Thank you thank you thank you...I made some mince pies last week, got distracted so they over cooked and were a complete disappointment and actually my efforts at them often are, so this is just perfect for me! I shall bake and eat giving thanks all the while to your Mum and You - not just for the recipe but for your great words that I enjoy reading each week too.
The poem is lovely, the sentiment of holding our departed loves close is just how I see it. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas Lyndsey Xx
Thank you so much Vicky! A Merry Christmas to you too. I really do hope you like the mince pies if you do get round to making some, They do freeze really well so stick some raw in the freezer if you won’t eat 24 all at once. The pastry is very short, it melts in your mouth, absolutely delicious. Thank you again for all your kind words and support since I’ve been on here, it really is appreciated. Lots of love, Lindsey x
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe Lindsey. It will allow others to enjoy it as much as you all have. I loved the poem and have to agree Delia takes a lot of beating at Christmas, I used to make her cake every year. It was all part of the build up and the only cake I could bake 😘😘
I feel a bit guilty Jo as I have stopped making a Christmas cake. I always used to but I seem to be the only one eating in all through January. But that Christmas book comes out every year - I like the list of all the store cupboard things like turkey foil, I always forget that! We have such a quiet Christmas with just the three of us, but it’s very stress free and I am looking forward to it this year. As long as the turkey comes out OK that’s all that matters! x❤️
Beautiful poignant post Lindsey how lovely to have such beautiful memories of your mum. I love how your posts jog my memory too. My mum died at 68 an age I’ll be next year, so much of my life she wasn’t around for but as your poem suggests she’s around she’s in everything I do and born out of her is a great line. I have two recipes in her handwriting one is Christmas pudding and the other Christmas shortbread. Sadly I don’t make the pudding anymore because the family didn’t really eat it so I’ve given up. She was also a great cook and I use her Delia Smith Christmas cookbook every year it’s out on the counter as we speak and I know she’d smile at that. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
Oh I love this, Liz, a kindred spirit indeed. Yes, I have the book out too although long gone are the days I used to faff about making all those fancy appetisers and sweets, it sounds terrible but I really don’t think anyone notices I now buy a stollen instead of making it, I think we make a rod for our own backs sometimes. I do make the mince pies and the log as my son loves a chocolate cake but I don’t make a Christmas cake or a pudding for the same reason as you. I am so happy my posts remind me of your dear mum and can understand how precious those two handwritten recipes must be, make sure you take a photo of them in case they ever get mislaid! x
So lovely to be able to share this! Delia’s Christmas is still my go-to book for all things festive. I’ve seen a few recipes for mince pies which include cream cheese; I’ve never tried it, but I think I should!
Oooh, you definitely should, David, they are delicious. I think it’s the pastry in my mum’s recipe that makes them though, it is so short and light, it melts in your mouth. Try the sweetened cream though, it is really good. Thank you so much for the restack too. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, David, hope 2025 is all you wish for. x
So generous of you to share this recipe with the masses! Question for you: does the mincemeat you buy have meat in it, or do you just get the kind with only fruit?
Wonderful memories, Lindsey and a beautiful poem too. Thank you so much for sharing. I’ve been making mince pies this afternoon. Your mum’s recipe sounds delicious and just a little bit different 😊
Thank you Annie. I find them quite therapeutic to make now I don’t have to make hundreds. There are so many recipes for mince pies and Christmas cakes, I think we tend to stick to what works well and what we know. It’s a bit like cooking the Christmas turkey, every year I think I am going to cook it differently but I always end up sticking to Delia’s method I have been doing for about 25 years. I am sure your mince pies are delicious Annie! ❤️
“I carry her life in me” that is so beautiful Lindsey and lovely that you can enjoy this magical season once more.
The mince pies do sound delicious although I have made the same recipe for years with a Viennese piped topping which are also in great demand. One year I made 24 dozen of them for various people… never again. I might try your filling recipe with my pastry and see how that turns out!
Ooh, they sound delicious too, Gina, I do love a Viennese whirl! Goodness, 24 dozen, your wrists must have been dropping off. I have bought a couple of packets from different shops this year just to see what they are like and the pastry is always awful, even the ones from M&S and Waitrose. Do try the cream cheese filling, I know it sounds a bit weird but I thinks it works really well. Happy Cooking Good Looking, as my mum used to say. xxx
The poem is so lovely - like your lovely mum, I suspect. Thank you for sharing the beautiful glimpses of her life and of yours with her, and for the recipe. I am going to make it before Christmas!
