pretzel memories

I did something last week that I've been wanting to do for a long time...
I made soft pretzels with the kids...

Yep...I'm Martha...
totally 100% Martha...
...
only that's a lie...
I'm not...
...we just have to remember the cake pop incident of '12 to know I'm not Martha!

the reason I have never made them before is because I was scared...
it's bread...which equals yeast...and that's always a little iffy...
it's rolling and shaping of the dough...with children involved...
you have to boil them in a brine...
yes...a brine...
....that's freaky!
and then the egg wash
and all with kids...

yep...no, thanks I'll pass...

but I really wanted to...

I kept pinning soft pretzel recipes...
I would read them and re-read them...
even though they look scary with the whole brine thingy...
they also looked very easy....
but then I would remember the cake pop incident of '12 and then remind myself that just because the other bloggers think it's easy doesn't mean it is easy!

Well I did it...
I took the leap and made pretzels with the kids...
I followed this recipe from Alton Brown/Food Network
(my slightly altered recipe posted below)
it was great...
the dough...super simple...

the creating pretzel shapes with the kids...fun..not super easy...but fun
AND the dough is very forgiving, and even though the boy child played created with his dough for a LONG time it wasn't any worse for the wear, I couldn't even tell which 2 were his over-loved creations when they came out of the oven.

the scary brine...easy peasy!

egg wash...no biggie...just a small simple step
and the kids...
they LOVED it...loved it so much we did it three days in a row!

yes...THREE days in a row...
day one...loved them but only had table salt and that was too much salt..
day 2...I got the right salt...but Beau made the dough and I didn't tell him the right amount of butter (Alton's recipes is in oz not tablespoons)...so it was a bit too rubbery of dough for the knots so we opted for bites instead-AMAZING...
day 3...cinnamon pretzels for breakfast-yes please!

Homemade Soft Pretzels
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/4 teaspoon yeast (1 package active dry yeast)
4 1/2 cups flour
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Pam (the baking spray...not the lady) for spraying
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons melted butter
Pretzel salt or Cinnamon & Sugar

Directions
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam.
Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined.
side note...I was summoned to the back yard at this point to see the snake that the boy child had found...and I left the mixer going...I have no idea how long I was gone... I came back and the dough was smooth and pulling away from the side of the bowl...so I never upped it to medium speed...
Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then spray with Pam (the spray...not the lady). Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and spray with Pam...the spray not the lady!

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface (I just sprayed the counter and let the kids go to town) and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel...or skip the knot and make pretzel bites by cutting them into 1-2 inch squares (we did bites the 2nd time we made these...just as yummy!).  Place onto the parchment-lined pan...(or spray the bee-jeezus out of the pan...DO NOT opt for wax paper...just sayin')

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 or 2 at a time (for bites I would say between 10-15), for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to cookie sheet, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture, if topping with Pretzel Salt (Course Sea Salt...not table salt, if you don't have pretzel salt skip the salt...and take my word for it that table salt was TOO much!) sprinkle it now. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at about 5 minutes.

For Cinnamon & Sugar Pretzels:  Wait 2-5 minutes for pretzels to not be too hot, brush the tops of warm pretzels with melted butter and turn upside down/butter side down into a bowl with bowls with cinnamon & sugar

Devour Eat pretzels while still warm...and enjoy with the family!

this is the pictures you get when you ask your husband nicely
 to snap a picture of the kids enjoying their pretzels!

Sorry for the lack of pictures of all the steps...I was enjoying the pretzel moment with my kids and didn't stop and take pictures along the way!

Have you ever made homemade soft pretzels?
How about bagels...I think bagels are next on my list!...

ChambersMade Public Service Announcement

PSA
Parchment paper is NOT wax paper...
I repeat....it is NOT wax paper...

You may or may-not be a cheapskate frugal like me and have stood in the aisle looking at the price difference between the parchment paper and the wax paper...
and then because you are a cheapskate frugal you opt for the wax paper...
if you by chance have opted for the low-class frugal version of parchment paper aka wax-paper you may or may-not add a wonderfully family-bonding moment to any and all baking creations...
this is the step we like to call
'did-you-get-all-the-paper-off-before-you-eat-it' step
or more commonly knows as
 'removing the non-parchment-paper paper from the bottom of your baked creation'!

If you do not have parchment paper because you are cheap frugal
AND you feel you may want to avoid the above mentioned family bonding moment
do not
I repeat do not opt for the wax paper...
just go ahead and skip the whole 'paper' step and just spray the bee-jeezus out of your pans...

so just to recap

Wax paper...not good for lining baking pans...
(however it is great for covering bowls of stuff you are heating up in the microwave!)
Let me know what else you use wax paper for...?

Parchment Paper...use this when it calls for it...not wax paper... or spray unhealthy amounts of chemical spray on your baking sheet/pan...but do not...do not use wax paper!


THE END!

cake pop

my version...
making a popsicle flavor cake...

Creamsicle Cake

okay...confession...

a Scone-ful week

So I had this idea last week that I'd do a few English sounding recipes because of the royal wedding and all...
and then I did none of them...because I won't post a recipe that I haven't actually made so since I never got around to making any of them I couldn't post them...
and by English recipes I mean scones...
and scones and a few more scones...

all that blabbering to say, that I finally got around to making these yummy scones yesterday for breakfast
and it's actually my own recipes because I totally tweaked the recipe I was following so much that it's nothing like the original!

oh, and if you've never made scones before, please do...
they are so easy to make and so worth it!
think sweet biscuit...
and if you've never made biscuits SHAME ON YOU!

nothing like a nice warm scone right out of the oven with your cup-o-Joe...
and I'm always amazing at how many scones my kids devour daintily eat for breakfast!
and hey, whole wheat, fruit (dried cranberries are a fruit right), dairy (yogurt)...that's a well rounded breakfast!

