Baking has been a part of Clear Lake resident Nancy Fiereck’s life for as long as she can remember. In fact, one of her childhood memories is of her dad mixing up the ingredients for bread before leaving for work in the morning. When the dough raised it was her job to punch it back down, after which her mom would bake it.
Fiereck also remembers her mom baking throughout the week to make cookies for the members of South Santiago Lutheran Church in Clear Lake, who would cross the street on Sundays to meet over at their house while their children attended Sunday School.
“She made everyone welcome,” Fiereck said.
Although her mom did all the baking, her dad was the cook of the house. While he was in the service he was also a cook in the army, stationed in a number of places, including Paris and Switzerland.
Her mom’s baking was a mixture of love and determination, as while giving birth to Nancy she suffered a stroke. Afterward she continued to bake, however it was more difficult for her and she often needed help.
Fiereck carries on the family tradition of baking to this day making goodies for church fundraisers, and in previous years also baking goods for the Sherburne County History Center’s fundraisers.
“I love baking and I wanted to be like her,” said Fiereck. “Pleasing people that were hurting or suffering by bringing them baked goods, something to help nurse them.”
For a number of years she also baked pies for the Clearwater Pie Auction, which raises money for the St. Cloud Pregnancy Resource Center. The last year she participated her pie sold for $250.
The pie auction also includes a best pie contest, and the first year Fiereck entered her mixed berry pie won first place.
“To tell you the truth I made a mistake when I baked that pie,” she admitted. “Instead of nutmeg I accidentally put in cayenne pepper. It added a smoky flavor.”
The next year she made it with the nutmeg the recipe called for and it didn’t place, so the third year she used cayenne pepper and it once again won first place.
A number of years ago Fiereck entered her baking in the Sherburne County Fair and came home with a lot of ribbons. She also entered the State Fair and received a fourth place.
This year she decided to enter the Sherburne County Fair again. She had 15 entries and came home with 16 ribbons, including a Grand Champion for her dat- filled cookies. She had received the recipe from her mother-in-law, Verna.
“Everyone in the family enjoys these cookies and I wanted to pass that legacy on to my children,” said Fiereck. “But her original recipe called for Spry, which is a type of shortening you can’t buy anymore. The texture wasn’t right without it.”
She and one of her sons experimented with changing a number of the ingredients in a bid to get the recipe to come out right. After a number of failures they succeeded.
“The secret is to use three tablespoons unsalted butter and the rest Crisco in place of the Spry,” she shared.
Fiereck also entered the State Fair again this year with a number of her breads and sweet goods, and was awarded first place for her oatmeal five-grain bread.
She’s excited to see what the judges have to say with their critiques of her goods, which they do for the top 25 entries, and says she will enter again next year. But baking for others is still what’s most important to her.
“I always go back to my humble beginnings,” said Fiereck, “What really counts is that we care for one another.”
