Cream Cheese and Pumpernickel Bagels

I think it’s probably been about 30 years since I bought milk from a large-scale commercial dairy at a supermarket. Back when I lived in the central part of the state, I would get milk from Cooper’s Hilltop Farm in Rochdale, MA, and from then on I’ve been devoted to buying milk and cream from small local dairies. When I first moved to Berkshire County, High Lawn Farm was still delivering milk, and I loved having home delivery for over 10 years! Fortunately, even though the delivery service ended, High Lawn is available at all our local markets.

Most recently, when our world changed so dramatically due to the pandemic, High Lawn began to offer farm pick-up service. While we still sometimes buy milk at our local stores, if all we need is milk, we’ve happily driven over to the farm, and have usually added on some other dairy treats, such as cheese, cultured butter, or ice cream! (The black raspberry chocolate chip is my favorite.)

The other day, I saw that High Lawn Farm has started making cream cheese, and so I decided I needed to make bagels.

A few years ago, I attended my first class at King Arthur in Norwich, Vermont, a class on bagels and bialys. Once the world returns to a semblance of normal, I highly recommend these classes! They are phenomenal! I came home with the confidence to try making bagels at home, which I’ve done from time to time ever since. (I’ve also done a class on cinnamon rolls and sticky buns, and another on pizza from the hearth. I’ve only been to the Vermont location, but there are also classes in Washington State.)

This time I decided to make pumpernickel bagels, and while I could provide my recipe, you won’t be able to make them exactly this way, sad to say. One of the ingredients I’ve used is the King Arthur’s Artisan Pumpernickel Flavor which has, unfortunately, been discontinued! I’m so disappointed. I still have a small amount in the freezer for one last batch, but after that I will have to find a way to substitute. Stay tuned – I’ll just have to post again on pumpernickel bagels once I figure that out!

In any event, we enjoyed the High Lawn cream cheese, which has a rich pale yellow color and makes you think it’s butter until you taste it! It’s a bit thick for spreading, but gets nice and melty on a toasted bagel.