Mince Pies

Ingredients

1 cup each currants, raisins, sultanas, craisins
1/2 cup chopped, mixed peel
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1 apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2/3 cup butter, in small cubes
1/3 cup almonds, roughly chopped
1 cups brown sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 cup brandy

4 sterilized 1 1b jam jars

Measure all of the ingredients except the alcohol into a large pan. Heat gently, allowing the butter to melt, then simmer very gently, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.

Allow the mixture to cool completely then stir in the brandy, rum or sherry.

Spoon the mincemeat into sterilised jam jars, seal tightly, label and store in a cool place. You can make the mincemeat up to six months ahead and store it in a cool place.

Crust

Here's my favorite French 'pate sablee', though it is not the easiest dough to handle:

(makes 2 3/4 lb) - yes, that's a lot, but these make great Christmas gifts

14 oz soft, unsalted butter
8 oz white sugar
1 medium egg, beaten, at room temperature
1 1/4 lb plain flour
(I use Plusgras or Kerrygold butter - lower water content than ours, and '00' flour does make a finer crust.)

Beat the butter with the sugar until lump free but not quite a cream. Add the egg, gently and quickly. Blend in the flour, stopping the machine as soon as the dough clings to the beater. Press into a ball, working with palms of hands if necessary to bring together, but try not to over handle. Form into a sausage shape, cover with plastic or foil wrap, chill for 1 hour.

Roll out dough. This amount will make 80 or 90 mini pies with lids (see photo), or use some to line a larger dish, then cut strips to make a lattice top. Don't fill the pies quite full of mincemeat, because it will surely expand on baking (425 F for 15-20 minutes for the small pies, 400 F for 25 minutes for larger ones).

Now where's my glass of sherry...

Marzipan for the Christmas Cake

Makes about 1 1/4 pounds

1 pound blanched almonds
3 large egg whites, at room temperature 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar 

Grind the blanched almonds (the Vitamix is ideal for this job) into a fine powder. Sift the powder through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Regrind any almond particles remaining in the sifter. 

In a bowl whisk the egg whites with the salt until they are frothy, whisk in the vanilla and almond essences.


Stir this mixture into the almond powder. Sift in 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, kneading the mixture together in the bowl, and sift enough of the remaining 1 cup sugar to form a smooth, pliable dough (add more sugar if the dough is too sticky). 


Quarter the dough and wrap each piece tightly in foil. The marzipan paste keeps, chilled, in an airtight container for up to 8 weeks.

Egg Nog

Makes around 24 servings

2 lbs sugar

32 oz heavy cream

12 eggs, separated

4 cups bourbon

2 cups cognac

6 oz rum

32 oz whole milk

nutmeg

pinch baking soda

Beat egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is thick and creamy. Add milk and spirits and stir well, then chill.

Just before you are ready to serve the egg nog whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Do likewise with the cream. Fold these into the egg yolk mixture along with the pinch of baking soda and a grating of nutmeg. Serve from a large punch bowl.

Tip: I found myself with some leftover egg nog, so I thought I'd make 'egg nog ice cream'. I added more cream and a little powdered sugar, just enough to make the mixture up to 4 cups. This is the maximum my ice cream maker can handle in a batch, but it's also important to reduce the proportion of alcohol or your egg nog ice cream will not freeze. Churn the mixture then put in freezer for it to continue hardening.

Holiday Cookies

This cookie dough is similar to the shortbread dough I posted a while back, in that it is an all-butter dough and uses rice flour to give an even shorter bite. But it's a little easier to roll out thinly and better behaved with my collection of cookie cutters. This recipe will make around 24 cookies - depending on the size of your cutters.

Ingredients

3 sticks butter (French or Plus Gras), softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

powdered sugar in a sifter
chocolate glaze or icing to decorate

Cream butter, cup of powdered sugar and vanilla extract until very pale and fluffy. Sift flour with salt and mix gently but thoroughly into the creamed mixture. Gather dough into a ball, place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Roll out dough 3/8 inch thick and cut into shapes with your favorite cookie cutters. The dough is quite resilient so you can re-roll the scraps multiple times.

Bake on cookie sheets lined with baking parchment (325 degrees for about 20 minutes). The cookies should just begin to turn golden. Cool on racks. Decorate according to your mood.

This display is inspired by my Manhattan holiday shopping trip - I had not prepared for the snow, and I sure hope those doggies aren't urinating on the fire hydrants!

Christmas Cake

With Thanksgiving just behind us it's time to start thinking about the Holiday Season. For generations the Grant women have made made their Christmas cakes at the beginning of December. That way they have three weeks to mature. I'd like to share our family recipe with you.

Ingredients

2 sticks butter, softened
8 oz light brown sugar
8 oz all purpose flour
1/8 teasp salt
1/2 teasp allspice
1/2 teasp cinnamon
1 teasp baking powder
6 eggs, lightly beaten
8 oz currants
8 oz sultanas
8 oz raisins
4 oz candied cherries
2 oz candied citron
4 oz blanched almonds, chopped
a little milk
4-5 tablesp brandy

Method

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch cake tin with parchment, greased well. Cream fat and sugar until very pale. Sift flour, salt spices and baking powder. Toss the dried fruit in a little of the flour mixture. Add egg and flour mixture to creamed fat in several alternating batches, beating well between each addition. Stir in the prepared fruit and almonds, using a little milk if needed to give a soft dropping consistency.

Place mixture in cake tin; smooth top making a depression in the center. Bake in a warm oven (335 degrees F) for 1/2 hour, then reduce heat to 290 degrees for a further 3-3 1/2 hours. Allow the cake to firm up before removing from tin. When cold remove paper. Prick bottom of cake and sprinkle brandy over. Repeat this process several times, every few days.

Spread warmed, sieved apricot jam over top and sides of cake. Roll out a think layer of almond paste the size of the top, and another in a band for the sides. Press onto cake and mold edges together. Frost with royal icing or powdered sugar and water glaze. For a less sweet decoration simply sift powdered sugar over the marzipan covering. Decorate with Christmas ornaments.