Every bit as delicious as traditional mincemeat pies, but a bit less boozy.
When tobacco and textiles ruled the South, mincemeat pie was the crown jewel of holiday celebrations.
The boozy, heavily spiced, fruit-and-meat fillings preserved meat without smoking or salting.
Credit: Alison Miksch
Meatless “mince” pies made with ingredients like sweet potatoes were popular too.
all-purpose flour
1tablespoongranulated sugar
1teaspoonsalt
1/2cup(4 oz.)
Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, until thickened, 30 to 35 minutes.
Remove from heat, and cool completely, about 1 hour.
(Mixture can be made and chilled up to 3 days ahead without pecans.
Stir in toasted pecans just before spooning mincemeat into piecrust.)
Using a pastry blender, cut butter and shortening cubes into flour mixture until mixture resembles small peas.
Turn dough out onto a work surface; divide in half.
Shape and flatten each dough half into a disk.
Wrap each in plastic wrap, and chill 1 to 24 hours.
Chill and prep pie dough:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Unwrap 1 chilled dough disk, and place on a lightly floured surface.
Let dough stand at room temperature until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle dough with flour, and roll into a 13-inch circle.
Fit dough into a 9-inch glass pie plate.
Spoon Mincemeat Filling into piecrust.
Brush edge of piecrust with some of the beaten egg.
Sprinkle dough with flour, and roll into a 12-inch circle.
Brush top crust with some of the beaten egg, and carefully place over Mincemeat Filling.
Make small diagonal cuts into dough around piecrust edge at 1/2-inch intervals, making small tabs.
Gently place every other tab on adjacent tab so that it slightly overlaps.
Brush leaf cut-outs with remaining beaten egg, and place decoratively on top of piecrust.
Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet.
Transfer to a wire rack, and cool completely, about 3 hours.
