Sunday, December 16, 2012

Just reaching for my apron


The third Sunday of Advent is nearly over and time is hastening on. Cards have been sent, gifts bought and the first tentative decoration has been hung from the beam next to the fireplace. Tomorrow I must unearth the crib figures and begin to hang the cards that have been arriving from family and friends, as well as finding the sellotape and the gift wrap. There’s still no rush, but the pace is hotting up slightly, even in the Transit household.

We shall be spending Christmas with DS in Oxford and New Year with DD in Yorkshire, so I have been spared the anxious planning of menus and frantic purchasing of food which seems to absorb so much time and effort for many people.  Instead this week I shall bring out my home-made mincemeat and make a goodly supply of mince pies to take with us next weekend. I’m no great cook, but my mince pies are quietly renowned in the family and I have some lovely new baking trays to make them in.


In addition I fancy trying my hand at Christmas gingerbread this year, using DD’s fail-safe recipe and have even splashed out on some fancy festive cutters. I have a willing recipe tester in DH and my main problem, other than making sure they don’t burn, will be stopping him eating them all before we even leave home.

In this cold and wet weather, with such sad news filling the airwaves, there will be something comforting and sustaining in the scents of mincemeat and pastry, cinnamon and ginger, and the sight of family treats ready to feed the family. Will you be baking too?

Images via Google – I haven’t made mine yet, but the mince pie recipes are on the page above. J

42 comments:

  1. I won't be baking until next weekend - we tend to bake and eat as we go. Like you, I'll be making mince tarts and gingerbread, as well as some other family favourites. I am no shortbread maker, so I hope for a plate from a friend. We'll put the tree up today, and I put the creche out this morning, minus the figure of the Babe. That waits for Christmas Eve and the youngest in the family - still our 25 year old at this point, but I have high hopes for younger ones here for next year!

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    1. Pondside, when the family used to come home for Christmas, I would make mince pies on Christmas Eve, while listening to the carol service on the radio. Now that we go to them, I have to do my baking ahead of time and take it with me. Shortbread doesn't really figure here, so I'm interested to hear that it's an essential part of Christmas for you. I imagine it makes a pleasant change from the richer fruit-filled goodies.

      I do hope you have the younger ones with you next year. :-)

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  2. Perpetua - even if they are images via Google - they look delicious. O/H is diabetic so cakes and pies are a bit in the 'Thou Shalt Not' mode. I tend to make a lot of veggie 'Christmas Dinners' though. I love vegetables so it's not too much of a sacrifice and apart from that, I weighed myself tonight and found that I'd lost the best part of half a stone. (Every cloud ... as they say) Have a lovely Christmas with your family and enjoy the bliss of not having to sort out all the food

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    1. Thanks, Molly. The mince pies actually look very like the ones I make, but I can only hope my trial-run gingerbread will resemble the illustration. :-) It must be hard to have to give up the traditional Christmas treats, so I'm glad you have lots of enjoyable alternatives. I will freely admit that it is a great pleasure to be able to let it all happen around me and just help out when asked.

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  3. I was just thinking what scrumptious looking mince pies Perpertua - still if DH is going to keep testing the pies better to hang on for a bit before you make them.
    Very belatedly I made a Christmas cake today, marzipan and icing on tomorrow.
    Latterly I have had Christmas easy, going to my son in Norway last year, and thought I was going to my other son this year, but they have decided to come here instead.

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    1. I'll be baking my first batch in a day or two, Rosemary, and letting him sample a few, but I'll probably have to put a lock on the tinful meant for DS and his family. :-)

      Well done on the Christmas cake. I bet it's delicious. I haven't made one now for a number of years - ever since we discovered that DD makes it better than I do. Enjoy having your son home for the festivities. Christmas in Norway must have been fun last year.

