My best mincemeat cookies recipe is a favourite bake over the festive period and in the run up to Christmas. They are a soft cookie, rich with warming spices and nothing beats the aroma of these spicy cookies baking in the oven.
I use both light and dark muscovado sugar to give these old fashioned mincemeat cookies a rich molasses flavour, which I then combine with the flavours of vanilla, ground ginger and cinnamon and spiced fruity mincemeat.
I like to make my easy mincemeat cookies using jarred mincemeat. However, if you make your own homemade mincemeat please feel free to use that in this recipe. I also like to bake these cookies in the New Year, using up any leftover mincemeat from the festive holiday.
These homemade cookies are a great quick and straightforward bake. There's little effort involved in pulling together a cookie dough and after a quick bake in the oven you have a far superior biscuit to anything you can buy shop bought.
For an extra special treat, why not serve these cookies with my 2 Ingredient Nutella Hot Chocolate.
Why you'll love this recipe
- A tasty way to use up a jar of mincemeat, these cookies are quick to prepare and after a quick chill in the fridge they're baked and ready to enjoy in just 12 minutes.
- The ideal bake with children as this is a simple bake that most kids can handle on their own with just a little help from adults to get them in and out of the oven.
- This recipe easily makes 25-30 cookies so bake some cookies to enjoy now and freeze some of the cookie dough and enjoy freshly baked cookies another day.
Recipe ingredients
- Butter: I use unsalted butter, but you could also use salted butter. Don’t be tempted to use margarine as you won’t get the same flavour or set in the cookies.
- Sugar: I use a combination of dark and light muscovado sugar as it has a great molasses flavour that really works well with the spicy mincemeat in these cookies.
- Vanilla extract: adds great flavour to these cookies, you could also use vanilla paste. Vanilla essence would also work but it won't have the same depth of flavor.
- Eggs: use 1 large beaten eggs in this recipe as it helps to bind the cookie dough.
- Flour: plain flour (all purpose) is used in this recipe.
- Bicarbonate of soda: is added to give the cookies a little rise and create a light, soft cookie.
- Ground spices: I like to add ½ teaspoon each of ground ginger and cinnamon, which enhance the spices in the mincemeat.
- Sea salt: I add a little sea salt, which balances out the sweetness.
- Mincemeat: I use 6 tablespoons of mincemeat to flavour the cookies.
TOP TIP: Use vegetarian mincemeat with vegetable suet if serving to vegetarian diners.
How to make mincemeat cookies
- Place the butter and both sugars into a bowl and beat well until you get a creamy mixture.
- Once you have beaten the butter and sugars together, beat in the vanilla extract and the egg, mixing well to combine.
- Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger and cinnamon, and salt to the bowl and continue to mix well until you have a rough dough.
- Now add the mincemeat to the dough and mix until you have a well combined dough. Cover the bowl and place into the refrigerator to chill the dough for 1 hour to firm up.
Baking the cookies
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 190C/170CFan/375F, and line a baking sheet with baking parchment, or use a silicone liner.
- Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and pull together small golf ball sized balls of the cookie dough and place these on the baking sheet. Work quickly to stop the dough from becoming too warm. Space the cookies well apart as they will spread in the oven. Do not flatten out the balls of dough.
- Once you have shaped all the cookies, you should get 25-30 cookies from this mix, place the trays into the hot oven. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, they should be a little soft in the middle.
TOP TIP: The cookies will spread in the oven, so leave plenty space between each ball of cookie dough.
- Remove the cookies from the oven, place the tray on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes and set a little. After 10 minutes gently place the cookies directly onto the wire rack to completely set and cool.
- Once cool store in an airtight container. These cookies are soft cookies and best consumed within 2-3 days. However, they will still taste great after that, they just soften more the longer the sit.
TOP TIP: If you want your cookies to look a uniform size, or if some have really spread in the oven, I have a simple trick to fixing this. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven they will still be soft and pliable. Get a circular cookie cutter and place smooth side down over the cookie, taking care not to touch the sides of the cookie. Now working in a circular motion, move the cutter and gently reshape the cookies.
Recipe variations
- Sugar - I like to add a deep molasses flavour to these cookies, so use both light and dark muscovado sugars. However, you can swap the sugar for any other other sugar, just keep the total weight the same. Granulated and golden caster sugar would work, and will result in a lighter cookie dough.
- Nuts - I love adding nuts to cookies for added crunch. Try chopped almonds; pecans; brazil or macadamia nuts.
- Dried Fruits - give the cookies and extra festive twist and stir some dried cranberries through the cookie dough, along with the mincemeat.
- Citrus - mincemeat already contains orange and lemon peel, but you can elevate this further by adding some finely grated orange zest to the cookie dough. Mix through along with the mincemeat.
- Vegetarian - use vegetarian mincemeat with vegetable suet if serving to vegetarian diners.
- Nut free - check the mincemeat does not contain nuts if serving to anyone with a nut allergy.
Useful hints & tips
- Line the baking tray with a silicone baking sheet or baking parchment as this will stop the cookies sticking to the tray.
