How I Made Them and What I'll Do Next Time

It started with a package of condensed (concentrated) mincemeat and an idea. I'd made the mincemeat cookies before from the recipe on the box, many times, but it occurred to me on Friday afternoon that the little mini-muffin tins I used for chocolate-cream cheese-peanut butter brownie bites would be perfect for turning out cookies in the form of mini-wintercakes for Lynne Rae Perkins's book signing of her latest children's book, Wintercake. How appropriate would that be? After all, the wintercakes in Lynne Rae's story are rich with dried fruits. I even went all out and sifted the flour, which is something I've only started doing very recently. It's actually kind of fun.

Here is the cookie dough, well mixed:

And then comes the moment to deploy the darling little muffin tins (even my husband, the Artist, thinks they're adorable) and the tiny fluted paper cupcake holders that will make the minicakes easy to remove from the pans, transport to the village, and serve in the bookstore. 

Baking the cookie dough even in tiny muffin tins means adjusting the baking time. As cookies on a sheet plan, they would spread out flat and be done through faster. This way, instead of 8-10 minutes, figure on 12-15 minutes in the oven. 

You wouldn't believe how good the house smells during the baking of these spicy little sweethearts, and the aroma lingers deliciously, temptingly, into the morning of the next day. What I'll do next time, though, is sprinkle maple sugar on the little cakes right when they come out of the oven. You could also sprinkle colored sugar, if you prefer, or wait until they cool and frost them. Lynne Rae Perkins is such a creative person -- writer, artist, baker, cook, craftsperson -- that anticipating her as my guest today I was inspired!