Best Classic Mincemeat Canadian Living Recipes

MINCEMEAT

Steps:

• Combine cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice in a bowl. Reserve 1 heaped teaspoon for the mincemeat. Store the rest in a small jar for a later use.
• Inspect two 12-ounce jars for cracks and rings for rust, discarding any defective ones. Immerse in simmering water until mincemeat is ready. Wash new, unused lids and rings in warm soapy water.
• Combine apple, sultanas, sugar, currants, raisins, and butter in a saucepan. Cook over low heat and stir gently until butter has melted. Stir in chopped almonds, orange zest, 1 teaspoon of mixed spice, and cinnamon. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and set mincemeat aside to cool down for 30 minutes. Stir in brandy. Spoon into sterilized jars.

CLASSIC MINCEMEAT PIE

Steps:

• For mincemeat, peel, core and grate apple, squeezing out excess juices. Chop raisins, almonds and dried apple and toss with grated fresh apple. Stir in currants, candied peel, sugar, orange or lemon juice, orange zest and spices until evenly coated. Stir in melted butter and sherry. Cover bowl and let sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
• For pastry, combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter and shortening until a rough, crumbly texture. Whisk egg with lemon juice and ¼ cup of cold water. Add to flour mixture and blend just until dough comes together, adding more water if needed. Shape dough into 2 discs, wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out 1 disc of dough to just less than ¼ -inch thick and line a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edges of pastry. Spread mincemeat filling to shell. Roll out remaining disc of dough and cut out desired shapes (such as stars or circles) and arrange, overlapping, over mincemeat filling.
• Brush pie with egg wash and sprinkle with Turbinado sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F. and bake 30 minutes more until pastry is richly browned and the filling bubbles. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

CLASSIC MINCEMEAT - CANADIAN LIVING

Steps:

• In Dutch oven, combine apples, raisins, lexia raisins, currants, brown sugar, suet, candied peel, lemon rind and juice, cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and salt, bring to boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer until thickened and syrupy, about 45 minutes. Stir in rum; let cool. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate in airtight containers for up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.).

SCONES / TEA BISCUITS (CANADIAN LIVING)

Steps:

• Line rimless baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat; or dust lightly with flour. Set aside.
• In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Pour buttermilk over top and stir with fork to form soft, slightly sticky ragged dough.
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead gently 10 times to smooth dough, adding a sprinkle more flour to the work surface if needed. Gently pat or roll out into generous ½-inch thick round. Using 2-inch cutter, cut out rounds. Place on prepared baking sheet. Gather up scraps and repat dough; cut out more rounds, pressing any remaining scraps into a final scone (the bakers's scone).
• Brush tops of scones with egg. Bake in centre of 425°F oven until golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on pan on rack for 5 minutes. Transfer to racks to finish cooling.
• Tip: Before cutting out scones, dip cutter into flour, repeating the dipping between cuts so cutter doesn't stick. Always cut out scones, or any cookie, with as little space as possible between rounds as possible. You can reroll the scraps, but at every rerolling the results are tougher. So get as many rounds as you can out of the first roll.