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CAMP WALDEN ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Camp Walden is an all-girl summer camp in Denmark, Maine, about an hour outside of Portland. You may remember it as the summer camp where Annie James and Hallie Parker — both played by Lindsey Lohan — met in the 1998 remake of the original 1961 film, The Parent Trap . I went to Camp Walden for five summers. We lived in bunks with a dozen or so campers in each, plus two counselors. There was no isolation cabin, like in the 1998 movie. The bunks were set in a horseshoe around a pine-needled knoll called the Grove. Mornings began with the ring of an old-fashioned bell; evenings ended with campfire songs and the traditional “Day is done, gone the sun…” of “Taps.” In between, we played tennis and softball, rode horses, swam, canoed and sailed on the lake (no fencing, though). There were overnight trips, three each summer, in Maine and New Hampshire, where we went mountain climbing, which was a big deal for a girl from New Orleans. At night we watched old Walt Disney movies — including the original Parent Trap , starring Hayley Mills — in the Ark, where we put on Saturday night bunk shows. Walden was run, at the time, by Helen Herz Cohen, known as Miss Herz, who succeeded her aunt, one of the founders, as Camp Director; Miss Herz later became the owner of Camp Walden. Every Sunday, we had schnecken (pronounced shnek-uhn), which is like a cinnamon roll, but on steroids. Schnecken were very popular throughout Germany, Austria and Hungary, where many bakers happened to be Jewish; recipes were brought to America by Germans and German Jews in the 19th century. It is made with a rich, sweet, yeast dough that’s coiled and baked, open side up, in gobs of butter and cinnamon sugar. Walden’s version was topped with raisins and chopped nuts. I can still taste Walden schnecken 30 years later. Which is why, when it came to actually re-creating it for this issue — even with the recipe a Waldenite provided me, and recipes I found online — I knew that something wasn’t right. Our shnecken wasn’t sticky and gooey enough. Before I said “Shneck It!” and gave up, I contacted my sister Courtney, who was a few bunks behind me at Walden, and who still remembers every word to every song we sang at Walden, including one about schnecken (“Schnecken. We love our schnecken. We eat it every Sunday morn …”). If anyone could remember it, it would be Courtney, so I called her to see if she could go from recollection to recipe. She made a few adjustments to the printed Walden recipe, and added more butter and cinnamon to make the rolls gooier. She also suggested a shortcut: Use tubes of store-bought cinnamon dough instead of making your own, and pitch the included icing. Well, Courtney is younger; maybe her memories are fresher, and maybe that’s why she nailed it — because it tasted like Sunday mornings in Maine. — Marcy Nathan, Creative Director

PHOTO BY ROMNEY CARUSO

SCHNECKEN Makes 10 if using Grands, 8 if using small rolls The “Grands” roll out very easily and are best suited to this recipe. You can use the small rolls, but they will not roll out as easily or cleanly. If you use the small rolls, do not cut them in half before rolling out. WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 1 tube Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon Rolls (discard icing) 1 cup butter, melted, plus more if needed

½ cup finely chopped pecans 6 tablespoons brown sugar ½ cup raisins

HOW TO PREP: Preheat oven to 350°F.

Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter, and pour it in a glass baking pan. Set the pan aside. On a cutting board, unroll the cinnamon rolls one at a time and cut each in half. (Do not cut in half if using small cinnamon rolls.) Melt 4 more tablespoons of the butter, and brush inside all of unrolled dough with the melted butter. Then, spread pecans, brown sugar and raisins on top of the buttery dough. Roll each dough back into a bun shape, and place on top of the melted butter in the glass baking pan, packing them closely in the pan. Lightly brush the tops of all rolls with remaining melted butter, melting more if needed, and sprinkle lightly with brown sugar. Place in preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. mouse-pointer Visit www.rouses.com for a traditional (complicated) schnecken recipe.

58 ROUSES WINT ER 2022

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