Soft Pretzels

I am salivating as I write this about walking past an Auntie Anne's Pretzels in the mall and getting that wonderful yeasty bread and cinnamon sugar smell. These were definitely just the thing to get my fix for that! And a fun Saturday project as well.

I enjoyed making these just as much as I enjoyed eating them. As for the flavors, I'm sure you can come up with a million other ideas! I followed 17 and Baking's cue and did cinnamon and sugar, parmesan cheese, salt, and almond and brown sugar. They all turned out excellent, but I think my favorite was the cinnamon and sugar! Big surprise on that one...



Soft Pretzels
From 17 and Baking who adapted from Martha Stewart and Smitten Kitchen

Pretzels
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
5 to 6 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons canola oil
¼ cup baking soda
1 large egg

Toppings
Sea salt or pretzel salt
Cinnamon and sugar
Grated Parmesan cheese
Brown sugar mixed with water and chopped almonds

Add the warm water and 1 tablespoon sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer. Use the dough hook and stir to combine. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit for 10 minutes, until the yeast is foamy.

On low speed, mix in 1 cup flour until combined. Mix in the salt and four more cups of flour until combined, about 30 seconds, then beat on medium-low speed for 1 ½ minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead in another ½ cup of flour for a minute on low speed. Depending on your dough, you can knead another ½ cup of flour. Knead for 30 seconds, until combined, then transfer to a floured board and knead 10 times until smooth.

Coat the sides and bottom of a large bowl with oil. Transfer the pretzel dough to the bowl, turning it so that all sides of dough are coated with oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm spot for an hour, or until the dough doubles in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line two to three baking sheets with parchment paper, or spray with cooking spray.

Punch down the dough. Knead it once or twice on a lightly floured surface, then divide into sixteen 2 ½ ounce pieces. Keep the pieces wrapped in plastic so they don’t dry out.

Roll each piece of dough into an 18 inch long strip and twist into a pretzel. Place on the prepared baking sheet and cover with a kitchen towel. Let the pretzels rest for 15 minutes.

Fill a large, shallow pot with a couple inches of water and bring to a boil. Add the baking soda (it’ll foam up) and the last 2 tablespoons of sugar. Reduce to a simmer and poach the pretzels – cook 3 to 4 at a time, a minute on each side. Transfer to the baking sheet with a slotted spoon.

Beat the egg with a tablespoon of water and brush over the poached pretzels. You can sprinkle them with toppings – grated cheese, cinnamon sugar, salt, etc. Bake the pretzels until golden brown, 12-15 minutes, and cool on wire racks. Mine kept for several days in a tupperware.

Black Bean and Corn Salad

This was an easy and delicious salad. I just love when basic, but delicious foods and flavors come to together! I added the jalapeno at the final second and was so glad I did because it added a little kick to it! I served this as a side to fish, but I used the leftovers as a salad add-in for my lunches the rest of the week, which worked out just perfectly!

Black Bean and Corn Salad

1 can black beans, drained
2 cups corn kernels (fresh if possible)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 jalapano, seeded and diced
1 tablespoons chopped, fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine the beans, corn, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, jalapano and cilantro in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the lime juice and olive oil. Spread dressing over vegetables and toss to coat.

Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Spice likes to joke with me that I am 7/8ths correct a lot of the time. And its true. Most notably this happens with lyrics. We will be singing along to something and Spice will stop and listen to what I am singing and just shake her head. I can't help it, though. I get so into the song that I neglect to figure out the words and just sing what I think they are. Now, other times I get some brilliant ideas that really get a 10 out of 10 rating. And this is one of those times.

With my recent whoopie pie pan addition to the kitchen, I am on a whoopie pie kick. And with fall rolling in, I thought carrot cake would be just the ticket. Add some orange cream cheese frosting, a little salted caramel sauce and some candied pecans and, gosh darn it, you have got a mighty delectable little dessert!

These were very fun to make and extremely pretty to look at once the caramel was drizzled on. I used the same caramel recipe from the salted caramel milkshakes and it was swoon-worthy!



Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Carrot Cake:
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 pound large carrots, peeled
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons nonfat buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray whoopie pie pan with cooking spray.

Using the smallest holes (less than 1/4 inch in diameter) of a box grater, grate carrots, yielding 2 1/2 cups. Place carrots, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, vegetable oil, and ginger in a large bowl; whisk until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the carrot mixture until combined.

Place about 2 tablespoons of batter into each whoopie pie hole in the pan. Bake about 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing the cakes from the pan. Wash pan and re-spray with cooking spray. Repeat until batter is finished.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Martha Stewart

3/4 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 Tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
1/2 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
Pinch of salt

Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium0high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, and beat until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add the remaining ingredients and beat 5 minutes more.

