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Lunar Landing

I told Eleanor that today was the anniversary of the lunar landing. After hearing a few news items about it, she decided to celebrate by making "Moon shaped pretzels". Ok, I thought, this doesn't sound dangerous even though I had no idea what she had in mind.

She made them almost all by herself using her grandma's recipe for buns. I was quite impressed by her measuring and mixing---the yeast/sugar mix overflowing the bowl it was in caused a bit of a commotion, but otherwise it was all under her own steam. I wouldn't let her measure for a cake, but bread recipes are notoriously forgiving.*

She kneaded ("knedded") the dough, made it into small "moons" (balls) and put them on a cookie sheet. She really really didn't want to let them rise, so I neglected to turn on the oven until after the moons were complete. Moms are allowed to help that way.

After baking them she melted the margarine (she thought 2 minutes was about right---I had her stop after about 45 seconds...) and we put some powdered sugar into a bowl. To eat your moon, you dipped it in the margarine and then rolled it around in the powdered sugar. A perfect white moon!

*as long as you include the salt.

Here's the recipe:

1/4 c hot water
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp yeast

put hot water in a custard cup. Sprinkle yeast and sugar on top of water. Wait 10 minutes or until yeast is foamy.

2 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Mix flour, sugar and salt in a medium sized bowl.

1 c milk
2 Tbsp butter (or margarine)
1 egg (optional)

Heat milk in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes (Eleanor figured out that this means 1:30 on the microwave screen). Melt butter in hot milk, beat egg and add to milk and butter and stir.

Pour yeast mixture into flour mix, stir. Add milk mixture, stir. Add more flour until it isn't sticky. Knead for 10 minutes, adding enough flour so it isn't too sticky.

Make into kid-fist sized balls and put on a baking sheet. (I would recommend letting it rise for 1 hour.) Preheat oven to 425. Cook for 12 minutes or until golden.

Melt 2 tbsp margarine in a custard cup, put 1/3 c powdered sugar into a small bowl. Dip the moon in the butter and then the powdered sugar. Admire, then eat!

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