Bake For Family Fun Month

Bake For Family Fun Month originated in February 2002. The Home Baking Association has dedicated this occasion to the great taste, good nutrition, economy and family fun of home baking. We love to bake fresh, homemade meals, cookies, breads, etc. in the Dixon home. Lady Rachel is the resident baker and keeps us in yummy treats year-round!

English Muffins
by Miss Hannah

I got up today at 6:00am with Miss Rachel, and we made English Muffins! People eat these for breakfast, you can put jam on it, you can cut the muffin into halves and put it into a pan (after you cut the middle out) you can put a egg in there, and make Muffin Fried Egg. We make those they are very good. English Muffins are very good to eat with breakfast, you can have them with eggs and pancakes and bacon, (or whatever you want). The recipe is good, because we don't have to put much flour in it! We made English Muffins today, we made them for Sunday when Daddy's off of work! We made them for him mostly, they are so good! And here is the recipe that I was going to give you.

English Muffins:
­­­­­­­1 package of regular or quick-acting active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105 to 115)
3 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour
1/4 cup shortening (or oil)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal

Dissolve yeast in warm water in 2 1/2-quart bowl. Stir in flour, shortening, honey and salt until is absorbed and dough cleans side of bowl. Turn dough onto floured surface. Knead lightly just until easy to handle, 5 to 10 times. Roll 1/4 inch thick, adding flour to surface, if necessary, to prevent sticking. Cut into 3-1/2 inch circles.
Sprinkle ungreased cookies sheet with cornmeal. Place circles about one inch apart on cookie sheet; sprinkle with cornmeal. Cover and let them rise for about an hour until light and airy. (Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched; dough does not double.)
Heat ungreased electric griddle. We use the oven, pre-heating it to 375*. We cook them for about 7 minutes on each side of the muffin. The muffins are done the side is a light brown colour. Remove them from the cookie sheets and cool them on a wire rack. Split them in half and serve with butter or jam or both. The makes about 12 muffins.

English muffins can also make an egg sandwich for a simple breakfast - simply make a fried egg and take two halves of an English muffin and place the egg in the middle of the two pieces. You can also use the English muffins to make mini sandwiches of peanut butter and jelly, or turkey sandwiches. Just think of something creative and try it out. I am sure there are many ways you can use English muffins to create a lovely snack or breakfast.

Miss Hannah, 9 years old and the 4th daughter in a family of 8 children, is a regular contributor to GGM. She delights in serving her family, reading books, and playing with her favorite dolls. She enjoys being home, feeding the goats and chickens in the barn, playing with her baby sister and brothers, crocheting, and helping in the kitchen. You can find out more about Miss Hannah at Resting in the Arms of Grace.

English Matrimonials
by Miss Alyssa

We found this recipe in 'The 50 Best Oatmeal Cookies in the World' by Honey and Larry Zisman. Since then, we’ve made English Matrimonials several times; everyone in our family really likes them!

I have altered the recipe somewhat. Here are the ingredients I used for this batch:

2 cups unbleached flour
2 cups uncooked rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup (light) butter
1 cup boysenberry preserves (you can use any kind of jam/preserves~preferably seedless)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Mix the oats, brown sugar, flour, and butter together. Please do not overstir. The mixture should be crumbly.

3. Press half of the batter onto the bottom of a lightly greased 8 or 9 inch square pan. Spread preserves over batter. Press remaining batter on top of preserves.

4. Bake for 40 minutes or as they usually say, until golden brown. Remove from oven, let cool, and cut into squares.

Warning: The preserves inside will be very hot so please be careful.

Enjoy :)!

Miss Alyssa, a 15 year old homeschooler, is interested in writing and film-making for the glory of God and the furtherance of His Kingdom. She is passionate about reaching the unreached with the Gospel. She blogs at One Nation Under GOD.