- Cool the cookies for 10 minutes before placing on the wire cooling rack. This will allow the soft cookies to set a little and stop them from breaking up when you lift them off the tray.
- Allergy advice: for comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.
FAQs
Many centuries ago, mincemeat did contain meat, a method of preserving meat with alcohol and sugar. However, modern day mincemeat does not contain meat. Mincemeat has a chutney like consistency and combines, dried fruits and chopped candied peel, with sugar, ground spices, nuts and some alcohol, eg sherry or brandy. Mincemeat also contains fat like a meat or vegetable based suet.
These cookies are soft cookies and best stored in an airtight container and consumed within 2-3 days. However, they will still taste great after that, they just soften more the longer they sit.
Yes you can store these homemade cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer. When ready to enjoy just defrost at room temperature. However, you can also freeze the dough - see instructions below.
This dough freezes really well, so once chilled you can split the dough in half. Take half of the dough, roll it up, then cover with clingfilm and place in an airtight bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, defrost in the refrigerator, roll into balls and bake as normal.
You could also roll the dough into balls before freezing. Then place them on a baking sheet and place in the freezer to set for 1 hour. Remove from the freezer then place the balls of cookie dough into an airtight container. Again, defrost overnight in the fridge before baking.
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Additional recipe suggestions
If you like this recipe then why not try some of my favourite simple biscuit recipes:
- Chocolate & Hazelnut Cookies
- Date Oat Cookies with Ginger
- Pistachio White Chocolate Cookies
- Lemon Pistachio Cookies
- Orange Butter Biscuits
- Lemon Butter Biscuits
- Custard Creams
- Ginger & Chilli Biscuits
If you enjoyed this bake have a look at my Fun Baking with Kids post, full of great recipe suggestions for baking with children.
Best Mincemeat Cookies
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Baking parchment or silicone liner
- mixing bowl
- measuring spoons
- Wooden spoon
- weighing scales
- Electric hand whisk
Ingredients
- 125 g unsalted butter (softened)
- 80 g dark muscovado sugar
- 80 g light muscovado sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 225 g plain flour
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoon mincemeat
Instructions
- Place the butter and both sugars into a bowl and beat well until you get a creamy mixture.
- Once you have beaten the butter and sugars together, beat in the vanilla extract and the egg, mixing well to combine.
- Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger and cinnamon, and salt to the bowl and continue to mix well until you have a rough dough.
- Now add the mincemeat to the dough and mix until you have a well combined dough. Cover the bowl and place into the refrigerator to chill the dough for 1 hour to firm up.
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 190C/170CFan/375F, and line a baking sheet with baking parchment, or use a silicone liner.
- Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and pull together small golf ball sized balls of the cookie dough and place these on the baking sheet. Work quickly to stop the dough from becoming too warm. Space the cookies well apart as they will spread in the oven. Do not flatten out the balls of dough.
- Once you have shaped all the cookies, you should get 25-30 cookies from this mix, place the trays into the hot oven. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, they should be a little soft in the middle.
- Remove the cookies from the oven, place the tray on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes and set a little. After 10 minutes gently place the cookies directly onto the wire rack to completely set and cool.
- Once cool store in an airtight container. These cookies are soft cookies and best consumed within 2-3 days. However, they will still taste great after that, they just soften more the longer the sit.
Notes
-
- Use vegetarian mincemeat with vegetable suet if serving to vegetarian diners.
- This dough freezes really well, so once chilled you can split the dough in half. Take half of the dough, roll it up, then cover with clingfilm and place in an airtight bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, defrost overnight in the refrigerator and then roll into balls and bake as normal.
- You could also roll the dough into balls before freezing. Then place them on a baking sheet and place in the freezer to set for 1 hour. Remove from the freezer then place the balls of cookie dough into an airtight container. Again, defrost overnight in the fridge before baking.
- Line the baking tray with a silicone baking sheet or baking parchment as this will stop the cookies sticking to the tray.
- The cookies will spread in the oven, so leave plenty space between each ball of cookie dough.
- If you want your cookies to look a uniform size, or if some have really spread in the oven, I have a simple trick to fixing this. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven they will still be soft and pliable. Get a circular cookie cutter and place smooth side down over the cookie, taking care not to touch the sides of the cookie. Now working in a circular motion, move the cutter and gently reshape the cookies.
• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •
Briony says
I'm always looking at different ways to use mincemeat that isn't mince pies. These cookies were absolutely delicious!
Lesley says
Thank you Briony, they really are a great way to use up a jar of mincemeat.
Chloe says
Great way to use up half a jar of mincemeat after making mince pies. Went down a treat as a present when visiting friends
Lesley says
Thank you Chloe, these cookies are the perfect way to use up leftover mincemeat.
Emma says
I've always thought about making mincemeat cookies but never got round to it. So I got to it and made your recipe, now they will definitely be on the cookie list every year - so delicious!
Lesley says
Thank you Emma, they are a lovely soft cookie.