Happy, Merry, Joy and Thank You
Mincemeat shortbread bars and my favorite dinner recipe of 2022
December was a hectic mess, with all the usual (podcast! substack! recipe testing! end-of-semester grading craziness ) with all the extras (guests! gatherings! family things! putting seasonal affective disorder in its place). All this, plus a healthy dose of the dreaded Covid, meant …. Aw, you all know what it means, because I know you all had your own version of this.
So here’s to us, for making it through and here’s to taking care of ourselves, those nearest to us, and those whom we don’t know, but can help by donating our gently used things, giving money or time to a local organization in need, or just asking the crabby-seeming person at the CVS how they’re doing and really meaning it.
You all —the kind people who support my substack, who bake along with me and share your thoughts on everything from baking times to which shade of orange jumpsuit would best go with Trumplestiltskin’s complexion—have given me so much this year. There is little I find more uplifting than to hear that you’ve made a recipe of mine and enjoyed it.
It’s an honor to have you as my subscribers and I thank each and every one of you for turning a newsletter into a community.
Hell’s Smells
My sense of taste and smell, snatched by Covid, is slowly returning. I’d say I was about 40 percent there. For a gal who thinks about food more than most/anyone, not having a sense of taste or smell has caused visions of sugarplums to dance in my otherwise stuffed head, along with images of crunchy, cheesy garlic bread and other odd cravings, like roast turkey sandwiches with stuffing and cranberry, and the Korean Vegan’s spicy and crunchy garlic tofu, which gets the award for my favorite dinner recipe of 2022.
The odd foods that have broken through to my palate and brain are luckily among my favorites: garlic and Parmesan cheese. At one point last week, I amended a pile of already garlicky pasta with crumbled salt and vinegar potato chips and about 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Barbecue sauce may also have been present, but I will admit to nothing if asked.
Sweets, especially my beloved chocolate remain ghosts and slip past my lips as a spectre passes through the walls.
And yet, as my mother used to encourage: “Every day and every way, getting better and better.”
Actually it was the 19th century French pharmacist Emile Coué who first said it, and encouraged his patients to do so as well; with that, the idea of autosuggestion was born. This is an interesting rabbit hole to fall down, btw.
Making Up for Lost Baking Time
There are still so many holiday favorites I’ve yet to bake, from vanilla kipferl to cheese crackers and oh my beloved very chocolatey cookies, I will bake you again soon.
Mince pies had to happen, tho, for my husband, who took such good care of me when I was relegated to quarantine on the third floor of the house.
In the interest of making fussy recipes simpler, I came up with faster take on mince pies, which are a staple in this British-American house. At Christmastime, I may not get around to making a classic fruitcake with its layers of marzipan and fondant (and regular “feedings” of rum) or making more-ish Delia Smith’s Parmesan parsnips like husband’s mother used to make, but mince pies are a must.
Mincemeat Shortbread Squares
Makes 16 squares
What You’ll Need:
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (4 ounces) confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups (14 ounces) all-purpose flour (use the scoop and sweep method for measuring cups)
12 ounces mincemeat (I use Robertsons)
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup grated apple
What You’ll Do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8” square baking pan with a piece of parchment to create a sling, so you can lift the entire bar of cookies out and cut them neatly.
In a small bowl, mix the mincemeat, orange zest and grated apple.
With a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
On low speed, mix in the flour, until just blended and still in big crumbles.
Take two-thirds of the dough and press it into the bottom of the prepared 8-inch pan. Spread the mincemeat mixture over the top, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
Pat the remaining dough together in a ball and place it between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll the dough out until about 1/4-inch thick. Place the pan on top of the dough and use it as a template to trace an 8-inch square to go on top of the mincemeat and cut the dough to fit. Gently lay the dough on top, and seal the edges with your fingers, press, press, pressing along the edges. Cut vents all over the top.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top begins to turn light golden. Remove from oven and sprinkle with more granulated white sugar than you think you should. Cut into squares and eat plain, with custard, or ice cream. If making these more than 5 days in advance, once cool, wrap in a few layers of foil or plastic wrap and freeze. Defrost before serving.
MARISSA! I admire you and what you accomplished (against all odds) in the last four weeks more than I can say!!!
P.S. Those shortbread bars!!!! Delightful!
I apologize. I still owe you my promised Mac & Cheese recipe. I actually have it out to type and send you. I guess I'll type it as a comment on this post by itself. Cheers.