Oh, if you do, AnnMarie, please let me know what you think, it’s lovely to think someone else will be making them. Thank your for your kind words too, I was very lucky to have such a lovely mum. x 🎄
Your poem gave me chills, I love it so much. So beautiful. And thank you for the recipe! I shall go out and buy a food processor as I keep meaning to buy one for my Spanish house (and I need a new one in Switzerland too as mine died). I look forward to making your mum's mince pies with my mama next week when both my parents arrive. I am so lucky to still have them both with me! I am sending you big, big hugs, Lindsey! Cesca xx
Oh, that a lovely thought, Cesca, my Mum’s Mince Pies in Spain!!! She would have been thrilled. I couldn’t ever imagine a time when I would be without my parents and I always tell people to make the most of the every minute with theirs. Saying that, I am aware not everyone has the same relationship with their parents as I did, I feel very fortunate that we were so close. Have a magical time with your parents when they arrive! And thank you for liking my poem, that is the icing on the cake. x
Philadelphia cream cheese sounds rather unusual but I’m intrigued to try them Lindsey. Although, your poem about your dearest mum is of heartache and loss, it’s also full of the delight that you experience in everyday things around you. Enjoy your mince pie and tipple of sherry in her memory! 🙏❤️
Oh I really hope you try them, Meryl, they are fabulous but I am rather biased! I don’t drink sherry at all during the year but Christmas doesn’t seem the same without it - I always have a glass when I am decorating the tree too, all good excuses! Have a lovely day. ❤️
Lovely story that so many of us who’ve lost our beloved mothers to the cruelty of dementia can share. As an American and one who doesn’t bake at the holidays (or ever..), mince pies are not a holiday memory but your story and recipe may spur me on to try something new and wonderful. My mother was a fabulous cook and when I was young baked what she called “mince meat pie”at full size, along with rhubarb pie- the rhubarb grown in our yard (garden for you). Your story brings back memories of her old-school recipes from 50+ years ago, thank you!
I am so pleased the story brought back happy memories of your mum, Sally. What a cruel, cruel thing it is to watch the person we love so much disappear from us in such a merciless way, my heart goes out to anyone who has gone through losing someone to dementia and it takes some time to forget those last years that for a while overshadow all the many much happier memories. I would love to hear if you manage to bake something for the holidays, do let me know if you try something, you might find out you love cooking after all! x
Thank you thank you thank you...I made some mince pies last week, got distracted so they over cooked and were a complete disappointment and actually my efforts at them often are, so this is just perfect for me! I shall bake and eat giving thanks all the while to your Mum and You - not just for the recipe but for your great words that I enjoy reading each week too.
The poem is lovely, the sentiment of holding our departed loves close is just how I see it. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas Lyndsey Xx
Thank you so much Vicky! A Merry Christmas to you too. I really do hope you like the mince pies if you do get round to making some, They do freeze really well so stick some raw in the freezer if you won’t eat 24 all at once. The pastry is very short, it melts in your mouth, absolutely delicious. Thank you again for all your kind words and support since I’ve been on here, it really is appreciated. Lots of love, Lindsey x
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe Lindsey. It will allow others to enjoy it as much as you all have. I loved the poem and have to agree Delia takes a lot of beating at Christmas, I used to make her cake every year. It was all part of the build up and the only cake I could bake 😘😘
I feel a bit guilty Jo as I have stopped making a Christmas cake. I always used to but I seem to be the only one eating in all through January. But that Christmas book comes out every year - I like the list of all the store cupboard things like turkey foil, I always forget that! We have such a quiet Christmas with just the three of us, but it’s very stress free and I am looking forward to it this year. As long as the turkey comes out OK that’s all that matters! x❤️
Beautiful poignant post Lindsey how lovely to have such beautiful memories of your mum. I love how your posts jog my memory too. My mum died at 68 an age I’ll be next year, so much of my life she wasn’t around for but as your poem suggests she’s around she’s in everything I do and born out of her is a great line. I have two recipes in her handwriting one is Christmas pudding and the other Christmas shortbread. Sadly I don’t make the pudding anymore because the family didn’t really eat it so I’ve given up. She was also a great cook and I use her Delia Smith Christmas cookbook every year it’s out on the counter as we speak and I know she’d smile at that. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
Liz xxx
Oh I love this, Liz, a kindred spirit indeed. Yes, I have the book out too although long gone are the days I used to faff about making all those fancy appetisers and sweets, it sounds terrible but I really don’t think anyone notices I now buy a stollen instead of making it, I think we make a rod for our own backs sometimes. I do make the mince pies and the log as my son loves a chocolate cake but I don’t make a Christmas cake or a pudding for the same reason as you. I am so happy my posts remind me of your dear mum and can understand how precious those two handwritten recipes must be, make sure you take a photo of them in case they ever get mislaid! x
Oh yes good idea, have a lovely week xx
So lovely to be able to share this! Delia’s Christmas is still my go-to book for all things festive. I’ve seen a few recipes for mince pies which include cream cheese; I’ve never tried it, but I think I should!
