Mincemeat Drop Cookies

These are the cookies your grandmother made every December with the jar of mincemeat she kept in the pantry. A basic drop cookie dough gets loaded with a full cup of prepared mincemeat, which brings all the dried fruit, spice, and boozy richness without you having to measure a single additional flavoring.

The mincemeat does the heavy lifting. It’s already packed with raisins, currants, candied peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Folding it into the creamed shortening, sugar, and egg dough transforms a plain cookie into something that tastes like a bite of holiday fruitcake in cookie form.

Shortening instead of butter keeps these soft and tender. Butter cookies spread and crisp; shortening cookies stay puffy and chewy. With all the moisture from the mincemeat, you want a fat that holds its shape.

Drop these by teaspoonfuls, not tablespoons. They spread as the mincemeat’s sugars caramelize, and too-large cookies run together on the sheet.

Pro Tips

• Use prepared mincemeat from a jar, not the dry condensed kind. The jarred version has the right moisture level for this dough. Dry mincemeat needs reconstituting first and changes the batter consistency.
• Cream the shortening and sugar until truly light and fluffy. This takes a solid 3-4 minutes at medium speed. Under-creaming makes dense, flat cookies.
• Bake 16-18 minutes, not less. These need the full time because the mincemeat adds moisture. Pull them when the edges are set and lightly golden.
• Cool completely on the rack before stacking. The mincemeat makes them sticky when warm.

Variations

• Glazed mincemeat cookies: Drizzle cooled cookies with a simple powdered sugar and rum glaze for a festive finish.
• Nutty version: Fold in chopped walnuts or pecans with the mincemeat for added crunch.