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  4. I can smell the gingerbread, and all those other wonderful Christmas spices, emanating from your kitchen. As I'm not responsible for any of our Christmas fare this year, I have been thinking about developing some new Christmas cookie recipes.....my daughter arrives home tomorrow.....I envisage some quality kitchen time with her !I hope you have a wonderful week before Christmas P., enjoying every minute of the gradual build up. Jx

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    1. Aren't those Christmassy scents gorgeous, Janice? Whether it's a newly-opened jar of mincemeat (with brandy of course) or any and all of the baking spices, one sniff is enough to transport me. :-) I'm so glad you feel well enough to enjoy the fun of Christmas cookie baking without having all the other hard work to do this year. Do please share the new recipes if they work out as you hope.

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  5. I will definitely be baking !! I hope you enjoy making your mince pies and gingerbread.
    Shop-bought mince pies are nice but home-made ones are so much better. My mum was a wonderful mince-pie baker and my dad says he just can't eat one unless it has boiled over a bit !! I will be experimenting with a variation this year, using cranberries in the mincemeat.
    This is when I miss my mum most of all. She died ten years ago, just four days before Christmas, and Christmas has always been slighlty odd ever since. When the kitchen is smelling divine as the mince pies are baking I will be thinking of her and will be thankful for having had such a nice, normal mum.

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    1. Jean, you're the one person I could be absolutely sure would be baking. :-) I so agree with you about the difference between shop-bought and home-made, especially if the mincemeat is home-made too. I've always made my own mince-pies, but they only became really special when I discovered just how easy it is to make your own mincemeat and how much better it tastes. Your dad would love my mince pies as they do have a tendency to boil over. :-)

      I feel for you with the unbreakable association between your mother's death and Christmas. Both the grandparents I knew died within a couple of weeks of Christmas and nearly 50 years on I still remember them especially at this time.

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  6. I've been baking mince pies already much to my son's delight, and I made some cinnamon stars too (with ground almonds) which were also delicious.

    I like my pies open with not too much filling and quite well cooked. Yum!

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    1. If my children were still at home I would definitely have been baking already, Sarah. How easy is it to buy mincemeat in France or do you make your own? We've always been used to closed pies, but I may try some with little star-shaped tops this year, though I bet they boil over, as we like lots of filling. :-)

      The cinnamon stars sound wonderful. How about posting the recipe on your blog....?

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  7. We'll be having traditional Spanish fare on Christmas Eve - seafood, lamb - no mince pies, no Christmas pud, no Christmas cake...but no sad faces cos we're going to England on 26th where my family has postponed their Christmas dinner in order to await OUR arrival! We'll some of my mum's famous mince pies - she's currently making 10 dozen for her fellow choir members and my dad's stroke club. (Sounds odd - a stroke club...nothing salacious, I assure you!) Hope she makes just a few extra for us! Gingerbread is perfect at Christmas and now you mention it... perhaps I'll make just a few of these - they so capture that Christmas scent! Have a very happy one, Perpetua, you and your family. Axxx

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    1. Ooo, two such different Christmas dinners. Lucky Annie! I always associate lamb with Easter, so to hear of it being traditional fare for Christmas is interesting. I know that in France seafood is also traditionally eaten at Christmas.

      Your mum's marathon pie-baking session takes me back to the days when I would be making them en masse for home, church and my colleagues at work. Ah, those were the days....:-) As it happens I've heard of stroke clubs, as the husband of a friend here attended one for years and had great support.

      Enjoy your twin Christmases and travel safe, Annie. xx

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  8. The smells of your baking are practically piercing through the Internet! Today is present-wrapping day. I've slowly been putting some Christmas decorations out. First comes Father Christmas on the hall table as well as cards around the edge of the large mirror. Last night it was the creche. Tomorrow I hope to do the Buche de Noel and blueberry muffins ... No mince pies for me -- I cheat and M&S do the work!

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    1. That was the idea, Broad. :-) I find smell so powerfully evocative that even the thought of it is tantalising. The majority of the baking will be done later in the week, so that it's fresh to take with us to DS, but I may just try out some gingerbread this afternoon to make sure it works....

