Mincemeat is a word that we hear at Christmastime. What exactly is mincemeat? Mincemeat is a combination of apples, raisins, fruits, and citrus peel, blended with sugar and spices to make a delicious filling for baking. This filling is usually made into mincemeat pie, but tarts, shortbread, cookies, breads, and more are additional options to enjoy this delicious filling.

Mincemeat is derived from old English recipes and today remains one of the most popular holiday foods in England. The history of mincemeat can be traced to the year 1413, when it was served at the coronation of Henry V of England. In the late 1600s, mincemeat was served as a meat pie flavored with fruit and spices.  These pies, with more fruits and spices and less meat, were served as desserts when mincemeat was brought to Colonial America. Yes, minced meat can be added to these pies along with suet, but again, today we generally see more fruits and spices and less meat. I will admit, as a kid the name mincemeat didn’t ring an inviting flavor when offered a choice of chocolate cream or mincemeat. Unfortunately, the word mincemeat is another one of those heritage foods that sometimes has gone by the wayside.

I will tell you, this recipe I have for you is delicious, fun and easy to make. If you are new to mincemeat or want to try a heritage recipe for your holiday meal, there is a bottled mincemeat to get you started. It is delicious and easy to use, but give this recipe a try. The flavor is truly one of the best combinations of fruit and spices that I have ever tasted. After I made the pie, I decided that tarts would be such a fun way to share this flavor paired with a cheese and meat board. Get the kids involved making the tarts. Try it and you will be stocking any supplies that can only be found at the holiday time to make this recipe at other times during the year. Tart pans and tart supplies all can be found at Kitchen Kneads for a one stop shopping experience.

 

Mincemeat Filling:

• 1 tart eating apple, peeled, cored, and cut into small dices
• 1 pear peeled, cored, and cut into small dices
• 1 ¾ ounces mixed dried fruit (I used currants, raisins, cranberries)
• 1 ¾ ounces dried blueberries (I rehydrate using apple juice before using them in recipe)
• Finely grated zest and juice of large orange
• 2 teaspoons of mixed spice (I used a combination of clove, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice)
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Small piece of fresh root ginger
• ½ cup chopped pecans

To Make Filling:

Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Over medium heat, stir continuously until liquid comes to a slow boil. Lower the heat and continue stirring until fresh fruit is softened and some of the liquid has evaporated. Your filling is now ready to use.

To Make Pie: 

You will need approximately 27 ounces of filling for a 9-inch standard pie. 

You will also need a double crust. As you can see, for my top crust I made a decorative crust. I did this with a giant snowflake cookie cutter and a smaller snowflake cookie cutter both found at kitchen kneads. Roll out and place the bottom crust in the pan. 

Next, BLIND BAKE your pie shell for 7-10 minutes at 375 degrees F using pie weights, beans, or a pie weight chain. Blind baking your crust will keep the bottom crust flaky and the mincemeat won’t absorb into the crust while baking. Remove and fill with the filling. Top with either a solid crust, vented with slits for steam escape or make a decorative crust.

Next use an egg wash and decorative sugar crystals on the top of your pie. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden brown. You may want to use pie crust shields on the crust to prevent over-browning.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack completely or overnight before serving. 

To Make Tarts:

Use your desired tart pan and cut circles of dough to fit your pans. Use a tamper stick to help you form the crust. Fill your tart with mincemeat filling and top with a decorative crust cutout. I used tiny cookie cutters for this. Brush top of tarts with an eggwash for a beautiful finish.

Cook at 375 degrees F for 20- 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool. Dust with powdered sugar.  

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Try mincemeat this holiday season and discover the heritage flavor that the first settlers to America brought from England. This would be a fantastic holiday treat to eat and drink cocoa while watching A Christmas Carol.

Recipe adapted from British Health Foundation

Source:Nonesuch.com

Gingerbread is a favorite for the holidays, whether it’s gingerbread cookies or cake. Ever wonder where it came from?

This post will be written by both of us Kitchen Kneads bloggers, Dawn and Allison, each answering some questions and sharing a recipe for gingerbread cookies and gingerbread cake. We hope you have fun reading! We definitely found the history surrounding gingerbread so much more fascinating than we thought it would be and we hope you do too!

After you’re done reading, we hope you’ll go have fun baking each variety and sharing it with your family this Christmas season.

 

Allison: Where did gingerbread come from?

 

Ginger root was first cultivated in ancient China, where it was commonly used as a medical or ceremonial treatment. The first known recipe for gingerbread came from Greece in 2400 BC. Chinese recipes were developed during the 10th century and by the late Middle Ages, Europeans had their own version of gingerbread. From there it spread to Europe via the Silk Road. During the Middle Ages, it was favored as a spice for its ability to disguise the taste of preserved meats. Henry VIII is said to have used a ginger concoction in hope of building resistance to the plague. Gingerbread arrived in the New World with English Colonists.

