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Dessert

Mincemeat Bars

A sweet baked bar made with brown sugar, eggs, molasses, butter, vanilla, flour, spices, almonds, raisins, mincemeat, and a confectioners' sugar glaze.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 18 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Mincemeat Bars

Oven400°F
Time12–15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Heat oven to 400°F (moderate hot).

  2. Grease two oblong pans, 13 x 9½ x 2‑inches.

  3. Measure flour by dip‑level‑pour method or by sifting.

Make the batter

  1. Mix brown sugar, eggs, molasses, butter and vanilla.

  2. Blend flour, salt, soda and spices; stir in.

  3. Mix in hot water.

  4. Stir in almonds, raisins and mincemeat.

  5. Spread thin in greased pans (dough puffs and fills in any holes as it bakes).

Bake and finish

  1. Bake 12–15 minutes.

  2. Spread immediately with mixture of confectioners sugar, milk and flavorings.

  3. Cut into squares or diamonds.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

985Calories
29 gProtein
27 gFat
156 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 13 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Vanilla + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  3. Vanilla + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,049 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,341 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure as they set during baking.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness, moisture and a deep caramel flavor to the bars.
Molasses
Adds moisture, dark color and a rich, slightly bitter sweetness.
Flour
Provides the structure that holds the bars together as they bake.
Soda
Reacts with the acidic molasses to help the bars rise and brown.
Mincemeat
Adds fruit, spice and moisture throughout the bars.

The step that matters

Spread the batter thin in the pans. A thin layer bakes evenly and quickly in the short baking time. A thick layer may stay wet in the middle while the edges over-brown. The dough puffs and fills gaps as it bakes, so an even spread matters more than a perfectly smooth top.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, molasses, butter, vanilla, flour, cinnamon):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cardamomfits about as well
  3. Clovethe original
  4. Allspicefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, molasses, butter, vanilla, flour, cinnamon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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