      I've never tried making a Buche de Noel, so would be interested in your recipe for another year. The excellence of your blueberry muffins I can attest to from experience. :-) Happy baking.

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  9. I have recently acquired some gingerbread men & Christmas tree shaped silcone moulds and I am going to experiment with some festive shaped mini Parkins. For your American followers Parkin is a Northern England version of sticky dark ginger cake made with black treacle and loads of ginger. My recipe is our grandmother Rosetta's cold mix (and very easy) version but I will have to adjust the timings to suit the small moulds. I will let you know how they turn out.

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    1. What a good idea, PolkaDot! Parkin was always your speciality in our teenage baking sessions and you haven't lost your touch. I shall be very interested in hearing how the mini-parkins turn out.

      The gingerbread I shall be making is a variant of German Lebkuchen, little Christmas biscuits often decorated with icing. DD always makes them for her two boys, as the elder isn't very fond of mincemeat, and Grandma likes to filch a few. :-)

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  10. No baking for me just yet, but I will be co-hosting a party on Saturday, so there's a million hors d'ouevres to make!

    Pearl

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    1. Hors d'ouevres - so good to eat and so time-consuming to make. :-) Will you have any energy left for Christmas baking after all that, Pearl?

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  11. I haven't planned the Christmas food yet ... eek!!! But I'm sure I'll be baking something!

    And I just found a jar of dried fruits in rum at the back of the cupboard, left over from last Christmas ... I think there might be a very boozy cake in our not tpo distant future! If only I could find my Bundt tin, I mean how do you lose something that big?!

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    1. Leaving home complete with Christmas baking on the morning of the 22nd means I have to be a bit more organised than I usually am, Annie. :D

      The dried fruit in rum sounds like the foundation for a superb grown-up cake or pudding, with lashings of whipped cream, of course. As for the Bundt tin, have you stored it inside or underneath something even bigger to save cupboard space? That's how I tend to mislay stuff.....

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  12. I've never tried gingerbread -- note to self to do so; but often make a mince pie or two. No that is not a typo, rather than lots of little pies I use a old fashioned 8" pyrex pie dish which is older than I am and bake a large mince pie. It's just served in slices :-). Sometimes I mix the mincemeat with diced apple to 'lighten' it.

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    1. This will be my first attempt at Christmas gingerbread, Antoinette - will report back on how it goes. :-) My mother often used to use up mincemeat after Christmas by making an open latticework tart for pudding. It was delicious served with custard or cream. My own mincemeat has apple in it anyway, but I also like to stew some of our French apples with a spoonful or two of mincemeat to give it a lovely, spicy flavour. The possibilities are endless....

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  13. Mince pies are not part of traditional Christmas fare in the Czech Republic. But courtesy of several Brits in our congregation & a few who had made purchases at M & S, I enjoyed several as part of our post-Carol Service refreshments on Sunday evening!

    Have a great time with DS & DD over Christmas & New Year. As one who is yet to retire, I shall be working. However, I have got my newly licensed Reader preaching on Sunday 23rd & my American Presbyterian minister colleague preaching at our Midnight Eucharist on Christmas Eve. So I only have to preach on Christmas Day which does relieve the pressure a little.

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    1. Glad to hear that you aren't being deprived of your traditional Christmas goodies, Ricky. One of the (many) reasons for making your own mincemeat is that you can then have mince pies wherever you are. :-)

      Ah, I remember so well all those years of Christmases when we never sat down to eat until at least mid-afternoon. :-) It's such a busy time for clergy, so I'm glad you can share the load with others.

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  14. I hope your baking is going well, Perpetua. Your mincemeat sounds wonderful and good for you for venturing into gingerbread. I make a molasses cookie, which is just like gingerbread cookies. They are so flavorful and smell so inviting as they bake. They are, however, my least favorite cookie to bake. My recipe, well, really Tom's great-aunt's, make about six dozen and seem to take forever. I usually make the dough one night, cut and bake the next day, and frost them the third day. Best get to that soon. For now, I've made fudge and caramels - and I've hid them, mostly from ME! All that to say, I love baking for the holidays and give much of it away as gifts. Enjoy, dear Perpetua.

