Monday, December 12, 2016

In The Kitchen: Mincemeat Cookies


A couple of years ago I made mincemeat cookies for the first time and now they are one of my husband's favourite cookies. Soft and moist inside, they are very flavourful, not too sweet. And, they pair very nicely with steaming cups of tea.

It's a quick and easy recipe to put together ... unless, of course, you're making the mincemeat from scratch, which I might do one year, but not this one.


 MINCEMEAT COOKIES

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups mincemeat*
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat butter and sugar together; add the egg and blend together.
 Whisk flour, soda, and salt together; slowly add to butter mixture.
Add mincemeat and vanilla; mix until ingredients are combined. 

By teaspoonful, drop on baking sheet either greased or lined with parchment.
Note: these cookies do not spread. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 12-14 minutes.

They will be soft when they come out of the oven;
if you're not sure, poke to see if the middle is done. 

When cool, sprinkle with icing sugar if you like
My husband prefers his plain.

____________

*Use your favourite brand of mincemeat. Or,
if you want to make your own, Mary Berry's mincemeat recipe is one to check out.



Happy Baking,
Brenda
xox









19 comments:

  1. Sounds delicious...but reading it very quickly , I read 'Whisky flour.... Hm!

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    1. Now that would be a most interesting flour, wouldn't it? Haha

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  2. Ah Brenda my mom always made mincemeat cookies. They are something I have never made. May need to check out your recipe. I so love a good cookie. Hope you are having a great day. Hugs!

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  3. Brenda, these look yummy...and they must be, as they are your hubby's favorite! I can imagine biting into one...

    My friend makes her own mincemeat for pies, complete with beef and suet. Before I knew her, I thought that mincemeat was only fruit. When she was a little girl, my sister thought that mincemeat pie was made from the meat of a "mince" and was a little disturbed by that. :)

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  4. Brenda, thank you for reminding me about mincemeat cookies. I haven't made these for years. Now that I have a working kitchen I'm anxious to begin some cookie making, and I will put these on my list!
    Hope you are enjoying a blessed Advent season.
    xo Deborah

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  5. I'm not fond of mincemeat, but Tim is. Perhaps I'll buy a jar of mincemeat and surprise him with some of these. They look less fussy than tarts.

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    1. Lorrie, I made mincemeat cookies but told everyone they were spiced fruit cookies. Once the ate and liked them I told them they were mincemeat which really is spiced fruit.

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  6. Mincemeat cookies were my grandpa's favorite, and grandma never let the cookie jar get completely empty of them. I thought of making some one year just for memory's sake, but I don't really like them, so I decided against it :-)

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  7. So funny, our minds and how they affect our likes and dislikes. I have never had mincemeat... it was not something I ever encountered growing up, and I have yet to come across a mincemeat pie or cookie here in my neck of the woods. I am not sure I could get past the name... kidding aside, though, the cookies look scrumptious!

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  8. thanks for the mincemeat cooking-always wondered what kind of meat you used...lol! sounds delicious!

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  9. I'm another who used to think that a mincemeat pie and meat in it, until I tried one :-)
    Amalia
    xo

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  10. I love mincemeat anything! I always buy mine too "Dalton's" is my favourite. My mom used to always gift me a generous amount of mincemeat every year too, and I miss those gifts. It was one recipe I never did get from her, so I'll never know her special recipe. These cookies sound wonderful ... now craving some homemade cookies myself ;)
    Wendy xo

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  11. I'm embarrassed to admit that for the longest time, I thought mincemeat was made of real meat. Whoops! I agree that the mincemeat cookies would go well with tea!

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  12. As I understand it, mincemeat pies originally had meat in the pies. But they've evolved into the concoction of fruit and spices that we are more familiar with today.

    I went in search of its history to see what I could find. Here are two excerpts from two sources:

    "Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped dried fruit, distilled spirits and spices, and sometimes beef suet, beef, or venison. Originally, mincemeat always contained meat. Many modern recipes contain beef suet, though vegetable shortening is sometimes used in its place." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mincemeat

    "Today, we are accustomed to eating mince pie as a dessert, but actually “minced” pie and its follow-up “mincemeat pie” began as a main course dish with with more meat than fruit (a mixture of meat, dried fruits, and spices). As fruits and spices became more plentiful in the 17th century, the spiciness of the pies increased accordingly." https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PieHistory/MincemeatPie.htm

    I hope that clarifies it for us all. Brenda

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  13. What a unique recipe! My parents really enjoy mincemeat so I'll have make some of these cookies for Christmas.
    So glad we're friends on FaceBook now, btw. :)

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  14. I grew up with mincemeat cookies. My Grandma was from England so I think that's what got my Mom into making them in upstate NY. I have a batch of these in the oven now and can't wait!

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  15. My grandmother's cookie jar was always supplied with mincemeat cookies, because they were my grandpa's favorite (without the sugar on top). I never encountered them anywhere else, and I don't think I've ever baked them exactly. That grandmother of mine didn't eat the cookies, but she loved mince pie, and as long as she lived we always had a mince pie at Christmas. After her passing, never again. :-(

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  16. I made this type of cookie the first time using the recipe from the label of Bordon's None Such brand of mincemeat, over 25 years ago. I still used their label cookie recipe, but use my own homemade green tomato mince(meatless). I believe None Such brand has considerably more unnecessary ingredients than my homemade/canned mince, that I prefer to use. Most of the cookie recipes I see out there are quite similar, with slight variations of ingredients. I love this type of cookie!

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  17. I am very excited to use your recipe. When I was nine years old we used to have a bible study in my oldest sisters home. My sister used to shove me and my cousin in the kitchen to make mincemeat cookies so there would be snacks for after the bible study. Those are some of my fondest memories of spending time with my cousin.
    I haven't had any since. I am going to make some now, fifty years later! I like the way you have your recipe structured. Thank you!

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To My Beautiful Readers,

Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same. ~ Franz Peter Schubert

Thank you so much for leaving your 'footprint' here in my comment box. I do appreciate you taking a moment to share your thoughts today.

Brenda xo