Christmas Baking

It’s the second day of December and that means that if I had any intention of doing traditional Christmas baking, I’m already running way too late!

When we were growing up, every year before Christmas, my mother would get together with my two Aunties, Aunty Nancy & Aunty Lucy for a day full of baking hundreds of mince pies, shortbread and almond bread.  My mother would bring the large jars of mince which she had prepared… I’m guessing at least a month earlier.  My cousins and I would spend the day playing together while our mothers churned out factory quantities of baked goodies. Occasionally we would sneak into the house, stealing a mince pie from the table, still warm from the oven.  This is one of those childhood memories that you really only appreciate when you look back with a nostalgic adult brain, and probably even more so because I know that I will never have the joy of sharing a Christmas baking day with my mother.  I am so lucky to have her recipes though and although I doubt I’ll be making her Christmas cake which requires 6 hours in the oven, (and should have been made 2 months ago), or the Christmas Pudding (which I think should have been hanging, wrapped in calico for 2 months already at least), I’ve decided to make the mince so at least we’ll have home made mince pies, and I’ll give half to my sister Lisa.

Tomorrow I’m off to Napoli for a work appointment, so that means I’ll have to mix the ingredients on Friday.  I can’t do it now (even though there is a shop 2 doors down from me that sells everything I need) because the light is fading and my OCD won’t allow me to prepare it without photographing the process!

Have you already finished your Christmas baking? How many weeks or months in advance do you begin? Please share with me your family traditions. (Just praying someone else is running late like me)!