Mincemeat Pie for Christmas
 

Every year I try to suggest a mincemeat pie in for the Christmas dessert, but I'm always overruled. I guess that no one seems to like it. (Frankly, I don't think that anyone in my family has ever even had a mincemeat pie. They think that it's made out of meat.) But for me, mincemeat pie was a tradition growing up and I've missed it terribly. This year, I just ignored everyone else and started making a mincemeat filling for a pie. I have a small, old, pie pan that will hold a half-size pie. If no one likes it, that's ok, I can just eat the whole thing myself.

I did make some concessions on the flavors though. There's no brandy in this pie recipe. I used orange liqueur instead, so it's not so heady. I don't have the recipe handy, but basically, it's just your choice of dried fruit s/a raisins, chopped apricots, chopped, dried mangos and some fresh, chopped apples all mixed with some sugar, orange liqueur and Christmasy spices. I covered it tightly and put it in the fridge and I've been stirring it every day. It's smelling pretty good! I'm planning to add some chopped nuts when it goes into the pie and just a little bit of thickener s/a arrowroot, or tapioca.

I think that they did add meat a couple of hundred years ago, but that has long been eliminated in today's recipes. Some people will still add suet, but I don't see a need for that.

~C

We used to have that pie on the holiday table as a child. Then DMIL would make one just for FIL with the jar mm filling. I did enjoy a slice.

It will be interesting if anyone tries your pie. Call it spiced apples or something different instead of mm. I do think the name is a possible reason for avoidance.

Make mincemeat tarts instead. We add lots of applesauce or chopped apples which mellows the taste. Or try the mincemeat and cranberry tarts from food.com. Best served warm (just reheat before serving) with a side of ice cream.

I use an old recipe for green tomato mincemeat pie filling and can it. It uses green tomatoes, raisins, currents, cinnamon, cloves etc. It calls for suet, but I just skip that. When I use it to bake a pie I add fresh chopped apples and sometimes rum or brandy just before baking. Most of the filling I put up is used by my husband on his morning oatmeal. He keeps an open jar in the fridge and just spoons some on top after the oatmeal is cooked. Healthier (and easier) than baking pies!

Oh...what a good idea! My green tomatoes are gone now, but I'll definitely try this next season. I love the idea of using it on oatmeal.

~ C

I make those items that I (only) love for potlucks and Guild parties. I get to share and I don't have to eat the entire thing. For me it's fresh coconut cake with grated coconut from the shell. Love it but I can't eat an entire cake. Especially when I Love it in 3 layers.

Both my sister and I mince pie!! Joy of Cooking has a good recipe for mock mincemeat with no meat in it.

Mostly called just 'mince pies' here in the UK; rarely made large (like apple pie etc) though, I prefer small ones. They are really nice at Christmas. I usually buy a jar of ready made and add things to it eg, grated apple, orange zest, a little brandy, extra fruit (sultanas etc), until I think it looks and smells delicious. No meat in them, although occasionally there is some suet in homemade and in jars of shop bought mince.
Shop bought small ones to me, are too sweet and have too much filling in them. So, I just add a teaspoon full to the pastry case, top with a smaller circle, or star shape of pastry, or some add a streusel topping, really delicious. Have warm or cold, with or without cream, dusted with icing sugar.
I make a lot, enough to fill a large cake tin, and they last til New Year.

raised by my grandmother, she made mincemeat pie every year for holiday meals. she used a 8 quart enamel pan. full, mounded, set on chair & covered w clean towel. stirred everyday ...then the baking began. she made fabulous rhubarb pies that we hand carried up & down the streets of ventura, CA to all of her friends. and no one ever turned down a slice of her mincemeat pie at family gatherings :)

mmmmmmmmmm Mincemeat Pies!

Though there is such a variation from one to the other, according to the spices and add-ins.
So much so, that I am always skeptical at first taste ... small piece ... then yes, more if it is really good.

Agree, the flavours can be tempered with some chopped apples mixed in.
Also, some sliced maraschinos can help take away the darkness of it.

