Modern Mincemeat Pie

3 large Granny Smith apples (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch dice

3 large McIntosh or Braeburn apples (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup currants

Grated zest and juice from 1 lemon

Grated zest and juice from 1 orange

1/4 cup diced candied orange peel (optional)

3/4 cup packed (5 1/4 ounces) dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups apple cider or unfiltered apple juice, plus more as needed

1/2 cup rum or brandy

Filling: Place all filling ingredients except 1/2 cup of the cider and the rum or brandy in a large, heavy saucepan (nonstick is good), set over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil and simmer gently, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until the mixture thickens and darkens in color, about 3 hours. Add more cider as necessary to prevent sticking. Continue cooking until the mixture has a jam-like consistency, about 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup apple cider or juice and the rum and cook until liquid is thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Cool.

Pie: Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out 1 pie crust disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch-diameter round (about 1/8 inch thick). Roll up dough on rolling pin and transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie plate. Gently press into place. Trim edges of crust, leaving 3/4-inch overhang. Fold overhang under crust so that crust is flush with edge of pie pan. Crimp edges with fork to make decorative border. Spoon filling into crust-lined pan, gently pressing flat. Roll out second disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round.

Cut out about 28 three-inch leaves using cookie cutter. Press leaves lightly with tines of fork to form vein pattern. Brush bottom of 1 leaf with milk. Place leaf atop mince, overlapping crust slightly and pressing to adhere to crust. Continue placing leaves atop pie in concentric circles, overlapping edges slightly until top of pie is covered. Brush crust with milk. Bake until crust is golden brown and mince bubbles, about 40 minutes. Cool completely. Serve pie with rum raisin ice cream if desired (we desired and are making it – recipe is at epicurious.com)

Notes: Recipe is based on America’s Test Kitchen/Cooks Illustrated Nov. 2006 recipe.

What I did differently:

1.5 cups mixed raisins

.5 cup dried cranberries

Put .25 cup of rum in while it cooked and .25 cup near the end.

Cooked everything in crock pot for five hours. First 2-3 hours with lid on and last 2 hours with lid off.

Used to fill tart shells.