My favorite pie

On Thanksgiving pumpkin pie is the undisputed king of desserts. For as much as I love it I also love my grandmother's mincemeat pie. Each year she would serve pumpkin and mincemeat pies, and sometimes a plum pudding, and maybe even a cookie or two. In more recent years my mom continued making the pies including the mincemeat for me and my Aunt Karen. The mincemeat pie is served topped with "Dip" and whipped cream. (The Dip is also the sauce for the Yam'n apples.)

So just in case you needed a little more cooking to do for Thanksgiving this week. Here are a couple of my favorites straight from Grandma A's table.

Recipes:

Mincemeat pie filling

2 Tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup diced pears
1 1/2 large apples, diced
2 cups raisins
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch cloves

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes, until apples and pears are cooked, but not overly soft.
Place filling in a raw crust with a raw crust on top and bake at 350 until lightly browned.

Notes: This is actually 1/8 of the recipe my Mom and Grandma used and is about the right amount for a small pie. Large batches of filling can be bottled and saved for later. I like using it on oatmeal in the morning.
The filling can also be used to make filled sugar cookies. Cut sugar cookie dough into circles. Place a spoonful of filling in the center. Fold over and seal edges.

Dip

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt

Bring to boil until thickened.

Yam'n apples

I isn't yams and apples. It's Yam'n apples with Yam'n as an adjective to apples. Not a pie, but just in case you were wondering.

Peel and cut apples and yams into approximately 1 inch pieces. Boil separately until tender. Drain, combine, and top with Dip. Bake.

Notes: I'm not sure why you need to bake it since it is all cooked and already hot. It probably helps blend the flavors. The traditional family recipe is to boil the yams but I might try it with roasted yams instead.

Enjoy!