One of my new year’s resolutions is to try a new bread recipe every Monday. I’ve been making our regular bread with our home-ground wheat for the past year, so I’m definitely ready to branch out!

On January 4th I tried the pretzel recipe in “Wildflour” by Denise M. Fidler. We use this book for many of our ground-wheat recipes. (The bread we make regularly was adapted by Momma from this book.)

Due to the hard work and copyright of the author, I won’t be posting the recipe, but I highly recommend “Wildflour” to anyone interested in grinding their own wheat.

Now for the pretzels. . .

The most delightful part was rolling out the chunks of dough into long floppy snakes and twisting them into the familiar and beloved pretzel figure.

How to twist a pretzel:

1. Using your hands, roll out the dough into a snake, about 2 feet long. (If the surface of the dough has dried a little, you can lightly rub it down with a bagel wash [1 c. warm water + 1/4 c. baking soda] while you roll it out.)

2. Take the two ends and switch them twice.

3. Then press them onto the opposite side of the pretzel.

4. Dip them in the water/baking soda mixture. Place them on the pan and sprinkle them with sea salt. (Table salt works fine. That’s what I used.)

These homemade pretzels were very tasty, especially with strawberry cream cheese. I’d also like to try making homemade strawberry cream cheese from strained low-fat yogurt and homemade strawberry jam. We’ll see how that goes.  :)

Don’t you love baking for the holidays? I’ve made pies before, but never my own pie crust. The recipe I used was from my dear Aunt Lou. It was very easy to make, but I did have quite the time trying to get the hang of it!

Pie Crust:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup + 1 Tbs shortening
- 2-3 Tbs cold water

“Mix the flour/salt together, cut in the shortening really well with a pastry blender and then sprinkle in 1 Tbs of water at a time as you mix with a fork til it miraculously wants to cling together, then you can form it into a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk before you roll (on the clock, 12, 6, 3, 9, 2, 8, etc.).”

Edit: This recipe makes two pie crusts for two one-crust pies.

Here are some pictures of my first homemade pie crust experience:

Yeah . . . this was my first. Looks scrumptious, eh? After I trimmed the edges it didn’t look too bad, so we let it slide.

The second . . . not so much.

We decided it would be a good idea to try again. I wadded it back up, threw it in the bowl, added another tablespoon or two of water and kneaded it once more.

There we go. :)

And little crimped edges, too!

The kitchen smells so good when pumpkin pie is in the oven. Mmm!

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Check out my Aunt’s blog for more pie recipes, and especially this wonderful Sugar Cream Pie recipe.

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“Toast and Cream”

Toasted bread, thoroughly punctured with a fork. Oh, and a good sprinkling of sugar . . .

. . . And milk poured over the top. Mmmm!

Extra good with homemade bread!

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Toast and Cream Recipe:

- Two slices of homemade bread
- Spoonful of sugar
- Enough cold milk to soak your bread

Toast your bread till it’s golden brown. Place toast on a plate and puncture with a fork until the tops of both pieces are covered in holes. Sprinkle a spoonful of sugar over both pieces (you may use more or less as you wish). Pour the milk over your sugared toast until they’re soaked through.

Grab your fork and enjoy!

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This used to be my very own secret recipe. . . but then I started sharing it, so now it’s really no secret. Actually, the original recipe was from a friend, but the first time I made it I messed it up, and voila! They turned out really well and are quite fabulous, if I may say so. (This is the recipe I used for the cookies in this post.)

In a large bowl mix:
- 1 cup Crisco oil
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. water
- 2 eggs

In a smaller bowl mix:
- 2½ cups flour
- 1 tsp. soda
- 1 tsp. salt

Combine both mixtures and add one 12 oz. pkg. of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Use a small scoop to place them on lightly greased sheets, and bake at 375º for 8-10 minutes. Be sure you take them out of the oven just before the edges turn golden. Yields approx. 60 cookies?

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And don’t forget to share them!

I discovered I really really really like mocha.

Mommy found a delightful mix for instant mocha and I must share it with you all. I am looking forward to chilly icy days in January, curled up next to a heat radiator, studying History, sipping up my sweet little mug of frothy chocolate.

The Perfect Hot Mocha Mix (Half Gallon Mix Recipe)

1/2 cup instant coffee granules
3 cups powdered coffee creamer
2 1/2 cups dry milk powder
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups instant chocolate milk mix

All you have to do is stir all of these ingredients together and keep it in a sealed container. Just add 1/3 cup of dry mocha mix to one cup of hot water.

And enjoy!