Historical Recipe: Mince Meat Cookies

Yes, I know. Another mincemeat recipe! But making the Mincemeat Cake did not use up all my mincemeat, so when I saw this recipe for cookies I was thrilled. They definitely have a more Christmas-time vibe, but that was not going to deter me. I found the recipe in the Toll House Recipe Book, ca. 1946.

Making the dough was pretty easy. I actually halved it and that still made over 2 dozen cookies, so if you make this, prepare to have a lot of cookies. Since the dough has to be chilled overnight, I tasted it just to see... and it was really good!

Even after refrigeration, cutting the cookies was no picnic.
The dough is ridiculously sticky!

The next morning I sliced and baked all the cookie dough and those cookies turned out so yummy. And even if you're not crazy about nuts in your cookies (like me), I'd have to say that the nuts add a much needed texture. I used pecans and chopped them pretty small.

Overall, this is a really nice cookie and a great way to use up leftover mincemeat from Christmas. (I made these a few weeks ago, by the way. Just wanted to mention that in case you were shocked by the mention of Christmas in February! haha!)

These cookies were awesome, especially fresh out of the oven! They're spicy and crunchy and taste vaguely of Christmas, but I think you could make these any time really. 

I'm not sure what to say about storing them. When I put them in a container, they got all soft the next day. I preferred the crunchy edges. So, I might experiment with leaving them out overnight to dry out a bit? I don't know. One thing I do know - don't stack them together, because they'll stick.

Definitely try these if you can. They're pretty tasty and really different. You'll be the envy of your cookie-loving friends! 

Mince Meat Cookies
Toll House Tried & True Recipes, ca. 1946