together, the rest is a breeze. Making you look and feel stress free. Here's to a happy holiday season without the pressure and stress- just enjoy what you cook and eat and all will be well!

you will need these:
large sauce pan
large mixing bowl
wooden spoon
2 muffin tins (or 3 small tart pans)
biscuit cutter about 2 inches in diatmeter
rolling pin (or an empty wine bottle)

Nigella's suet-free mincemeat recipe as it appears in her book:

1 C plus 2 T dark brown sugar
1 C plus 2 T medium-dry hard cider
2 1/4 pounds tart cooking apples, peeled, halved, and quartered
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 C plus 2 T currants
1 C plue 2 T raisins
1/3 C natural-colored glace cherries, roughly chopped (I used unsweetend dried cherries)
1/3 C blanched almonds, fairly finely choppped
rind and juice of 1/2 lemon
6 T brandy or rum
1-pint or 2 1-quart canning jars (my note:if not using all within a couple of weeks, there is no need to can this)

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 simmer for 30 minutes or until everything looks pulpy. Take off heat and when it had cooled a little, srit in the brandy or rum. Spoon into sterilized jars (my note: or make little mincemeat pies!)

makes 4 pounds













Pastry crust (veganized by me) adapted from Nigella's book

1 2/3 C cake flour
1/4 C vegan non-trans fat vegetable shortening
1/4 C cold vegan butter such as Earth Balance brand
juice of 1 orange
pinch of salt

Not Nigella's instructions......

Put flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and work in shortening and "butter" small bits a time until it creates pea size crumbles. Work fast making sure to keep the ingrdients cold. Add the juice of an orange and mix until it comes together into a dough. Knead a couple of time and put it in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Now, how to assemble all of these words and paragraphs into a sensible recipe and ultimatley into little tasty mince pies:

Make the pastry dough as decribed above and let rest in the fridge

Make the mincemeat as explained above and let it simmer and fill your house with wonderful smells for at least 30 minutes.

While the mincemeat is stewing:
Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees

Pull pastry out of the fridge and roll out until fairly thin, but still durable. Perhaps 1/8 inch thick. Using your cookie/biscuit cutter (or jar, coffee cup...what gets the job done) cut out circles and press them into your muffin or tart pan. You might want to experiment with differnt sizes to make sure there is enough of a lip to creat small pies. The bigger the better.

Next, fill the little pies with the mincemeat (about a teaspoon- i love to go all out here and put lots of filling in, which always results in messy little pies----which is no good)

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10-15 minutes or until browned on the edges.

Alternative assembling procedure:

Roll out pastry and cut circles with larger cutter, then make smaller circles to create little "hats" for the pies. So it's like mincemeat is just barely showing from underneath. OR, get creative with little stars (like Nigella) or any other top you can think of. But don't wear yourself out with this, making plain pies is still just as enjoyable!

Serve with a light dusting of powdered sugar (totally optional) and mulled wine (not quite as optinal)

Cheers to a wonderful holiday season and creating new, wonderful traditions!