Semi-Homemade Mince Pies

My local Pavilions clears out seasonal stock the second a holiday is over, despite the expiration on the package being months or years ahead.  I've been sitting on a jar of half-price Nonesuch Mincemeat since spring.

Mincemeat (or "Mince") pies are a standard in England.  They consist mostly of apples, dried fruit, and a liquid sugar like molasses.  A couple of centuries ago, they had plenty of actual meat in them.  Nowadays, you just get beef fat.  I did have a couple of recipes for making it from scratch in the Country Cooking cookbook I decided I don't want.  Really, all the from-scratch recipes are off-putting.  Getting it out of the jar, for me, is like using beef broth in vegetable soup.  It's there for depth of flavor, but you don't have to think about what goes into it.

I'm doctoring up the jar filling here with homemade spiced plum jam that came out a bit thin and is more like pie filling.  Half a cup of any fruit compote or pie filling will produce the same effect.  The brandy is for added seasoning and is optional.  The crust is from the butter tarts.  I really liked the recipe, and it has already shown that it holds up to a sugar-based fruit filling.

Traditional mince pies are individual size, or smaller for tea time, and have a star as the lid.  I made some in Grandma Sophie's old patty pans for Christmas dessert and the rest in muffin cups...for me.  The filling is so sweet and dense, it helps to have a higher crust-to-filling ratio.  You're going to end up with about half a cup of filling left over, since that's what you added to the jar mix.  I saved it for topping ice cream, waffles, or French toast.  Just remember, if you added brandy to it, it hasn't cooked out like the rest of it you baked in the oven.

Pastry
1-1/2 C flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C cold butter, cubed
1/4 C cold shortening, cubed
1 egg yolk
1 Tb lemon juice
cold water as needed

1.  Sift together flour and salt.  Cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

2.  Beat together egg yolk and lemon juice.  Add enough water to equal 1/3 C.

3.   Make a well in the flour.  Add liquids and work into a crumbly dough.  If needed, add cold water a tablespoon at a time until dough sticks together.  It will get more hydrated as it rests, so be careful not to over-hydrate.

4.  Form dough into a disc and chill for at least half an hour.  Can be prepped a day ahead, or frozen for 1 month.

Filling
1 jar (27 oz) prepared mincemeat
*1/2 C pie filling of choice
*2 Tb brandy (optional)
powdered sugar for garnish

1.  Preheat oven to 425º.  Stir together mincemeat, pie filling, and brandy until uniform.

2.  Roll out 2/3 of the dough.  Cut twelve 5" circles and place into a well-sprayed muffin pan.   (Or one 8" pie pan or 8 patty pans.)

3.  Fill muffin cups with pie filling.  Roll out remaining dough and cut 12 stars to top the pies.  Or, you can cut round lids to make mini two-crust handpies.  Just make sure there is some kind of vent or cutout in the lid.

4.  Bake until crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes.  If using a muffin pan, loosen with a heat-proof scraper, then let sit until they stop bubbling.  Remove from muffin tin to finish cooling.  Patty pan size can be left in the tins or removed shortly before serving.  Finished pies can be kept at room temperature for 3 days, or frozen for later.  Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Serves 8-12

Difficulty rating  :)