Feeding our feathered friends in winter can be fun, easy, and economical when you create your own homemade suet balls!  

Ingredients:

-1 pound lard or fat
– 3/4 cup peanut butter
-1/2 cup flour
– 1/4 cup cornmeal
– 1 cup sugar
– approximately half a loaf of bread crumbs
– 1-1/2 cups of mixed seeds, nuts and chopped dried fruits

Directions:

Melt the lard and peanut butter over low heat. Mix flour, cornmeal, and sugar and stir in.
-Add enough bread crumbs to absorb all liquid.
-Add fruit, seeds, and nuts as desired.
-Pour into a 9 x 5″ bread pan (lined with plastic wrap), or pour into suet cake molds.(molds can be saved from store-bought suet.) -Allow to cool completely.
-Keep refrigerated or in a cool place like a basement.

One batch makes about four cakes.

When you’re snowed in, (as many of us were last week here in Ontario), why not create a treat for the birds?! Kids love to help with this too – Have fun!