None Such Prize Cookies

These are the cookies that came on the back of None Such mincemeat boxes through most of the 20th century, the kind of recipe that lived on index cards in your grandmother’s tin and made an annual appearance every Christmas. Crumbled prepared mincemeat gets folded into a simple cookie dough, and the dried fruits and warm spices already in the mincemeat do all the flavor work for you.

The whole charm here is the shortcut. Store-bought mincemeat (the dry-pack condensed kind in a brick or the moist kind in a jar) carries currants, raisins, candied peel, brandy or rum, and a full spice cabinet of cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. You add eggs, sugar, flour, and a leavener; the cookies practically build themselves.

If you cannot find prepared mincemeat at your supermarket, look for it in the British or imported foods aisle, or order online during the holidays. The Robertson’s brand from the UK and None Such (an American brand still made by JM Smucker) are the two classics.

Breaking the mincemeat into small pieces before adding is non-negotiable, sorry, is essential. Big chunks of mincemeat fall out of the cookies during baking and create dense, soggy spots. Pebble-sized bits distribute evenly through the dough and bake into chewy fruit pockets.

Pro Tips

• Use butter in place of vegetable shortening for richer flavor. The recipe is old enough to default to shortening, but butter gives a noticeably better cookie.
• A 400°F (200°C) oven is hotter than most modern cookie recipes, but it is correct here. The fast bake sets the cookie before the mincemeat moisture can soften the structure.
• Watch them closely starting at 10 minutes. The cookies should be golden at the edges but still pale in the center; pull them then for a chewy texture.
• Cool 2 minutes on the sheet before transferring to a rack. The mincemeat means they are fragile when hot.

Variations

• Add the finely grated zest of an orange and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to brighten the spice flavors.
• Stir in ½ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for a nutty crunch.
• Drizzle cooled cookies with a powdered-sugar icing spiked with rum or brandy for a more dressed-up presentation.