Mince Pie Day
The grated peel of two limes and six lemons.
A bevy of Quimper Hittys accompanied their humans on a mince pie making expedition…Constance, Tansy and Gracia were able to persuade their sister Linnea to participate. We always use the old recipe from a venerable family cookbook (click here for last year’s post, which shows the recipe). This year for a change we tried adding a little lime juice and peel in place of some of the lemons. Grating the rind of eight lemons (or limes) is very tedious, fortunately Gracia pitched in to help.
Some ingredients.
Giant raisins were chopped, and currants, sultanas, lemon and lime peel, candied grapefruit peel, nuts, sugar and spices, melted butter…..
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What is the difference between Cognac and Brandy anyway?
And a little brandy – only the best for the Quimper Hittys. Fortunately we don’t need an entire $900.00 bottle when the Hittys only need a couple of drops.
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Everyone gets a turn to stir the pancheon.
All the people (and all the Hittys) who helped get to stir the mixture.
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Jars of yummy fresh Mince.
The Quimper Hittys bask in the praise of a very satisfactory looking product!
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First Mince Pies of the season.
But wait – isn’t it imperative to run a quality control experiment?
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The finished product.
Starting to look like Christmas around here!
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Quimper Hittys 
Yum. I love mince pies. These ones look particularly delicious. Gracia looks, in the last picture, as if she is meditating on the goodness of mince.
I think she has her eyes on a piece of crust that needs “tidying up”.
Stunning photography with gorgeous models and luscious food, not to mention incredible colors….wow…not only do the Quimper Hittys have a lovely feast themselves to eat, but have also blessed us with a banquet table of their richness in pictures. Again, thanks for sharing.
We love sharing! The Quimper Hittys can’t help getting involved in kitchen adventures, and I can’t help documenting them.
Yep, it’s definitely imperative, and we shall arrive promptly around 7:00 to help! LOL! 🙂 Fabulous post here today, I suddenly find myself pining for the Christmas season!
Mysteriously, half the tarts have disappeared already!
Very mysterious – I did not think the Hitty’s had such large appetites.
We know nothing about that! Honestly!… can someone please pass the milk?
The mini-pies are wonderful. Just the right size for the girls to share.
I was so excited when I found the teeny tart tins at the thrift store! The girls have made many pies!