Oooh, you definitely should, David, they are delicious. I think it’s the pastry in my mum’s recipe that makes them though, it is so short and light, it melts in your mouth. Try the sweetened cream though, it is really good. Thank you so much for the restack too. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, David, hope 2025 is all you wish for. x
Likewise 🙏✨🌿
So generous of you to share this recipe with the masses! Question for you: does the mincemeat you buy have meat in it, or do you just get the kind with only fruit?
It's just the fruit one, Ilona. It is a strange name isn't it! x
Wonderful memories, Lindsey and a beautiful poem too. Thank you so much for sharing. I’ve been making mince pies this afternoon. Your mum’s recipe sounds delicious and just a little bit different 😊
Thank you Annie. I find them quite therapeutic to make now I don’t have to make hundreds. There are so many recipes for mince pies and Christmas cakes, I think we tend to stick to what works well and what we know. It’s a bit like cooking the Christmas turkey, every year I think I am going to cook it differently but I always end up sticking to Delia’s method I have been doing for about 25 years. I am sure your mince pies are delicious Annie! ❤️
“I carry her life in me” that is so beautiful Lindsey and lovely that you can enjoy this magical season once more.
The mince pies do sound delicious although I have made the same recipe for years with a Viennese piped topping which are also in great demand. One year I made 24 dozen of them for various people… never again. I might try your filling recipe with my pastry and see how that turns out!
Ooh, they sound delicious too, Gina, I do love a Viennese whirl! Goodness, 24 dozen, your wrists must have been dropping off. I have bought a couple of packets from different shops this year just to see what they are like and the pastry is always awful, even the ones from M&S and Waitrose. Do try the cream cheese filling, I know it sounds a bit weird but I thinks it works really well. Happy Cooking Good Looking, as my mum used to say. xxx
The poem is so lovely - like your lovely mum, I suspect. Thank you for sharing the beautiful glimpses of her life and of yours with her, and for the recipe. I am going to make it before Christmas!
Oh, if you do, AnnMarie, please let me know what you think, it’s lovely to think someone else will be making them. Thank your for your kind words too, I was very lucky to have such a lovely mum. x 🎄
Will do!
Your poem gave me chills, I love it so much. So beautiful. And thank you for the recipe! I shall go out and buy a food processor as I keep meaning to buy one for my Spanish house (and I need a new one in Switzerland too as mine died). I look forward to making your mum's mince pies with my mama next week when both my parents arrive. I am so lucky to still have them both with me! I am sending you big, big hugs, Lindsey! Cesca xx
Oh, that a lovely thought, Cesca, my Mum’s Mince Pies in Spain!!! She would have been thrilled. I couldn’t ever imagine a time when I would be without my parents and I always tell people to make the most of the every minute with theirs. Saying that, I am aware not everyone has the same relationship with their parents as I did, I feel very fortunate that we were so close. Have a magical time with your parents when they arrive! And thank you for liking my poem, that is the icing on the cake. x
Philadelphia cream cheese sounds rather unusual but I’m intrigued to try them Lindsey. Although, your poem about your dearest mum is of heartache and loss, it’s also full of the delight that you experience in everyday things around you. Enjoy your mince pie and tipple of sherry in her memory! 🙏❤️
Oh I really hope you try them, Meryl, they are fabulous but I am rather biased! I don’t drink sherry at all during the year but Christmas doesn’t seem the same without it - I always have a glass when I am decorating the tree too, all good excuses! Have a lovely day. ❤️
Lovely story that so many of us who’ve lost our beloved mothers to the cruelty of dementia can share. As an American and one who doesn’t bake at the holidays (or ever..), mince pies are not a holiday memory but your story and recipe may spur me on to try something new and wonderful. My mother was a fabulous cook and when I was young baked what she called “mince meat pie”at full size, along with rhubarb pie- the rhubarb grown in our yard (garden for you). Your story brings back memories of her old-school recipes from 50+ years ago, thank you!
I am so pleased the story brought back happy memories of your mum, Sally. What a cruel, cruel thing it is to watch the person we love so much disappear from us in such a merciless way, my heart goes out to anyone who has gone through losing someone to dementia and it takes some time to forget those last years that for a while overshadow all the many much happier memories. I would love to hear if you manage to bake something for the holidays, do let me know if you try something, you might find out you love cooking after all! x
Thank you so much for the restack, Catharine. 🎄