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Mincemeat Bran Muffins

Mincemeat Bran Muffins

The homemade mincemeat recipe featured in Prairies North Magazine (Winter Issue 2019) will take these muffins up a notch. Our grandkids enthusiastically devour them. 

Preheat oven to 375°F

Wet Ingredients: 

In a bowl, beat the following ingredients. 

2 eggs

¾ cup of oil

1 cup of sugar

Add:

1 cup of natural wheat bran

2 cups of milk

Beat well.

Add:

1 cup of mincemeat (canned or homemade)

Dry Ingredients: 

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Whisk dry ingredients together and fold into the wet ingredients, mixing only until blended. Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full and bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. This recipe makes approximately 24 muffins. 

Tip:

This batter can be kept in the fridge for up to a week and baked fresh as needed. If you bake all of the muffins at one time, they keep well in the freezer. 

Mincemeat Oat Squares

I adapted this Mincemeat Oat Square recipe from one initially shared by Monique Benoit, daughter of Madame Benoit. See Canada's First T.V. Celebrity Chef to read about my connection to Madame. 

Preheat the oven to 400°F

Ingredients:

¾ cup of butter

1 cup of dark brown sugar (or less)

1½ cups of all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats; I use large flake)

2 cups of mincemeat (homemade or canned)

Method:

Cream butter and brown sugar. Fold in flour, soda, and salt. Add oatmeal. Once the dough is well mixed, divide it in half, then press half into a well-greased 9 by 13-inch baking pan. 

Spread mincemeat evenly over the base crust. Crumble the other half of the dough, evenly, over the top. Press in place.  

Place pan in a preheated 400°F oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until slightly golden.

Cut into desired size pieces while still warm. This recipe freezes well and is delicious at any time of year. 

Tip:

If you want to dazzle guests with this treat, make the vintage, mincemeat filling I featured in “Eats and Treats” in Prairies North Magazine, Winter Issue, 2019.  

Vintage Hot Water Pastry

Vintage Hot Water Pastry

My mother made this pastry recipe from farm-fresh pork lard, likely rendered by her mom. Later, she purchased a similar product from the butcher shop. I have occasionally used brand name lard from grocery stores, but it doesn’t taste quite the same. You will find extra ingredients in boxed lard designed to increase shelf life.

I like to buy lard from a farm like Saskatchewan’s Pineview Farms where it is rendered in their butcher shop and kept in a refrigerator. I store it accordingly when I arrive home. When I make my family’s traditional homemade mincemeat, as featured in Prairies North Magazine, winter issue, 2019, I use this pastry recipe and farm rendered lard to make my memories complete. 

Mixing hot water with flour and lard defies the pastry science we learned in Home Economics. However, this recipe is easy, fast, keeps for a week in the fridge, and rolls like a dream. I have found versions of this recipe in cookbooks dating back to the 1920s. It has stood the taste of time.

Vintage Hot Water Pastry

Ingredients:

½ a pound of lard (I use farm rendered lard and remove it from the refrigerator to soften, a few hours ahead of mixing.)

½ cup of boiling water

2 cups all-purpose flour (spoon flour into cup and level with a knife)

½ teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder 

Method:

Cream lard with a beater or whisk

Add the boiling water and whisk until smooth

Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix with a spoon.

When mixed, put the pastry into a bowl, cover with a lid, and chill until ready to use. 

This pastry keeps in the fridge for a week and is ready to top a turkey pot pie or quickly make tarts for dessert. It is easily doubled. 

Crunchy Cauliflower Salad

(A delicious combination of flavours to accompany pork or chicken) 

Ingredients:

½ cup sliced celery

½ cup apple, chopped

1 full cup cauliflower slices

Mix with enough mayonnaise to coat vegetables. You can experiment with adding other ingredients to the mayonnaise, such as low-fat sour cream or yogurt.

Note: To make a larger salad, simply cut equal parts celery and apple and add twice as much cauliflower. This can be prepared several hours ahead because the mayonnaise keeps the apple from browning.