Mince Meat

I have mentioned a time or twenty on the blog that I am not a huge fan of dried fruit.  As a child I was always repulsed at the thought of mince pies at Christmas time.  My mam would heat some up in the oven for my dad or guests and they would be served with a nice dollop of fresh cream or maybe some custard.  Cream and custard with mince?! Bleugh. 

Then one year we made them in school and I was confused to find that there was no meat mixed in with the sweet mixture.  When I tasted the fruits of my labour I was pleasantly surprised and since then I have enjoyed many a mince pie over the festive season.  They are usually a last minute thought for me that I pick up with the final grocery shop before the big day but this year I decided to make my own, completely from scratch, including the mince meat.

I looked at many recipes but didn't find any that I liked so I decided to come up with my own.  I had a good understanding of the basics from reading so many other recipes and so set about it with my pen and trusty note book in hand.  I haven't used either butter or suet in the recipe as I wanted to cut out any unnecessary fat or heaviness.  The mixture gave off the most amazing fragrance as it simmered in the hob and looks beautiful today in it's jar.  I will do another post about mince pies closer to Christmas including a pastry recipe and an assembly how to.  For now you can mix up a batch of mince meat and leave the flavours to mature for a couple of weeks.  Enjoy!

Mince Meat
(makes approximately 800ml)

60ml/2floz Port
150g/5.3oz Dark Brown Sugar
Zest & Juice of 1 Orange
Zest & Juice of 2 Lemons
75g/2.65oz Raisins

75g/2.65oz Currants

75g/2.65oz Sultanas

75g.2.65oz Dried Cranberries
75g/2.65oz Chopped Almonds
4 Apples, peeled and grated
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Mixed Spice
1tsp Nutmeg
1oz Brandy
2tbsp Honey
1tsp Vanilla Extract

1.  Dissolve the sugar in the ruby port in a pot over a gentle heat.

2.  Add in the orange and lemon juice and zest, dried fruit, grated apple and spices.

3.  Simmer for 20 minutes or until the fruit has plumped up and absorbed most of the liquid.

4.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.  Add the brandy, honey and vanilla extract.  Stir well to incorporate.
5.  Spoon into sterilised jars and seal.

This will keep for a few weeks once stored in a cool dry place in the unopened sterilised jars.  Once opened refrigerated and use within a couple of weeks.

To sterilise jars:

Wash in warm soapy water or put through a hot cycle in the dishwasher.  Place into a preheated oven at 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2 for 15 minutes and fill and seal while the jar and contents are still warm.

Lemon Sugar Cookies & Chocolate Orange Cookies

Last Friday I participated in a #twookieparty (a cookie bake off on Twitter) with some other Irish foodies.  I promised recipes would follow so here are the first two.  I am lumping these two together as I used the same basic dough recipe for both.

Lemon Sugar Cookies

Yields approx 36
(I divided the dough in 3, baked 1 dozen and froze 2 rolls of dough for later use)

450g/15oz Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Soda
1/4tsp Salt
395g/14oz granulated sugar
44g/1.5oz packed light-brown sugar
Grated Zest of 1 Lemon
1tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
220g/8oz Unsalted Butter, softened
2 Large Eggs
Granulated Sugar, for sprinkling

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.   Line a baking sheet with grease proof paper. (if you are baking the full quantity of dough you will need 3 lined baking sheets or you will have to bake in 3 seperate batches)
2.  Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
3.  Put the sugars and lemon zest in a seperate bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute.
4.  Mix in the eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon juice.
5.  Reduce the speed and gradually add the flour mixture; mix until just combined.
6.  Using a tablespoon sized measuring spoon or a regular tablespoon place dough 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheet.
7.  Flatten the cookies slightly with a fork and sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar, then lightly brush with a wet pastry brush and sprinkle with more granulated sugar.
8.  Bake the cookies until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
9.  Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Chocolate Orange Cookies

Yields approx 36

(I divided the dough in 3, baked 1 dozen and froze 2 rolls of dough for later use)

450g/15oz Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Soda
1/4tsp Salt
395g/14oz granulated sugar
44g/1.5oz packed light-brown sugar
Grated Zest of 1 Orange
2tbsp Fresh Orange Juice
220g/8oz Unsalted Butter, softened
2 Large Eggs
100g Plain Chocolate, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Line a baking sheet with grease proof paper. (if you are baking the full quantity of dough you will need 3 lined baking sheets or you will have to bake in 3 seperate batches)
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
3. Put the sugars and orange zest in a seperate bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute.
4. Mix in the eggs, 1 at a time, and then the orange juice.
5. Reduce the speed and gradually add the flour mixture; mix until just combined.

6. Using a tablespoon sized measuring spoon or a regular tablespoon place dough 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheet.

7. Flatten the cookies slightly with a fork.
8. Bake the cookies until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
9.  Once they are cool melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave (if you do not bake all af the cookie dough simply reduce the amount of chocolate accordingly ie. if you bake 1/3 of the cookie dough melt 1/3 f the chocolate)
10. Using a teaspoon drizzle lines of chocolate across the cookies to form a pattern.  I drizzled in different directions but you can do it which ever way you prefer.

11.Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.