What, no mince pies?

Some time last week I realised that I hadn’t seen a mince pie since early January, and I’m none the worse for it. Not only have I not seen mince pies, but I haven’t seen endless jars of random varieties of barely indistinguishable mincemeat either. Given this dramatic news, I realise that some of my dear readers will suddenly and unexpectedly find themselves thinking of emigrating to Germany. I like some Christmas traditions, and have been known to make my own mincemeat and dozens of mince pies to force on unwary visitors, but I think I probably like the idea of mince pies and being able to make a mess in the kitchen more than I like mince pies per se.

In the light of this enforced mince pie deprivation and not having enough people on whom to inflict my baking, I made some traditional German Christmas goodies: Elisenlebkuchen. (Gluten-free and very more-ish.) It was the first time I ever put a tablespoonful of cinammon in anything. Next time I’ll improvise a bit. Christmas visitors, you have been warned.

First attempt at Elisenlebkuchen.