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Dessert

Mock Mince Pies

A sweet pie made with crushed crackers, eggs, butter, molasses, raisins, spices, vinegar, and cider.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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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 Pies

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).

Make the filling

  1. In a large bowl, combine the crushed crackers, beaten eggs, butter, brown sugar, molasses, mixed spices, chopped raisins, vinegar, and cider. Mix well until all ingredients are combined.

  2. If desired, add citron and currants.

Bake and serve

  1. Pour the mixture into pie crusts and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until set.

  2. Let cool before serving.

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.

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. Sugar + molassestop 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

Crackers
Crushed crackers replace the usual mincemeat fruit and suet, giving body and a bready texture to the filling.
Eggs
Set the filling as they bake, binding it into a sliceable pie.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, contributing to a tender, smooth filling.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and moisture, and deepens the caramel-like flavor.
Molasses
Adds dark color, moisture and a robust, slightly bitter sweetness.
Raisins
Add chewy texture and concentrated fruity sweetness.

The step that matters

Bake until set. The beaten eggs are what hold the filling together. Underbaking leaves it runny and it will not slice cleanly, while the cooling period lets the filling firm up fully.

Swap the currant

The recipe marks currant as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, sugar, molasses, raisin, vinegar, cider):

  1. Applefits about as well
  2. Figfits about as well
  3. Currantthe original
  4. Vanillafits about as well

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