Making Mincemeat Tarts | Making It Grow

Clemson Extension Agent Terasa Lott shares her family tradition of how they make Mincemeat Tarts.

Ingredients 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour plus additional flour for dusting counter and rolling
• 1 16 ounce jar of prepared mincemeat
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons shortening
• 4 - 8 tablespoons ice cold water
• 1 egg
• Pastry brush
• Tart tins
• Baking racks
• 2 Pastry cutters, one large and one small (bottom being 3 inch round cookie cutter)
• Mixing bowls
• Rolling mat (optional)
• Rolling pin
• Measuring devices 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F 
2. Put flour into bowl and add salt. Whisk to thoroughly mix.
3. Using a pastry blender or a pair of forks, incorporate the 2/3 cup of shortening into the flour. When you are finished, the dough should resemble peas of even size. Gradually add in the ice water, cutting in in with a knife. 
4. When the water has been incorporated, form the dough into a smooth ball and wrap in Saran wrap and put into the refrigerator to chill. The dough will harden a bit, resulting in a much flakier pastry.
5. Take this time to grease the tart tins (tip: Terasa likes to use the shortening wrapper to grease the tart tins)
6. Unwrap the dough and divide the ball in half, rewrapping one half and putting back into the refrigerator until needed.
7. Dust flour over the countertop or rolling mat and roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/8th of an inch. The larger pastry cutter will be used for the bottom of the tart and the smaller circle cutter will be used for the top. 
8. Using the larger pastry cutter, cut out 12 bottoms to line the tart tin.
9.  Once you have those rolled, cut and in place, you will want to take a long handled teaspoon and start filling the tarts with mincemeat. Be careful not to overfill the pastries as they will overflow during the baking process. (Terasa tip: concentrate on using the filling and not the juices in the jar. Keeping the filling chunky rather than juicy will help prevent the tarts from leaking.)
10. Remove the second half of the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap and proceed  as done before. 
11. Using the left over ice water, dip your finger into the water and run it around the bottom edge of the pastry and place it over the filling topped tart. Smooth the edge of the pastry and fill the remaining tarts in the same manner. 
12. Taking a fork and using the back end, make an edge around the top of the tarts to seal the edges together. Using the tines of the fork, pierce a pattern in the pastry to act as a vent. 
13. Break open the egg into a small bowl and beat it as if you were making a scrambled egg. Mix in a little water for ease of spreading and with a pastry brush, brush the tops of all of the tarts.
14. Place into 400degree preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool slightly and serve. Tarts can be frozen and preheated.

🌱 Making It Grow is an award-winning program produced by SCETV and Clemson University. Host Amanda McNulty from Clemson Extension along with Clemson Extension Master Gardener State Coordinator Agent Terasa Lott plus other Extension Agents and featured guests offer research-based information on a variety of gardening, agricultural, and environmental topics, while also highlighting interesting places and products from around South Carolina.

🍽️ For more recipes like the one above, visit SCETV Food.