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    1. Penny, mincemeat is so easy to make and so delicious when homemade that I really must put the recipe up on my blog for those who would like to try it. Christmas cookies haven't been a custom here in the past though this is starting to change and DD always makes them for the son who doesn't like mince pies. Your wide variety of cookies and sweets sound so delicious that I'm tempted to spread my wings a bit more next year if my gingerbread proves a success this Christmas. :-) Mind you, my spreading waist and hips won't thank me, but who cares at Christmas.....?

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    2. Oh, please do put the recipe up when you have some time, Perpetua. I'd love to try them sometime.

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    3. Your wish is my command, Penny. I have the recipe already on my computer, so I'll put it in a separate page you can access from the bar below the blog title. I do hope you have some kitchen scales because I don't do American measuring cups, I'm afraid.

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  15. Ooops. Meant to comment as lifeonthecutoff, but, I think you know it is me.

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  16. I have baked two kinds of cookies, gingersnaps (which are more moist than snap) and a green and pink swirl cookie, and they are ready in my freezer for gatherings and homecomings. I have an electric food "gun" which produces a lovely large batch of Christmas shaped shortbread cookies, or maybe chocolate shortbread cookies, and which I still hope to use before Christmas. Even though our children are all grown, we will go through a good supply of Christmas cookies, and there is also our three-year-old granddaughter to bake for. I'm not sure I will get around to gingerbread people, but I must make a large batch of Caramel Corn before everyone comes home, that's a definite favourite for everyone.
    A good blog topic, Christmas baking, the epitome of Christmas cheer!

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    1. You have been busy, poetreehugger! I love the North American tradition of Christmas cookies, which is also strong in Europe, but not until recently in the UK. Even the names sound mouth-wateringly tempting - chocolate shortbread and Caramel Corn - yum!

      I have to make gingerbread, having bought the cutters specially - so we'll be eating star, tree and bell-shaped biscuits if all goes well. I may even get around to decorating them too, if I can stop blogging for long enough. :-) Mince pies are essential. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without mince pies for out whole family. Enjoy the rest of your baking.

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  17. Nothing like homemade mince pies! I love my Mum's; bought ones are far too sweet. My one Christmas baking effort is to make ginger biscuits for my colleagues, in lieu of individual Christmas cards - will be doing that tomorrow evening. They turn out different every time I make them, but always go down well.

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    1. How very nice to see you here again, Hester. :-) I so agree about the over-sweetness of so many shop-bought mince pies - all that glucose syrup - and they don't have brandy in the mincemeat like mine do.

      What a splendid idea to make ginger biscuits instead of cards for your colleagues. I imagine they are very welcome and remembered long after any card would have been recycled. I know DD sometimes bakes for her colleagues, but don't know whether it's at Christmas.

      Have a wonderful Christmas.

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    2. You have a lovely Christmas too! Thank you for your card and letter. xx

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    3. And your card arrived this morning. The postal service still works. ;-)

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  18. Oh, yes! I love baking Christmas cookies and pies and making holiday meals! May your Christmas be truly blessed and merry, Perpetua, and your pies continue to delight those you love!

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    1. Thanks, Kathy, and I wish the same to you and Bob. I love the fun of special celebration food and meals and though much of the cooking will be done by others this year, I am enjoying my baking. :-)

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  19. Now I feel guilty. Just going down to Lidl for some deep mince pies feels like a chore (it is an hour away), much less baking them myself. Hope you have a lovely time.

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    1. I wouldn't bother feeling guilty, Pueblo Girl. I'm truly no great shakes as a cook (except for soup!) but I really enjoy making my own mincemeat and mince pies and both are ridiculously easy, or I probably wouldn't bother. :-) Think of it as my Christmas hobby. I bet Lidl's mince pies are good. I shop at Lidl a lot nowadays in both the UK and France.

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