Mincemeat in olden times was contained in a crust and known as Christmas pie. The Puritans associated the pie with Catholics and thus, they were banned. But the concoction survived and can be found pre-made in jars around Christmas time.
Made up of apples and other fruits, it did indeed contain meat at one time. Nowadays the only meat in mincemeat is the beef suet or fat found around the kidneys of cows, sheep or pigs. Read the label. You can buy it vegetarian style as well. The suet is usually substituted with palm oil. I make it without any oil at all.
Cookies
Because of the spices and the brandy contained in most recipes, mincemeat is better if the fruit is allowed to absorb these flavors over several days. Some recommend three days, while others feel two weeks is better. Just put it together and refrigerate it ahead of time, so you can make the cookies later.
Double the following mincemeat recipe if you are making a pie. I prefer these bite-sized holiday cookies of stuffed pastry myself. It is a little work, because you have to roll the dough, but then you would roll the dough for a pie as well.
Peal, core and dice up a Granny Smith apple. Chop up and add ½ cup raisins and ¼ cup figs. Stir in ¼ cup of brown sugar, ½ teaspoon orange peel, 2 teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon cloves. Add 2 tablespoons of brandy. You may also add ground walnuts if you like. I wait to see what the consistency is going to be and thicken with the nuts if necessary or thin with a little orange juice. You can add cranberries or dates also for variety. To blend or chop more finely (you will be using ½ teaspoons of this filling for the cookies) pulse everything in a food processor.
For the pastry, and trust me it is worth the effort, cream 6 ounces of softened cream cheese with 1 cup of softened real butter. (A less or low fat version of butter does not harden well enough to roll.) Cut in 2 cups of unbleached flour and 2 teaspoons of grated lemon or orange peel. You can use bleached flour, but it tends to be stickier when you roll it out. The dough will be crumbly; knead it until a smooth ball forms. Shape it into a rectangle, cover and refrigerate it until it is firm. An hour should do it. Flatten it more and it will not take as long to firm up.
Roll it out into a 17½ by 12½-inch rectangle and cut it into about 35, 2.5-inch squares. Roll it out on parchment paper for ease in transferring them to a cookie sheet. A pizza cutter works very well. Spoon a ½ teaspoon of the mincemeat into the center of each square. Fold the pastry over it to form a small rectangle and seal the 3 open edges firmly with a fork. If it is not firm enough, they will open while baking. Sprinkling with powdered sugar after they cool makes them look a bit more festive.
Bake these at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 14 to 16 minutes or until the edges are golden. Grease your cookie sheet or use parchment paper. You are going to love these. Do not forget to put a few of them aside as a reward for all your hard work. They melt in your mouth, and you will regret that you did not double the recipe. But then, you should have enough mincemeat to do just that.
Holiday Cookies - Recipe For Mincemeat Cookies
Copyright 2011 by Linda K. Murdock. Linda is the author of A Busy Cook's Guide to Flavor-Packed Cookies & Bars. This book includes 63 different flavors with a cookie and bar recipe for each flavor, including Eggnog Cookies, Lime (like key lime pie), Root Beer, Curry Pecan and others. Smaller recipes, easy instructions and readily available ingredients attract busy bakers, who prefer more flavor and less sugar in their desserts. To learn more go to http://bellwetherbooks.com