Mincemeat Pie — The Kind of Recipe That Outlasts Everything

I drove to Grinnell Saturday. Roger was in the garden — the garden that is his whole world now, the 83-year-old man who tends six tomato plants and twelve sunflowers with the same care he once gave four hundred acres. He's slower but he's still Roger. He still watches the crop reports. He still calls Jack on Wednesdays.

The recipe this week: potato soup. Standing at the stove, Marlene's wooden spoon in my hand (the cracked one, the one that will outlast us all), the recipe either from the card box or from my own expanding collection, both equally real, both equally mine. The kitchen holds all of it — the old recipes and the new ones, the teacher's food and the student's food, the grief and the joy and the cinnamon. All of it. Always.

The cookie season has ended and the soup season has settled in. The kitchen smells like broth and thyme and the slow simmer of food that takes hours and rewards the hours with warmth. Winter cooking is patient cooking. The patience is Marlene's gift. The cooking is mine.

The soup was already simmering when I thought about what to put on the table beside it — something that honored the slowness of the afternoon, the weight of the drive to Grinnell, and the strange comfort of standing in that kitchen with Marlene’s cracked wooden spoon in my hand. Mincemeat pie felt exactly right: old, unhurried, the kind of recipe that has been made in cold kitchens for generations by people who understood that some things are worth the hours they ask of you. It belongs to winter the way Roger belongs to that garden — rooted, steady, still here.

Mincemeat Pie

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 6–8 tablespoons ice water
• 2 1/2 cups prepared mincemeat (jarred or homemade)
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• 1 tablespoon whole milk (for egg wash)
• 1 tablespoon coarse sugar, for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the pie dough. Whisk together the flour, salt, and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, mixing gently with a fork, until the dough just comes together. Divide into two equal discs, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 400°F (205°C) and place a rack in the lower third of the oven.
3. Make the filling. In a medium bowl, stir together the mincemeat, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves until well combined. Taste and adjust spices as desired.
4. Roll out the bottom crust. On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc of dough into a 12-inch circle. Carefully transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate, pressing gently into the bottom and sides and allowing any overhang to drape over the edge.
5. Fill the pie. Spoon the mincemeat filling evenly into the prepared crust. Dot the top of the filling with the small pieces of butter.
6. Add the top crust. Roll out the second disc of dough into a 12-inch circle. Lay it over the filling. Trim both crusts to a 1-inch overhang, fold the edges under, and crimp decoratively with your fingers or a fork to seal. Cut several small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.
7. Apply the egg wash. Whisk together the beaten egg and milk. Brush the top crust evenly with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar if using.
8. Bake. Place the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet (to catch any drips) and bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and continue baking for an additional 28–32 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling through the vents.
9. Cool before slicing. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing. This allows the filling to set properly. Serve warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream if you like.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 480 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 63g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 310mg