I prefer mincemeat cookies to the more traditional and intense mincemeat pie. My great-aunt used to make mincemeat cookies every year and I loved them. Mincemeat is mostly apples, nuts and raisins with a bunch of good spices; it contains very little meat (and some brands are vegan, despite the name).
I thought I’d lost the recipe for my great-aunt’s mincemeat cookies and then just yesterday I found it tucked inside the front cover of my mom’s 1937 Fannie Farmer cookbook. So I immediately went out and got a jar of mincemeat. These cookies are every bit as good as I remember and boat friendly.
If you can get mincemeat (if you’re in Mexico or the Caribbean it’s hard; don’t know about other places), this is a very boat-friendly recipe. It uses oil, so it’s easy to make by hand. And the cookies are very moist and keep very well — they’ll last a week or more if kept in an airtight container.

Mincemeat Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups mincemeat (a 28-ounce jar has a little over 2 cups; I use it all)
- 2-1/2 cups flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (205 C.)and grease a cookie sheet.
- Put all ingredients in a medium to large bowl and mix thoroughly. Dough is quite moist.
- Drop dough by tablespoons onto cookie sheet.
- Bake each sheet about 10 minutes until the edges of the cookies are brown as in the photo. You don’t want to overbake them, but if the edges aren’t just barely brown the centers will be raw.
- When done, let cookies sit on the cookie sheet just for a minute to firm up before using a spatula to move them to a plate or cooling rack.
- Let cookie sheet cool before putting next batch on or they’ll spread out too much.
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Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. She’s cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journey—making life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.
Jan Alexander says
My mom has always made her own mincemeat in big batches and put it up in jars, with real meat in it. When it comes time to make a pie, she uses a jar, probably a pint of mincemeat and several cups of diced apples. You might see if that makes a pie that is not overpowering. I grew up eating these pies so to me, that’s how mincemeat pie should be. The cookies sound good too and I have seen commercial mincemeat on several islands in the Caribbean this year, like St. Thomas, St. Lucia and Grenada, off the top of my head. Mom just brought me two homemade fruitcakes so no mincemeat here any time soon. Lol!
Nancy says
Calef’s Country Store in Barrington, NH sells mincemeat without meat. You can order by calling 800-462-2118.
Mae Ma says
OMG *happy dance*
Anne Ellingsen says
Sounds good!
Diana K Weigel says
Yum!
Carolyn Nunn Harvey says
I just made a batch of these cookies., which were very quick and easy to mix up. My jar of store-bought mincemeat was 27 ounces instead of 28, and I used all of it for this recipe. I didn’t measure exactly a tablespoon of batter for each cookie, I just used a serving spoon to portion it out onto the cookie sheets, and probably made the cookies a little larger than stated in the recipe – the batch made 42 cookies instead of 60, and each pan baked for 11 minutes instead of 10. The cookies came out soft and cake-y, and just a little crispy around the edge. They were delicious! I expect to make them frequently.
Carolyn Shearlock says
Great to hear that you loved them!
Cheryl says
Can you substitute bread flour to make them chewier? Would you change the bake time? Why 400 instead of 350 temp? Thank you.
Carolyn Shearlock says
Yes, changing the flour will change the texture. 400 browns them nicely while leaving the inside soft and chewy. At 350, the inside would be drier by the time they were browned.
MODESTA GILL says
I enjoyed making these cookies. I substituted with olive oil and the cookies were GREAT! I used the entire jar of Mincemeat. I used a tablespoon of mincemeat and I made about 40 cookies. The cookies were flavorful and soft. I tell my friends that the mincemeat are spice cookies because some of them have no idea of how good the cookies are. SIMPLE AND GREAT COOKIES TO MAKE AND EAT!!
Linda K Kahle says
Mincemeat Cookies have been my # one , Cookie for all my 73years. and this is the VERY BEST RECIPE, I have found. My mothers recipes my older sister took, and would not give it to me. Been looking for one mostly like MOM’s for many years …and this …Hit the space in my Heart. Thanks so Very Much. Linda in Tucson.
Maureen says
I just made these and everyone loved them. Wonderful recipe. What is the best way to store these cookies to maintain their fresh pillowy texture?
A quick FYI…I chose your recipe because I have RA and my hands don’t work like they used to. I almost cried when they came out so delicious; and I DIDN’T NEED A MIXER!! Thank you ❤️
Carolyn Shearlock says
Put them in a 100% airtight container, such as a Lock & Lock (latched and gasketed storage containers).