Hi Cindy! I don't anything beats a wooden rolling pin. I like the french ones as well, they're simplicity in motion. Since you're making pies, a white marble one might be nice for keeping your pastry cold, and it would go with your kitchen. The thing about those is that they're heavy, which you could look at as doing some of the work for you, OR too heavy to handle. (I guess it depends on where you are in your life at the moment!) Rolling pins are a very personal choice, aren't they?

Sunnyco, I'll just bet that's what my mom's rolling pin started out life as! My father made it for her, I'm sure that it was originally a dowel. That's basically what mine is too although it came from Wm Sonoma & was more costly than a closet pole (I'm sure). The edges of the ends are rounded a bit. Demicent, those hollow glass rolling pins are the coolest. I see them at glass shows all of the time but always wondered about their fragility. I guess they'd have to be pretty durable for them to still be around & in use. Nina

My SIL is a professional chef and he gave me a really big pin - 30" long. When I make my triple batch sugar cookies or pizza dough it rolls all of it out at once (but I run out of room to maneuver it on the counter so it is used on the dinette table). I also have a regular sized one for piecrusts and a small 8" one I ostensibly bought for the grandchildren that I prefer to use for the small leftover gathers of dough. I sometimes use my French pin for rolling pasta but I am not fond of it, and I use a teflon pin for really sticky doughs. I occasionally use my antique 3" diam. pin with lovely turned ornate handles. I like to use that because it was my Grandma's and it brings back nice memories (I'm a great-grandma so that is how antique it is). Goodness, I didn't realize how many rolling pins I actually have until this post!!! And, I use them all - that in itself is amazing. My daughter had a marble pin and she says it was only good as a weapon - it squashes everything. She now happily uses a regular sized maple pin. I had a glass pin but found it difficult to work with on chilled dough - I ended up pounding the dough to soften enough to roll. That only makes tough dough, not flaky. I think some heat or friction is needed to meld the flour and butter together anyway. GASP, sometimes I even use lard instead of butter for making it flaky! I refrigerate my pins and lay ice cubes in plastic bags on the rolling surface if I'm making piecrusts. Other doughs I don't worry about being so chilled while rolling. If the dough gets too warm it gets popped back into the fridge to chill out for a while. To each his own. Nancy

