Skip to main content
Dessert

Mock Mince Pie

A sweet pie made with soda crackers, molasses, and dried fruit.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 15 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓
Mock Mince Pie

Why it works: Vinegar and cider are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Mock Mince Pie

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. In a large bowl, combine the crushed soda crackers and cold water; let sit until softened.

Make the filling

  1. Stir in the molasses, brown sugar, vinegar, boiled cider, and melted butter until well mixed.

  2. Add the raisins, currants, eggs, and spices; mix thoroughly.

Bake

  1. Pour the mixture into pie crusts and bake for about 45 minutes or until set.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Vinegar + cidertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,431 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  2. Cider + curranttop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together500 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

  3. Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,180 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).

  4. Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,577 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Soda crackers
Soak up liquid and help bind the filling into a thick, spoonable texture.
Molasses
Adds deep sweetness, dark color, and a rich flavor to the filling.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the filling take on a soft, caramel-like taste.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, giving the filling a smooth, tender mouthfeel.
Eggs
Set during baking to firm the filling so it holds its shape when sliced.
Raisins
Add chewy texture and concentrated fruit sweetness throughout the filling.

The step that matters

Bake until set. The eggs must set fully to firm the filling. Underbaking leaves it loose and runny, while the sugars and fats can darken quickly if baked too long.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, vinegar, cider, butter, currant, egg):

  1. Applefits better
  2. Figfits about as well
  3. Raisinthe original
  4. Plumfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, vinegar, cider, butter, currant, egg. 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.

More mincemeat pie recipes

Mock 26 See all 21 →

You might also like

Molasses CookiesMolasses Cookies96 recipesMolasses CakeMolasses Cake90 recipesCinnamon RollsCinnamon Rolls71 recipesRed Currant JellyRed Currant Jelly65 recipes