Soft Pretzels

Soft Pretzels

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 pkg yeast (or 1 Tb)
1 Tb sugar
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour

Add sugar to warm water then sprinkle yeast on top. Let float for a minute then stir to dissolve the yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes as yeast activates and starts to foam. Add salt and flour and knead 5-10 minutes; adding more flour as needed to reduce stickiness. Divide dough in to 12 pieces and roll each piece into a long rope or "snake". Twist into pretzel shape and place on nonstick baking sheet. Make an egg wash with one egg and a Tb of water, lightly beaten together. Brush pretzels with egg wash then sprinkle liberally with Kosher salt. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

*Soft pretzels just aren't the same the next day. They are still good but not as soft and fresh tasting. I'll tell you a secret though... brush them with melted butter, sprinkle on Parmesan cheese, and toss them under the broiler for a minute and you have a delicious cheesy pretzel snack! Yum!!

I got this recipe off of this blog. Nice recipe blog.

http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/

Samantha

Hot Winter Drinks

I got this off a blog I know. It sounds really good so I thought I would share.

Warm Cinnamon-Orange Cider

1/2 bottle (64-ounce size) apple cider
2 cups orange juice
2 tablespoons red cinnamon candies
1 1/2 teaspoons whole allspice
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons honey

or you can try:

The Hot Spiced Cider Recipe

6 cups apple cider
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cinnamon sticks

Samantha

Pumpkin Spice SugarCookies~

I have not try it yet, but it sound's really good. If any dose try it, let me know how it turns out and I will do the same.
2-3/4 c. flour
1t baking soda
1c butter, softened
1-1/2c powdered sugar
2t pumpkin pie spice
1t vanilla
1 egg

Combine flour and baking soda; set aside. Blend butter and powdered sugar together; add pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and egg. Mix in flour mixture. Cover dough and refrigerate for 2 hours. Roll out and cut into desired shapes or drop them with a regular cookie dropper and flatten them a little with a cup. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen~

Samantha

The Best Pie Crust in the World!

Perfect Pie Crust Recipe

Ingredients

All Butter Crust for Sweet and Savory Pies (Pâte Brisée)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
  
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
  
• 4 to 8 Tbsp ice water

Method

1 Cut the sticks of butter into 1/2-inch cubes and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to an hour (the longer the better) so that they become thoroughly chilled.

2 Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and pulse again.

3 Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape into 2 discs. Knead the dough just enough to form the discs, do not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These small chunks of butter are what will allow the resulting crust to be flaky. Sprinkle a little flour around the discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.

4 Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to keep the dough from sticking. Carefully place onto a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish.

5 Add filling to the pie.

6 Roll out second disk of dough, as before. Gently place onto the top of the filling in the pie. Pinch top and bottom of dough rounds firmly together. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough, pressing together. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with a fork. Score the top of the pie with four 2-inch long cuts, so that steam from the cooking pie can escape.

I have found this recipe to be the best out there! It is simple and easy and tastes wonderful!

Enjoy!

~Sarah Beth

Berry Smoothies

1/2 - 1 cup milk
1 cup mixed frozen berries
1 cup plain yogurt
1-2 scoops vanilla icecream

Put all the ingredients in a blender, milk first. Blend until the berries are in tiny bits, and the whole thing is mixed thoroughly. You can blend it, then turn the blender down to the stir option to let the stuff on top settle down to the bottom, then blend again to blend up what was on top before.

-Carrie

P.S. This is my dad's recipe.

Carrot Puddin'

I know that sounds really weired but it is like a very good bread pudding. I got it out of this cute book called, 'The Giant Carrot: (By) Barry Root'

Combine and blend until smooth:

1 cup peeled and grated carrots
1/2 cup milk
2 whole eggs
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I used a lot more then that)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (with this one too)
2 tbsp melted butter
1 cup honey (or 1 cup brown sugar + 1/4 cup water)

When smooth, stir in gently:

4 slices bread, cut into cubes
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Pour into greased baking dish.
Bake for one hour at 350 degree.
Serve hot or cold in coffee cups.
Delicious with ice cream too, or cream cheese icing.

It is pretty good.
Samantha

Chocolate Marquise ( pronounced, mär-ˈkēz)

For Father's Day I made my Dad three chocolate desserts. This one is my favorite. It is soft and cream, a gentle chocolate flavor and easy to make. Also it would be good with coffee flavor I think but as I have only made it two times I have not tried it that way. And how, here is the recipe.......


7 oz dark/milk chocolate (I used milk both times)
generous 1/3 cup butter
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp (or more :) vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup heavy cream

1: Break the chocolate into pieces (I used chocolate chips) . Place the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and stir until melted and well combined. Remove from the heat and let cool.

2: Place the egg yolk in a mixing bowl with sugar and whisk until pale and fluffy. Using an electric whisk running on low speed, slowly whisk in the cool chocolate mixture. Stir in the vanilla extract.

3: Whip the cream until just holding its shape. Fold into the chocolate mixture. Spoon into 6 custard pots (as you see in the picture, you do not have to do that), or individual metal molds. Chill the desserts for at least 2 hours.

4: To serve, turn out the desserts onto individual serving dishes. If you have difficulty turning them out, dip the pots or molds into a bowl of warm water for a few seconds (like two.. more it is WAY to soft) to help the marquise to slid out. Serve with chocolate-dipped fruit and dust with cocoa. Or server in dish, and not have any side.

Samantha