I have some die hard mincemeat lovers, so I tried this recipe, and it was a hit! As a note to a comment above, although many people now make mincemeat without meat; traditionally it was made with meat. Mincemeat developed as a way of preserving meat without salting or smoking some 500 years ago in England, where mince pies are still considered an essential accompaniment to holiday dinners just like the traditional plum pudding. This pie is a remnant of a medieval tradition of spiced meat dishes, usually minced mutton, that have survived because of its association with Christmas. These pies have also been known as Christmas Pies. Mince pie as part of the Christmas table had long been an English custom. Today, we are accustomed to eating mince pie as a dessert, but actually "minced" pie and its follow-up "mincemeat pie" began as a main course dish with with more meat than fruit (a mixture of meat, dried fruits, and spices). As fruits and spices became more plentiful in the 17th century, the spiciness of the pies increased accordingly.

used this recipe at christmas time. all relatives loved it. kept very well for days after.

I would hesitate to call this a "mincemeat" pie, seeing how us Brits know that there is NO meat in a mincemeat pie.(mincemeat is the Victorian name for a mixture of fruit) Call it a "minced meat" pie and it was OK. Neede something else, could not figure out quite what. Will make it again and experiment.

First thing I did was to scale this down to 10 servings and it made 1 pie. I made it with a double batch of "Basic Flaky Pie Crust" found on this website. Since I have never eaten a mincemeat pie, I have nothing to compare this to, and I don't know how authenic the flavor is. BUT I liked this pie. It was very good. The only thing I did different is to use apple juice in place of the brandy. Good.

I made this for a Victorian Christmas for six people, and two of them liked it so much they fought over who got to take the leftovers home. It's perfect for any get together!