Things to do With Mincemeat

Per Raymond's request, here are some ways to use up a glut of mincemeat. Obviously, tarts are the easiest and probably best thing you can do with the stuff, but since you asked, and I have thousands of cookbooks in my collection, here are some obscure suggestions. If none of these sound good, let me know because I have many, many, more.

I have this nifty little booklet from 1950 with all sorts of revolting recipes like mincemeat ham loaf and a mincemeat Bavarian. I didn't include any of those, but if anything catches your eye, why just ask and I'll have the booklet in the post Monday morning. Mmmm, nothing says springtime like baked custards all wobbly with jellied mincemeat.

Mincemeat Hermits:

1 cup sifted AP flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup soft butter
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 egg
2/3 cup mincemeat
1/2 tablespoon sour cream or buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a large cookie sheet.

Cream together butter and sugar until light. Add egg and beat well. Add dry ingredients. Add mincemeat and cream. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes until done. Cool on racks.


Mincemeat Ice Cream Pie:

1 jar mincemeat
1 quart vanilla ice cream
2 tablespoons rum
1 nine inch baked pie shell
1/2 pint whipping cream, whipped

Mix together mincemeat, ice cream and rum. Pour into pie shell. Top with whipped cream. Keep in freezer until ready to serve.


Mincemeat Coffee Cake (Almost A Monkey Bread):


Dough:
4 1/2 cups AP flour (aprox)
4 1/2 teaspoons dry granulated yeast
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
2 eggs

For the mincemeat filling:
1 cup mincemeat
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
3/4 cup melted butter

To prepare the dough:
Place two cups of the flour, yeast and nutmeg in the bowl of a mixer. Heat together the milk, water, sugar, oil and salt until lukewarm. Keep stirring to dissolve the sugar. Beating at medium speed, add the lemon rind and milk mixture to the flour and beat two minutes. Beat in the eggs. Add another cup of flour and beat one more minute.

With a wooden spoon, beat in remaining flour to make a stiff dough (you may not need it all). Knead until smooth and satiny.

Place dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk-about an hour.

After rise, divide dough in three sections and let rest ten minutes. Divide each third into sixteen pieces and roll each into a ball. Spread half the mincemeat on the bottom of a well-buttered 10 inch tube pan. Combine the sugar and nutmeg. Dip half the balls into the melted butter and then in the sugar. Arrange neatly over the mincemeat. Spread remaining mincemeat over the balls and repeat dipping the remaining balls in butter and sugar. Cover and let rise again until nearly doubled-about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake 40-45 minutes Cool in pan two minutes, then invert onto a plate. Serve warm.


Mincemeat Pumpkin Pie:

1 1/2 cups mincemeat
1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell, chilled
1 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs, light;ly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place mincemeat in bottom of pie shell. Beat together remaining ingredients. Pour over mincemeat. Bake 35-40 minutes or until set. Serve slightly warm, or at room temperature.