Source:  The history kitchen

 

 

Dawn: Where did the tradition of gingerbread men come from?

 

Gingerbread has been around for a very long time. It would be cut into many different shapes and baked for pretty much all occasions. But in the 16th century Queen Elizabeth I is credited for the gingerbread man. She had her own gingerbread maker and had him make gingerbread in the shape of and decorate them in the likeness of her visiting dignitaries. They’re also said to have been made by folk medicine practitioners as a sort of “love potion”.

 

A: What are the spices usually found in gingerbread?

 

The spices in gingerbread are rich and warm. These include molasses, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and of course ginger. The recipe that I am going to share with you included orange juice and orange zest. This made a delicious pairing with the warm flavors.

 

D: Where did the tradition of gingerbread houses come from?

 

Gingerbread houses originated in Germany in the 16th century and gained popularity about 300 years later after the Brothers Grimm published their story “Hansel and Gretel” in 1812. The witch’s house was made of gingerbread and decorated with candy.

 

A: Where did the gingerbread cake come from?

 

In 2019, I visited Mount Vernon, home of George and Martha Washington, in Virginia. This gingerbread recipe is known as Lafayette Gingerbread and is attributed to George Washington’s mother, Mary Ball Washington, who is said to have served it to the Marquis de Lafayette when he visited her in Fredericksburg toward the end of her life. This gingerbread came to be called Lafayette Gingerbread, in honor of the beloved French general. I love the flavor of this gingerbread. It is a bit smoother in flavor than typical gingerbreads. The orange hint is delicious. This is a dense gingerbread but is deliciously eaten warm with whip cream. This recipe and flavor would be a wonderful way to welcome carolers to your home or a delightful way to end a wonderful evening of trimming the tree. As many of you know, I like bare-bone ingredient recipes and this one is one of those. Enjoy!!

 

Lafayette Gingerbread

 

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• molasses
• Scant 2 ¾ cups spelt flour
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
• Optional (1 tablespoon finely diced orange peel)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or spray a 9-inch square cake pan. (I used the 9-inch square USA pan)
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or in a large bowl beating by hand, combine the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses, and continue to beat until well combined.
3. Sift the flour with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.
4. Alternately add the egg and flour to the butter mixture, beating very well after each addition.
5. Add the orange juice and zest, and continue beating for several minutes until the batter is smooth and light.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set the cake on a rack to cool completely in the pan before slicing.
7. Serve with whip cream and fresh ground nutmeg.

Recipe from Mount Vernon Estate

 

D: Can the same recipe be used for cookies AND houses? Can houses be eaten after being decorated and sitting a while?

 

Yes! But also, no. There are some gingerbread cookie recipes that are soft, more like a gingerbread sugar cookie. And while these are great, they’re not suitable for gingerbread houses. Make sure your recipe produces a harder, crispy cookie and you should be just fine to make houses with it. The recipe I’ve shared below is great for both cookies and houses.

Yes, you can eat your gingerbread houses after they’ve been decorated and have been sitting for a while. But it’s all up to you, really. It won’t make you sick to eat them unless they’ve been contaminated somehow. They’ll just dry out and maybe get a little dusty. If you’re okay with that, I say go for it. Otherwise, just have it around as a decoration.

 

A: Why is it called gingerbread?

 

The term gingerbread is an old French word, which actually means, preserved ginger. The root was first cultivated in ancient China and it was eventually discovered that it helped to preserve both flour and meat.

Source: bestgingerbreadhouses.com

 

D: What is the moral of The Gingerbread Man story?

 

I think we all know the story of the gingerbread man. It was one of my favorites in elementary school and still is today. But as a little refresher, a man and a woman couldn’t have children, so the woman baked a gingerbread boy (or man). When he came out of the oven, he jumped up and ran out the door saying, “Run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me. I’m the gingerbread man.” He ran into the forest and came upon several different animals that wanted to eat him, but he just kept running. Finally, he came to a fox who told him that he didn’t think he looked delicious at all and while the gingerbread man stood there stumped, the fox gobbled him up. The moral is: Be careful who you trust.”

 

Gingerbread Cookies

 

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. Using a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together for 2 minutes on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  Add in eggs, molasses and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until combined.
3. Add flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves, salt, and nutmeg. Mix until the dough comes together. This might take some time, but be patient. It will come together.
4. Divide the dough into two equal portions and form them each into a disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
5. When the dough is thoroughly chilled and you’re ready to bake the cookies, heat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
6. Unwrap the dough and place it on a large, lightly-floured hard surface. Lightly dust flour on top of the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough evenly until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes, re-rolling the dough as needed to cut out more. Transfer to parchment-covered baking sheets.
7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are crisp around the edges and on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
8. When the cookies are completely cooled, decorate them as desired.

Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven

 

After a whole month of a pie a day, wow, that’s a lot of pie. I am doing 2 last posts. One post will be my favorite pie and the other will be what I learned about pie making to share with you. A couple of weeks ago, I had a pie delivered to me. A chocolate banana cream pie covered in delicious home-made whipped cream. This pie was amazing. I found I could eat it for 3 meals a day if I let myself. I did share a piece with a neighbor but I learned something so valuable not just about banana chocolate cream pie but something much more. I have heard several times in life we “break bread together” and yes, a hot loaf of bread out of the oven is divine and smothered with honey, jam, or butter…yum! Pie, I have decided when shared is true friendship, caring, and love.

I have been reflecting on gratitude especially this past week with Thanksgiving and I am so thankful and grateful for prayers that are answered through the actions of others. When that pie arrived at my door, I was ever so grateful for that act of kindness. I later shared a piece of pie with a neighbor, something she needed at the time. Yes, our prayers are answered through others’ actions that I call daily angels. I have heard it said that pies are just for the holidays. Absolutely not. Pies are for any day of the year. Thank goodness for so many kinds of pies, pie crusts, and flavors of pies. If you aren’t an experienced pie baker, thank goodness for ready-made to roll out pie crusts, crumb crusts and easy fun fillings. The joy is in the giving. Okay, I love to eat pie but what a joy to see the smile on someone’s face when there is a pie at their door. I made one pie this month and I didn’t like the way the crust turned out. The filling was an amazing custard. I called up a neighbor and said I have a pie that I can’t use for pictures but tastes delicious. Would you like it? She said absolutely. She mentioned to me that every time she would walk by the pie, she would take a small bite. Then she would need to even the edge on the pie. Before she knew it, the pie was gone. She said, “I really liked that pie.” Little did I know that she had had a small surgery that week and that bit of friendship and love hit the spot.

I want to share the recipe for the chocolate banana cream pie and challenge you to make a pie, any pie, and give it away. Really ponder who may need that pie and I am sure you will find the answer. Not only will your pie skills improve, but you will brighten the lives of others. Isn’t that what life is all about? 

I have also learned a few tricks of the trade that Dawn and I would like to share with you.

Allison’s Tricks:

• Have a variety of pie pans for different types of pies; glass, stainless steel, ceramic, 9-inch, deep dish, perforated, etc.
• Try different types of crusts. I did try a few gluten free crusts and the best is with a 1 to 1 flour.
• I did try whole grains with pat-in crusts. These crusts were thick, hard, and would not be something I would recommend.
• In some pies, the sugar can be substituted with coconut sugar
• Dicers, slicers, and choppers make the pie preparation go much quicker
• Blind bake all pies. Pies that will not have a baked filling cook for 12-13 minutes or until golden brown and cool before filling. Pies that will be cooked in the oven, blind bake shell for 10 minutes then cool slightly before filling and returning to the oven.
• Crust shields are a must to have on hand.
• Always put the pie crust on a cookie sheet when baking – easier to move and a great way not to ruin the crust.
• Pies slice best when cooled for 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Dawn’s Tricks:

I want to echo all of Allison’s tips and add a few of my own.

• Pie pans with a lip around the edge are my favorite because they allow for a decorative edge.
• After a crust has been blind baked, brush lightly beaten egg whites all over the bottom and up the sides. The heat from the crust will cook it. This seals any docking holes that might be too large and helps create a barrier between the crust and the filling, keeping the crust crisp.
• Bake your pies on the bottom rack. This ensures the crust is baked through and the crust edge doesn’t over-brown.

I would like to share with you the banana chocolate cream pie that is delicious and has become a tie as our family favorite.

Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

Crust:

• 1 cup flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup butter (the colder the better)
• 3-4 tablespoons ice water

Mix first 3 ingredients until crumbly.

Add water and mix.  Roll out to 9 inches to fit in pie shell. Bake at 450 degrees F for 9-12 minutes (any blind baking method). Cool completely.

Filling:

• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate squares
• 3 cups milk
• 3 egg yolks (slightly broken)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-2 bananas, sliced thin
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate Curls (optional)

Instructions:

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Add milk. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Boil 2 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and blend a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks.
3. Return to saucepan, blending well. Cook until boiling, stirring constantly.
4. Remove from the heat. Add butter and vanilla.
5. Layer bananas on crust then pour chocolate mixture over bananas. Refrigerate 3 hours or until set.
6. Top the pie with fresh whipped cream and chocolate curls before serving.

Recipe courtesy of JoAnn Schanzle