German Bakers

I have a friend here and we've decided we had the same Grandma - since we both grew up eating their homemade pfeffernussen and zwiebach. All the reminiscing about those german foods got me craving them, so I had my parents dig out my Grandma Wiens' old recipes so I could make some myself. And since there's nothing better then passing down family traditions, the kids got to participate in the baking!

Here they are helping me knead and roll the dough for the pfeffernussen (pepper nuts) last weekend. It's a spicy bite-size cookie that when made traditionally is hard as a rock and you just have to suck on it til it becomes soft enough to chew. (Mine aren't that hard - I didn't want anyone cracking a tooth!) The kids LOVE them and they've become a favorite snack and after meal treat.

This weekend, we tried making the zwiebach - a German Mennonite bread. It's made with two balls of dough stacked on top of each other, then my Grandma always used to poke her finger down the middle to make them stick. Izzy got that job today!

The girls helping me roll the balls.

Baking zwiebach!

The first taste! Izzy likes them!

Zach trying his.

Here's a few other random pictures I'll throw out there. Emily decided to "line up" the Buzz toys from her Georgia Tech mobile in the crib after her nap one day.

Their favorite activity - bath time!