Mincemeat ideas? 21 May 2022 at 8:15PM in Old style MoneySaving 14 replies 631 views

elsien

Got a couple of jars to use up but don’t really want to make mince pies or anything pastry based. Anyone got any other suggestions for how to use it? On my own so don’t want to make huge amounts of anything either. 

Thanks 

Floss

Stir into icecream 
Stuff apples & bake

littlegreenparrot

I've stirred it into muffin mix, which then got frozen for lunch boxes. Mixed it into flapjack/shortbread.
Couple of spoonfuls on top of the chopped apple for apple crumble. Added a spoonful to porridge. 
Think it went into a bread pudding successfully. 

I often end up with a couple of reduced jars lurking about.

JIL

The best mincemeat recipe I have had was one posted by @goldfinches

One of my husband's favourites 
https://www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/recipes/dream-bars-28816

Wicked_Lady

Add a couple of spoonfuls when making flapjack.
Add to a fruit cake recipe
Stuff the middle of baked apples
Soften some vanilla ice and stir in mincemeat
10 new ways with mincemeat (bbcgoodfood.com)

YBR

There's a Delia Smith recipe for Individual Christmas Puddings that uses mincemeat as a main ingredient, not sure if that's too close to mince pies for you?

peb

Delia Smith

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/international/european/british/last-minute-christmas-mincemeat-cake

Or she does a mincemeat cake.  

The jar will last for ages so if you have storage room it's ready for next Christmas or next time you do fancy mince pies

peb

JIL said:

The best mincemeat recipe I have had was one posted by @goldfinches

One of my husband's favourites 
https://www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/recipes/dream-bars-28816

I'm intrigued.  Do you need the 90 grams of butter and the cup of butter or is it just a translation?

button_box

Re the Australian Womens Weekly recipe. I think there is an error in the recipe on their website. I have an Australian Womens Weekly book Beautiful Biscuits and make the Dream Bars a lot ( family favourite) the recipe I have for the base is 90g (3oz) butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar ( I use light brown sugar), lightly packed and 1 cup plain flour. All the other ingredients and method are the same as online.  Bought the book and a set of measuring cups when I worked in Australia in 1983 ( yes I am old!) and use this book a lot for family and bake sales. I also use  a Mary Berry recipe for Mincemeat Muffins.

goldfinches

button_box said:

Re the Australian Womens Weekly recipe. I think there is an error in the recipe on their website. I have an Australian Womens Weekly book Beautiful Biscuits and make the Dream Bars a lot ( family favourite) the recipe I have for the base is 90g (3oz) butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar ( I use light brown sugar), lightly packed and 1 cup plain flour. All the other ingredients and method are the same as online.  Bought the book and a set of measuring cups when I worked in Australia in 1983 ( yes I am old!) and use this book a lot for family and bake sales. I also use  a Mary Berry recipe for Mincemeat Muffins.

I also have this book (snapped up from a local charity shop) which is full of terrific recipes and is where I got the Dream Bars from, but as they were so nice I thought others would like to know about them, so I checked online and found the recipe that @JIL gives the link to above.
For my base I use 90g unsalted butter, 60g light brown soft sugar, 155g plain flour which is baked in a Wilton Brownie tin which measures 279 x 177 x 38mm (11" x 7" x 1.5") so you might need to amend the amounts to suit your baking tins although the first time I made it I used Delia's oblong tin (26cm x 20cm) which worked very nicely too.
The only other change I've made to the base has been to include the zest of a lemon as it essentially shortbread and that was very nice and liked by all who tried it.
You might like to know that I've also substituted some of the desiccated coconut with coconut flakes whizzed in a mini chopper before now which was also a success.

To answer @elsien's original question I've done things like making stewed apple and adding a spoonful or two of mincemeat to that which sweetens it considerably or to other apple dishes like crumble or bread and butter pudding. You could use it in chutneys instead of the sugar.
My favourite grandmother used to make me a special treat sometimes of a plain digestive biscuit with a small teaspoonful of mincemeat spread thinly in the exact centre of the biscuit, she then heated her overhead grill to very hot and laid the biscuit on the grill pan rack and toasted it very carefully until the biscuit was just browning around the edges and the mincemeat was bubbling. You had to wait until the biscuit was cool enough to hold in your fingertips and then carefully nibble around the edge until the mincemeat was bearable to your tongue. I can't make it sound nearly as good as it tastes but it is a delicious treat that takes a few minutes to make and a very long time to eat without burning your mouth. 
Alternatively, how about trying to modify this recipe for Christmas pudding vodka? Or, if none of these suggestions appeal, add a spoonful or two of whisky or brandy or even a liqueur to the jars and leave them to mature for next Christmas.

Rosetta92

I recommend the mincemeat and banana bread recipe from the BBC Good Food site https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/mincemeat-banana-bread