Magical Mince Pie for Luck and Love at Yule-tide

It is said that the number of mince pies that you taste over the Yule-tide Season, (Popularly know as the 12 days of Christmas), will equal your number of months of happiness in the coming year. So this pie can be eaten between Yule and Twelfth Night.  It is best never to cut mince pies, or you "cut" your luck. But if you do get the first slice of mince pie, you can make a wish. 

The poet Edward Lear, from the "Owl and Pussycat":

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runicble spoon;
And hand in hand, at the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the Moon.

Ingredients:

1/3 lb. beef boiled                       1/2 cup candies citrus rinds
2 tablespoons suet                 1 1/2 cup chopped apples, peeled
1 cup beef broth                    1 orange with rind, ground
2/3 cup brown sugar             1/2 lemon with rind, ground
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon              1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon clove                         1/3 cup currants
1 teaspoon nutmeg                     1/4 cup cognac
1/2 teaspoon salt                         1/4 cup rum

Grind the Beef and suet. Place in a large sauce pan. Stir in the beef broth, brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, salt, rinds, apples, orange, lemon, raisins, and currents. Simmer until the apples are soft, about an hour. Cool. Stir in the cognac and rum. Poor into a sterilized jar that has a lid. Cover and age at least 3 months in the refrigerator before using. 

To bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pour the mincemeat into a 10 inch pie crust. A top crust will keep the pie moist but is optional. Bake for 30 minutes. 
Yield: One 10 inch pie.

Magical associations: Protection, passion, happiness, luck wishes. 

Mince pie is indicative of Yule-tide, but the passionate energies associated with this pie might make it appropriate at a Great Rite of Hand-fasting Ceremony.

Good Luck, Good Love, and Good Magic,
Lory