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Last year I made homemade Fruit and Nut Mincemeat with dried fruit and nuts (minus the traditional meat), and it turned out so good that it has earned a place in my Old World Christmas Recipes. This is the base recipe for many holiday desserts such as tarts, pies, breads, scones, or even cookies.
In my opinion, holiday mincemeat gets a bad reputation here in the United States, much like fruitcake. I admit, that I once held such poor contempt for these recipes. Until I tried them! And realized that I loved them!
Of course, much of this lies in the recipe you use and the end result. If you enjoy dried fruits and nuts, then chances are pretty good that you will like the recipes used with this Homemade Mincemeat Recipe. I encourage you to give it a chance. It’s quite possible this will become a yearly tradition in your house, too!
While I have used traditional mincemeat fruits in this recipe, feel free to use more or less of each, or another dried fruit of your choosing, such as dried cherries or pineapple. The main thing to keep in mind is the total prepared dried fruits should measure 3 2/3 cups.
The mincemeat portion of this recipe will make enough for a tart or pie, or put it in muffins, scones, cakes, or cookie bars. I used some to make a Mincemeat Bakewell Tart last December and it was fantastic! Watch for that recipe soon.
More Old-World Christmas Recipes
- Christmas Stollen with Marzipan
- Orange-Glazed Cranberry Fruitcake
- Homemade Mincemeat Tarts
- German Springerle Christmas Cookies
Ingredients for Homemade Fruit and Nut Mincemeat
(See the full recipe at the bottom of this post.)
- butter
- Honey Crisp apples (cored, peeled, and diced)
- dark brown sugar
- orange juice
- lemon juice
- orange zest
- lemon zest
- English walnuts, chopped
- candied cherries
- raisins
- dried cranberries
- golden raisins
- dried figs
- dried apricots
- dates
- dried currants
- ground cinnamon
- ginger
- freshly ground nutmeg
- cloves
- kosher salt
- spiced rum
Instructions for Making this Recipe
Gather your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Prepare the Ingredients
Using a paring knife, core, peel, and dice two apples (or enough to make 2 cups). Place in a large bowl.
Zest the orange and lemon. Slice in half and juice with a citrus juicer.
With a cutting board and Chef’s knife or bench knife, chop the candied cherries, and dried figs, apricots, and dates.
The total amount of prepared dried fruit should equal 3 2/3 cups. If you have other dried fruit you’d like to substitute, such as dried cherries or dried pineapple, go ahead and use the fruit of your choice.
If necessary, chop the English walnuts with a knife or nut chopper.
Cook the Mincemeat
Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or saucepan. Add to this the diced apple, brown sugar, orange and lemon juice, and orange and lemon zest. Stir to combine.
Stir in the prepared dried fruit and the chopped English walnuts.
Add in the ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, dried cloves, and kosher salt. Stir with a long-handled wooden spoon until everything is combined.
Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally. Do not allow the mixture to dry out. This should take about 12-15 minutes.
Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool, stirring once or twice. Add the spiced rum to the fruit and stir to combine.
You may substitute brandy for the spiced rum, if desired.
Once the mixture has fully cooled, store in a tightly sealed jar or container. Refrigerate until ready to use. Allow the mincemeat to chill for at least 24 hours before using.
Mincemeat will keep for several months in the refrigerator. To keep the fruit moist, add 2 tablespoons of rum to the mixture once a week and stir to combine. Use in your holiday baking as desired.
Mincemeat is delicious in holiday tarts or pies, as a crumble or streusel topped cake, in cookies, quick breads, or even added to a cheeseball for a Christmas appetizer with crackers.
This recipe will make approximately 6 cups of mincemeat.
See more Desserts Here. Browse more DIY Food Recipes Here.
Fruit and Nut Mincemeat
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 cups Honey Crisp apples cored, peeled, and diced
- 2/3 cups dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup orange juice freshly squeezed
- 1/4 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 cup English walnuts chopped
- 1/2 cup candied cherries chopped
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup dried figs chopped
- 1/2 cup dried apricots chopped
- 1/3 cup dates chopped
- 1/3 cup dried currants
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup spiced rum
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Prepare the Ingredients
- Using a paring knife, core, peel, and dice two apples (or enough to make 2 cups). Place in a large bowl.
- Zest the orange and lemon. Slice in half and juice with a citrus juicer.
- With a cutting board and Chef's knife or bench knife, chop the candied cherries, and dried figs, apricots, and dates.
- The total amount of dried fruit should equal 3 2/3 cups. (If you have other dried fruit you'd like to substitute, such as dried cherries or dried pineapple, go ahead and use the fruit of your choice.)
- If necessary, chop the English walnuts with a knife or nut chopper.
Cook the Mincemeat
- Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or saucepan. Add to this the diced apple, brown sugar, orange and lemon juice, orange and lemon zest, chopped English walnuts, candied cherries, and all the prepared dried fruit. Stir to combine.
- Add in the ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, dried cloves, and kosher salt. Stir with a long-handled wooden spoon until everything is combined.
- Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally. Do not allow the mixture to dry out. This should take about 12-15 minutes.
- Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool, stirring once or twice. Add the spiced rum to the fruit and stir to combine.
- Once the mixture has fully cooled, store in a tightly sealed jar or container. Refrigerate until ready to use. Allow the mincemeat to chill for at least 24 hours before using.
- Mincemeat will keep for several months in the refrigerator. To keep the fruit moist, add 2 tablespoons of rum to the mixture once a week and stir to combine. Use in your holiday baking as desired.
- This recipe will make approximately 6 cups of mincemeat.
Notes
Nutrition
