The Joy of Cooking Mince Pie, Veganized

For a change of pace, we wanted to try something a little different for our third pie in our 2009 Holiday Dinner Pie Quartet. Our quartet was really more like two sets of two, with the sweet potato pie being very similar to the pumpkin pie. So, to go with our apple pie, we went with a fruity, warm mince pie, whose recipe we also found in The Joy of Cooking.

Again, to adjust it for our guests, we veganized the recipe by switching out butter with a vegan alternative. And since we were making so many pies, we just used the same pie dough recipe we were using for our other pies. If you're so inclined, you could look up the version they list in The Joy of Cooking to go along with their mince and apple pies!

As with the apple pie, this recipe calls for cooking the filling on the stove top before filling the pie. This minimizes any shrinking the fruit will due during baking, allowing for a pie full of fruit without any gaps or overflowing juices!


----------
Mock Mincemeat Pie

Ingredients:
1 recipe pie dough
1 ½ cups seeded raisins
4 medium-sized tart apples or a combination of apples and green tomatoes (3 cups)
grated rind of 1 orange
juice of 1 orange (½ cup)
½ cup cider or other fruit juice
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon each cinnamon and cloves
2 to 3 tablespoons finely crushed soda crackers
1 tablespoon brandy


Directions

Cut raisins into pieces. Peel, core, and slice apples.

Combine raisins and apples in saucepan over medium heat. Add orange rind and juice, and cider.

Cover these ingredients and simmer until the apples are very soft. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and crackers until well-blended. If the apples are dry, use a smaller amount. This mixture will keep for several days.

Shortly before using, add 1 tablespoon brandy.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line pie pan with ½ recipe pie dough. Fill it with mock mincemeat. Cover with a pricked upper crust or with a lattice. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake about 20 minutes longer.