'Tis the Season to Plan

Or over-planning, really.

I don’t know what happened, but one moment I ask the innocent question of what everyone had any ideas for Christmas treats and suddenly I have a list as long as my arm! It’s fantastic. I will never, ever get round to making it all, but I can dream.

So far, for Christmas day, there is a mincemeat crumble; a chocolate and mint Boston Cream Pie (my personal favourite); of course, since there will be egg whites left from the crème légère, some meringues are de rigeure; cinnamon buns for breakfast and homemade sausage rolls for lunch.

And then there are indulgences for throughout December.

Minced Pies, of course! Lots and lots. The minced meat is fully stocked and a battle plan has been drawn up to get through it all.

Baked apple truffles (not sure these will work, but excited to try them out)

Yorkshire puddings with spiced vegetable stew… I haven’t had it in ages, but it’s a family favourite and I don’t know why we don’t do it more often.

Great-great-grandmother’s ginger biscuits that can only be made in December and the rest of the year talked of in hushed and reverent whispers. It’s the only recipe I will never give up the secret to and the day I was allowed to write it in my recipe book will forever live in my memory.

Caramels

3 types of fudge (vanilla, chocolate mint, and hazelnut). More were about to be added, but I had to put my feet down.

‘Beethoven chocolates’. I don’t know if anyone else does this. They’re little balls of marzipan, with chopped up rum-soaked apricots in the middle of them and a toasted almond on top, covered with chocolate, so kind of like a homemade Mozart chocolate, but with some extra frills… not that Beethoven is especially frilly, but his name seems to have become affixed to these magnificent monstrosities in this household. My mum’s been talking about them since August.

A list of new carrot recipes, about six so far.

Cinnamon and ginger cake, obviously.

Star anise ice cream with candied orange peel. It tastes like being round a Christmas smells when you’re about 5. I swear, it makes the room glow when you eat it. Pure excellence but rather dividing (pretty much exactly 50-50), so I get to eat it into the new year!!!

More is being added to the list daily and I swear I will be put into a sugar coma just by reading it. So, if you need to find me in the next month, I will be passed out in a bowl of chocolate, very happy and very hyped up.