Lala Dinsmore: Baking for the church's Christmas Fair, with recipes

The kitchen is at last all clean and shining; the cookie sheets are put away, and the oven is still cooling off after a busy day. This seems to happen to me every year about this time. I put off baking for our church's Christmas Fair...until the last minute; and then I spend about a whole day waiting for the bread to rise so I can bake it, or trying to decide what new and different cookies to make. But it's all done now and I'll even share with you some of my favorite ...The kitchen is at last all clean and shining; the cookie sheets are put away, and the oven is still cooling off after a busy day. This seems to happen to me every year about this time. I put off baking for our church's Christmas Fair...until the last minute; and then I spend about a whole day waiting for the bread to rise so I can bake it, or trying to decide what new and different cookies to make. But it's all done now and I'll even share with you some of my favorite recipes that could be used for this time of year, or any time for that matter.

First, the easiest bread recipe I know with the only disadvantage: It takes time. But if you're going to be baking cookies on the same day, the stove top is a perfect rising place. The recipe is borrowed from Marge Standish's "Cooking Down East" cook book, and I have used it in a previous column and have had requests for it again. So here's: