ABOUT MINCE PIE Mince pie dates back to medieval English baking and came to America with the first settlers. Until the late nineteenth century, Americans considered it the choicest of all pies—an obligatory dessert at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Originally, the central ingredient was minced or finely chopped meat, usually beef but sometimes veal or venison, and in our grandmother’s day meatless mince pies were still the exception rather than the norm. mince pie