I have a weakness for croissants. When I make them I will fill some with a little jam or nut filling (almond is wonderful) and I bake some plain. Chicken salad makes a great filling and if there is still any plain croissants left, I make them into breakfast sandwiches. Croissants Food Network Please Note: The final rise after shaping can take awhile in a cool kitchen. If you put them into a warm oven, be careful! If the oven is too warm it will melt the butter, which will then run out when baking. Ask me how I know... 1 ounce fresh yeast or 1/2 pkg instant yeast 3 1/2 cups unbleached flour 1/4 cup white or packed brown sugar 2 teaspoons salt 1 cup milk, or more 1 pound unsalted butter 2 tablespoons flour, for dusting 1 egg 1 tablespoon milk In a mixer with a dough hook, place the yeast, flour, sugar, salt and the milk and mix for 2 minutes until a soft moist dough forms on the hook. If most of the flour isn't moistened with this quantity of milk, add more, a tablespoon at a time until it is moistened and smooth, using up to 4 tablespoons. Turn mixer on high and mix for another 4 minutes until very smooth and elastic. Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a floured board, cover with a damp tea towel and allow it to rest for 15 minutes to relax the gluten. Remove the towel and, using a French rolling pin, roll the dough into a 10 by 9-inch rectangle 5/8-inch thick. Wrap in plastic then chill for 1 hour and up to overnight. Ten minutes before the dough is done resting in the refrigerator, prepare the butter. Beat it with your rolling pin on a floured surface to soften it and form a rectangle 6 by 8 1/2 inches. Place it between parchment paper or plastic wrap and set aside. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it on a floured work surface into a 10 by 15-inch and 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Brush any excess flour off the dough. Place the shorter side of the dough parallel to the front of your body on the work surface. Place the butter in the middle, long-ways. Fold the bottom up over the butter and brush off any excess flour and then fold the top down over the butter to overlap and encase the butter. Press down lightly with the rolling pin to push all the layers together and make sure they have contact. Continue rolling the laminated (layered) dough to form a new 10 by 15-inch rectangle, patching any holes with a dusting of flour where butter may have popped through. Fold into thirds, like a letter, brush off any excess flour and mark it with an indentation made by poking your finger once at the corner of the dough meaning you have completed the first "turn". Wrap well in plastic and chill 1 hour and up to overnight. Do this again three more times (some people only do 3 turns total, some do 6, some do 3 plus what's called a "wallet" turn for the last one which is a 4 fold turn that's folded into itself like a book jacket) marking it accordingly each time and chilling in between each turn. After the fourth turn, you can let the dough chill overnight, or, for 1 hour, or, roll it out to a 13 by 24-inch square that is a little less than 1/4-inch thick and cut out your croissants and shape them. I roll out my dough and cut it with a sharp large knife into 6-inch strips then cut them into triangles, 4 inches wide at the base of the triangle (or for a more curved croissant cut the triangles 6 inches wide). Stretch these triangles again 9 inches long, then place on the work surface and put a piece of scrap dough in the center of the wide end to enclose, which will plump up the center. Roll the triangles up toward you starting at the wide end and place them 2 inches apart on a parchment lined sheet pan with the tip tucked under and the ends slightly curved in to make a crescent shape. You may freeze the croissants at this point, or, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk and brush the croissants with this egg wash. To proof the croissants, place them in an oven that is warm but not turned on, with a pan of hot water in the bottom to create a moist environment like a proof box. Set aside to proof for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours until puffed up and spongy to the touch. Remove from the oven. Spritz a preheated 425 degree F oven with water, close the door, and get the croissants. Place the croissants in the oven and spritz again, close the door and turn the oven down to 400 degrees F. After 10 minutes, rotate your pan if they are cooking unevenly and turn the oven down to 375 degrees F. Bake another 5 to 8 minutes until golden brown. Traditional Hot Cross Buns (source unknown) serves 12 3 cups flour Note: I hold out about 1/2 C of this flour and add if dough seems too soft) 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. all spice 1/2 tsp. nutmeg cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 egg, beaten 3/4 cup raisins 1/3 cup candied citron fruit Yeast Mixture: 1 Tbs. dry yeast 1 Tbs. sugar 2/3 cup warm milk 1/2 cup warm water 1 cup flour Glaze: 2 Tbs. milk 2 Tbs. water 3 Tbs. sugar Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix all yeast ingredients in a bowl. Set aside and let it foam. Sift flour, salt, spice, and sugar in a second bowl. Add fruits and mix well. Mix butter, eggs and add to yeast mixture. Add yeast mixture to flour mixture. Knead dough on floured surface, 8\-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Divide into 12 equal pieces, shape into round buns. Place rolls close together in a baking pan. Cover and let rise at warm room temperature for 45 minutes. Use a sharp knife to cut an X\-shape on the dough surface. Bake in oven at 425 degrees F for 15\-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on rack. Make glaze by bringing ingredients to boil in a saucepan for 2 minutes. Brush glaze over buns thickly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hot Cross Buns with Dried Sour Cherries www ( ?? ) Yield: 16 buns For Buns: 6 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 cup milk 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves Grated zest of one lemon 1/4 cup warm water 2 packages (1/2 ounce or 4 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast 1 whole egg plus 2 egg yolks 3 1/3 cups all\-purpose unbleached flour, plus more for kneading 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup dried sour cherries 1/2 cup chopped pistachios (I omit) Melted unsalted butter for pan and brushing 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon milk (glaze) For Icing: 1 cup confectioners' (powdered) sugar 1 to 2 teaspoons milk, heated Buns: Combine 5 tablespoons of the sugar, the milk, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and lemon zest in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the milk is hot and the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and pour into a large bowl. Let cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, combine the warm water with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Whisk the whole egg, the egg yolks, and the yeast into the cooled milk. In another bowl, stir together the 3 1/3 cups flour and the salt. Add the yeast mixture, stirring until a sticky dough forms. Stir in the sour cherries and pistachios. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board or countertop and knead until smooth and elastic, 10 to 15 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle with a little more flour. Transfer to a lightly buttered bowl and brush the surface with a little melted butter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft\-free place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Punch down and knead briefly. Re\-cover and let rise a second time, about 30 minutes. Punch the dough down again and knead briefly. Divide into quarters and divide each quarter into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball and place in a lightly buttered 9\-by\-13\-inch pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise a final time until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush the buns with the egg glaze. Bake until golden brown and the buns sound hollow when rapped on the bottom, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon warm milk in a bowl. Stir until smooth, adding another 1 teaspoon milk if needed to achieve a smooth consistency. Spoon into a pastry bag or a lock\-top sandwich bag, seal, and snip off the tip of one corner. Squeeze the icing from the bag, piping a cross over each cooled bun. Serve the buns at room temperature. Nancy