Cherry Vanilla Scones

1 cup dried cherries 

     or my cheater cheap version 

     1 cup cherry flavored dried cranberries

2 teaspoons vanilla*

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour 

     (or go with 2 cups of whatever you have,

      I like to have some wheat so it seems healthier)

3 Tbl brown sugar (or raw, if your going the healthy route)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup butter, cut into pieces

1 teaspoon orange or lemon lest

1 beaten egg yolk

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 tea vanilla

1 recipe Vanilla Glaze, recipe follows

     (optional, I didn't make so you don't see it in the picture)

Place dried cherries (or cranberries) into small bowl, pour 2 teaspoons vanilla over the top and then pour enough boiling water over them to cover.  Let stand for 5 minutes and then drain well.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine flours, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  Using a pastry blender cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Toss in orange zest and drained cherries/cranberries; until coated. 

In a small bowl combine egg yolk, yogurt and vanilla.  Add mixture all at once to flour mixture, using a fork stir until combined.  Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface   Knead dough by folding and gently pressing dough for 10-12 strokes.  Pat into a 1 inch circle and either cut into 12 wedges or cut circles using a biscuit cutter.

Place scones onto an ungreased baking sheet, bake in a 400 oven for 7-9 minutes.

Vanilla Glaze

mix together 3/4 cup powder sugar and 1 tbl vanilla until you have  a drizzling consistency.

*Vanilla Tip...not sure if I've ever shared my tip for cheap good vanilla.  Buy it from a Mexican Grocery...I buy my big bottle for $8...Yep $8 for 33.7 oz of Really Mexican vanilla or $4 for 8 oz of imitation Safeway vanilla???

this little shopping secret allows me to use lots more vanilla which, in my opinion, is the key ingredient in many baking recipes!

don't have any idea where a Mexican Grocery is...either google it or look it up in the old fashion yellow pages, or talk to someone at your favorite Mexican restaurant...the Mexican store I go to is in the small shopping center as one of our favorite Mexican restaurants!

Easy Christmas Cookies IV

Okay...so not sure if anyone but my mom has noticed that I stopped posting Easy Christmas Cookie recipes...
2 reasons...
...I got really busy this week...too busy to bake and then blog about it
...I really don't need any more treats in this house...I can hear myself getting fatter....
...and well...wasn't sure anyone cared because I wasn't getting any responses to my Easy Christmas Cookie posts...oh, woe is me....
guess that's 3 reasons....

so this one's for you mom!
this is a stretch in the 'cookie' department...
and in the 5 ingredient department too....

but I love scones so much and they are so easy...
and the cranberry orange scones just SCREAM Christmas to me...
...I just want to share...
and these are even easier than the normal scone!
I used the Trader Joe's Buttermilk Pancake mix as a base for the scone, how EASY can it get!

okay...
Scones
3 3/4 cups Trader Joe's Buttermilk Pancake Baking Mix
1/2 cup salted butter
3 Tbsp sugar
1 cup cold milk
*Mix-ins (listed at the bottom)

add baking mix and sugar to a large bowl.  Using a pasty cutter, cut butter into the mix until lumps resemble coarse meal.  Add milk and stir together until moistened.  Place dough on a floured work space and knead  5 times to form a ball.

...here is where I like to change up the scones...traditional scone shape is triangle wedge...to make the wedge you can form your ball into an 8 inch circle and cut it pie style into wedges...but I like to take a real small biscuit cutter and make small bite sized scones...and I think these bite sized scones are better for the Christmas Cookie alternative, they look nice and sweet on a plate with other Christmas Cookies...

Place scones on a greased sheet pan, bake in a 400 degree oven for 8- 10 minutes...or longer if you are doing the large wedge style, until they are golden brown....serve warm with butter and jam... or glaze with vanilla glaze.

vanilla glaze
mix vanilla and powder sugar together until you get a nice smooth glaze consistency...drizzle over scones...

*mix-ins....this is where the 5 ingredients gets hazy...

I like to make Orange Cranberry scones this type of year...

1 tsp of orange peel zest (finely grated orange peel)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp vanilla

add the orange zest to the baking mix before cutting in the butter
put the cranberries and vanilla into the milk and allow to sit for 5 minutes...pour the milk out and mix it into the baking mix/butter combo...add the milk & vanilla soaked cranberries when you get ready to knead the dough, and just knead them in...

Lemon Scones...just add 1 tsp of lemon zest...and then glaze scones with lemon glaze
lemon glaze (powder sugar mixed with lemon juice until you have a nice drizzling consistency)
add some poppy seeds for a lemon poppy seed scone

Chocolate Chip Scones
add 1 tsp of vanilla to milk
knead in 1/2 cup chocolate chips when kneading dough

so many options for changing these up...just enjoy...

Genius Cupcake Lady

okay, this might not be genius status...

okay, so this is probably something EVERYONE but me has done...

okay, it's probably something that they write on the back of the box and I just have never read it...

anyways...
here was my morning 'ahh ha' moment...
one of the things I hate about making cupcakes is filling the cups all up...and the mess that comes along with that!
so, I, with the help of my husband
     it takes 2 people, one to hold the bag and one to pour the filling into the bag,
filled a large ziploc baggie full of the cake batter
snipped off a corner

and wa-la...filling cupcakes became so much easier...
I filled 30 cupcakes in under 2 minutes...okay, maybe 2.5 min...