Good strategies, too, if you are buying ready-made and want it to be more like home-made!
There's always ways to cheat .... :D

I use NonSuch Mincemeat filling and add a lot of chopped Granny Smith apples. When I take it anywhere I say it's a spiced apple.
Your recipe sounds like a true original and your friends and family are not adventurous eaters!

Make it for yourself. The memories are worth it!

I use Borden’s None Such classic original mincemeat with raisins and apples. It comes in a jar..27 oz. and is really delicious.my family is not a fan so I make little pies and freeze some. It is a Christmas staple from my childhood.❤️

Another fan of mincemeat pie with a family of non-eaters. I usually get a jar after the holidays on markdown and make a pie then. I also like it in crumbled up in a cookie bar, sort of like a date bar.

One of the frozen brands of whole pies is much better than the others but I can't ever remember! The other common one has too much vinegar I think for me.

Big green tomatoes can be used like apples in pie -- really!

I've added a thin layer of mincemeat to the bottom of my pie dish and then add the pumpkin mixture on top. Not as much mincemeat and adds a zing to the pumpkin pie. I picked up some pans a couple years ago that I saw online that are sort of round but have indentations for 6 pie slice sections so you can make each one with a different filling. I picked up a couple more this past summer at one of our thrift shops. Was very surprised to see them there but I swooped them up. This company also makes a rectangle pan with small 1.5 x 1.5 square indentation to make up bite size little filled desserts. Didn't pick up the extras at the thrift show as I rarely use mine and have 2 sets anyway. I use my pie sectioned pan to make meat pies all the time. They came with a plastic tool that you roll at every division to seal the 2 layers of dough. Sorry I can't remember what they're called or where I got them.

I have a similar recipe ... but instead of pumpkin pie, you top the mincemeat with a custard.

I've seen mincemeat haters suddenly become lovers with that twist!
And guess what? they later ventured to eating it without the custard!!! :D

Just 'mince pies' over here, and usually made in single serving size. They were originally made with meat but have changed over time.

Here is the history of them https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/mincepies.shtml

My Mum and I made green tomato mincemeat every 5-6 years, no booze in it. We can it and as it ages the flavours develop.

I do not make a pie, we use it for tarts.

Thanks for that website. I had fun reading all of the little tidbits about Christmas.

~ C

my mother made the best pies ever! She made a mince pie for me her mother and for herself each year for Christmas she made pumpkin and apple for every one else, I sure miss those mince pies!

My Grandmother made mince meat pie. She'd buy the filling in a jar from the local grocery stores. After she had passed I found a jar of it in the cupboard. It contained venison meat. You sure won't find that today.

I love mince meat pie. my Mom used to make it every year
along with coconut macaroons

Update: I made the pie, it was delicious and yes, unfortunately, I was the only one that had a piece. No one else wanted to try it. :( There's still some left, so can can have pie for breakfast every day for the next few days.

~ C

Mincemeat? Oh, no.... The horror!!! My mother and my husband like it, so there is usually one at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Now how about Christmas - aka Suet - pudding? Yes, there is suet in it. But not that much, really, and fat is fat is fat. Ahhh, that I love. Well, my recipe, which is more dates and less raisins. But nobody else will touch it now that Dad is gone, so that has gone by the wayside.

JustRetired I just sent you a message.

Mince Meat Pies
 

Many, many , many years ago min e meat was actually meat - somewhere along the line the recipe changed to chat we know now. My Dad loved mince meat pie and my grandmother (his mom) always made what was called hard sauce. Not sure why but it did contain liquor. I remember that grandma had made the hard sauce with the liquor and my grandpa either didn’t know she had already added it or he thought there wasn’t enough - so he added more. I remember my Dad saying that was the best hard sauce she had ever made😁😁. I never had any - not sure if it was because of the booze or that the name sounded yucky but now I sure wish I had had some.

Sandy in Mooresville, NC

We had hard sauce with Christmas pudding. No liquor in it. I thought it was called that bc unless it is warmed to melt the butter, it is "hard" (kind of the texture of frosting).