Here's another recipe from King Arthur Flour. Mincemeat pie has always seemed to me to be more a favorite of our parents' generation, than of mine. By the time I reached my 30s, I'd have a sliver of mince pie on Thanksgiving, but only after I'd had my favorites (apple, pumpkin, lemon meringue, custard, lemon sponge, and so on). My mother-in-law's mincemeat pie was good... she doctored up jarred mincemeat by adding chopped apples, canned corned beef, and spoonfuls of whatever jelly was in the refrigerator! And one year cousin Rebecca made moose mincemeat--of course we all had to try that!
But I'll never forget the very first time I had a slice of mincemeat pie. It was my senior year in college and I'd gone home for Thanksgiving with my friend Priscilla. Dinner was lovely and low key--just Pris, her mom and dad, her sister, and me. For dessert, we were each served a slice of mincemeat pie... but what was that mysterious liquid in the little pitcher on the table? I was intrigued but unsure what to do... until Pris said to lift up the triangle of crust and pour some of the brandy from the little pitcher directly into my pie! Seeing this recipe for brandied mince tarts reminded me of that wonderful day.
MINCE FILLING
1 c raisins
1 c golden raisins
1 c Zante currants
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
¼ c mixed candied peel
grated rind of small orange
grated rind of small - medium lemon
¾ c dark brown sugar
¾ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp each nutmeg and allspice
⅛ tsp salt
⅔ c slivered almonds
1 handful golden raisins (scant ½ c)
1 handful Zante currants (⅓ c)
2½ Tbsp melted butter
¼ c French brandy
CRUST for 24 Mini Tarts or 12 Small Tarts
2 c flour
heaping ½ tsp salt (level ½ tsp if using salted butter)
½ c butter
2 - 3 Tbsp ice water
castor sugar (optional) for topping
FILLING
Place the raisins, golden raisins, currants, chopped apple, mixed candied peel, grated orange and lemon rind, sugar, spice, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor. Process until finely minced, but not pureed.
Add the almonds and process briefly, just to break up the almonds.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Stir in the handfuls of raisins and currants, then the melted butter.
Mix in brandy to taste.
Store airtight in the refrigerator, until ready to use. Mince will keep at least a month in the refrigerator, tightly covered. (See notes below.)
CRUST
Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the butter, mixing it in thoroughly. Unlike a typical American pie crust, this "short crust" shouldn't have any large pieces of butter remaining; the mixture should look like breadcrumbs.
Drizzle in the water, tossing as you go, until you've added enough water so that you can squeeze the dough together and it's cohesive. It should hold together nicely. If it doesn't, add a bit more water.
Divide the dough in half, and shape each piece into a flattened ball, or wheel; they should look like big hockey pucks. wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or overnight.
When you're ready to prepare the tarts, remove the dough from the refrigerator. If it's been chilling for longer than 30 minutes, let it warm for 15 minutes or so, till it's "roll-able". Start preheating your oven to 400° F.
TARTS
Select your pans. For mini tarts, mini muffin pans work well. For slightly larger tarts, use a standard muffin pan. Cut rounds of dough to fit cups: for mini muffin size, diameter + 1 inch; for standard muffin cup, diameter + 1½ inches (so dough comes up sides ¾-inch).
Cut rounds of dough--24 for mini muffin size; 12 for the small tarts. A 2¾-inch biscuit cutter works well for mini tarts; a 3½-inch English muffin ring is good for the small tarts.
Nestle the dough circles gently into the muffin cups (don't stretch them). Where the dough folds, snip through the fold and lap one side over the other, pressing to seal. Cut stars from the dough scraps: 1¼-inch stars for the mini tarts, 2-inch stars for the small tarts.
Prick the bottom of each several times with a fork, to prevent them puffing as they bake.
Spoon about 2 teaspoons mince filling atop each mini tart crust (a level teaspoon cookie scoop works well). Spoon about 4 generous teaspoons filling into the larger tarts (a slightly heaped tablespoon cookie scoop works well).
Spritz the stars with water, and center one star atop each tart. Sprinkle with Baker's special sugar or caster (superfine) sugar, if desired.
Bake the mini tarts for about 20-22 minutes, until golden brown. Bake the larger tarts for about 28-30 minutes. Remove from oven, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Tips from KAF bakers:
The crust for these tarts is easily made with the help of a food processor. Mix the flour, salt, and butter, pulsing till the mixture resembles fine crumbs. With the motor going, drizzle in the ice water, stopping when the dough comes together.
While the mince can be used right away, it's best to let it mellow in the refrigerator for at least several days, and up to a month or so. Keep it tightly covered, and stir it occasionally. The mince will keep for months in the refrigerator. Or wrap it tightly and freeze; it'll easily keep until next Christmas.
The entire batch of mince will make about 2½ pounds. This is enough for 72 mini tarts or 2 dozen generously-filled standard tarts. You could also use it to make a regular-size pie or as filling in turnovers or simply spoon it over ice cream.