Catholic Recipe: New Year's Pretzel

This is a traditional good luck bread served by German families at New Year's.

DIRECTIONS

Mix dry milk, sugar, salt, and water. Sitr in mixing bowl. Stir in yeast until it dissolves. Add eggs and shortening and stir in. Add flour, cup by cup, beating in with mixer on high speed, until about half the four is used. Mix in remainding flour. Knead until smooth. let rise until doubles. Punch down and let rise again (If in haste, skip second rising.) Take half of dough and roll it to form a long strip and shape into a pretzel, twisting once at the center. Repeat with remaining half. Bake about 20 minutes at 350°. Rmove from oven and brush with butter. Frost while still warm with a thin powdered sugar and water frosting. Sprinkle with chopped nuts or decorate with candied cherries, etc., if desired.