Salted Caramel Sauce
Food and Wine

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup and bring to a boil. Using a wet pastry brush, wash down any crystals on the side of the pan. Boil over high heat until a deep amber caramel forms, about 6 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and carefully whisk in the cream, butter and salt. Let the caramel cool to room temperature.

Candied Pecans

1 cup pecan halves
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Heat sugar and oil in a large skillet over medium heat until sugar melts and starts to bubble. Mix in pecans and stir until nuts are toasted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and spread in an even layer to cool completely.

To Assemble

Pipe frosting onto half of the flat sides of the cakes. Top with the other half after all frosted.

Drizzle caramel sauce over cakes and top with candied pecans.

Éclairs

These  éclairs were such a fun project! I knew when I saw these on Annie's Eats that I was going to make them. I'd probably only had one or two éclairs in my life before I made these, so I don't have a lot to compare to, but they tasted dream-like to me!

 I am fairly obsessed with the pastry cream that went inside these. I couldn't stop "testing" it with my finger. It went perfectly with the dough and the sweet chocolate glaze on top, which I doubled for extra chocolatey goodness.

I really enjoyed these best the day I made them, but I brought them to work several days later and people were singing my praises still!



Éclairs with Mocha Pastry Cream
From Annie's Eats

For the mocha pastry cream:
1½ cups half-and-half
6 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. sugar, divided
Pinch salt
1½ tsp. espresso powder
3 large egg yolks
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
½ tsp. vanilla extract

For the pâte à choux:
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg white
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
2 tbsp. whole milk
6 tbsp. water
1½ tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup all-purpose flour

For the glaze:
6 tbsp. half-and-half or heavy cream
4 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped or in chip form
2 cups (4 oz.) confectioners’ sugar, sifted

To make the pastry cream, heat the half-and-half, 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of the sugar, and the salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.  Once the mixture is warm, whisk in the espresso powder.  Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and remaining 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the sugar has begun to dissolve and the mixture is creamy, about 15 seconds.  Whisk in the cornstarch until combined and the mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 30 seconds.

When the half-and-half mixture has reached a simmer, slowly add it to the egg yolk mixture to temper, whisking constantly.  Return the mixture to the saucepan, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Return the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a few bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened and glossy, about 30 seconds.  Off the heat, whisk in the butter and vanilla.  Strain the pastry cream through a  fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl.  Press plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.

To make the pâte à choux, whisk the eggs and egg white in a liquid measuring cup.  You should have ½ cup (discard the excess).  Set aside.  Combine the butter, milk, water, sugar and salt in a small saucepan.  Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring once or twice.  When it reaches a full boil and the butter is fully melted, remove from the heat and stir in the flour until incorporated and the mixture clears the sides of the pan.  Return the saucepan to low heat and cook, stirring constantly, using a smearing motion, until the mixture is slightly shiny, looks like wet sand and tiny beads of fat appear on the bottom of the pan (the mixture should register 175-180˚ F on an instant-read thermometer.

Immediately transfer the mixture to a food processor and process with the feed tube open to cool slightly, 10 seconds.  With the machine running, gradually add the reserved eggs in a steady stream.  When they have been added, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then process 30 seconds more until a smooth, thick, sticky paste forms.

Adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.  Fit a pastry bag with a ½-inch plain tip.  Fill the pastry bag with the pâte à choux.  Pipe the paste into eight 5 x 1-inch strips, spaced about 1 inch apart.  Use the bake of a teaspoon dipped in water to even out the shape and smooth the surface.

Bake 15 minutes without opening the oven door, then lower the oven temperature to 375˚ F and continue to bake until golden brown and fairly firm, 8-10 minutes longer.  Remove the baking sheet from the oven and cut a ¾-inch slit into the side of each éclair to release steam.  Return the pan to the oven, turn off the oven, and prop the oven door open with the handle of a wooden spoon.  Dry the éclairs in the turned-off oven until the centers are just moist and crisp, about 45 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make the glaze, place the half-and-half and chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 20 seconds at a time, until the mixture just begins to steam.  Whisk together thoroughly, add the confectioners’ sugar and whisk until completely smooth.

To assemble the éclairs, add the pastry cream to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip.  Pipe the pastry cream through the slit in the side of each éclair to fill it completely. I ended up going through the tip of the pastry as well as the side. Dip the top of each éclair in the chocolate glaze.  Transfer to a wire rack and allow the glaze to set.  Serve within several hours.

That Loving Feeling

I'll say it, I miss home. I miss hanging out with my sisters all the time, I miss Peg and Jim being ridiculous, and I miss an endless pantry full of food (that I don't have to pay for!)

Time to time you are going to get home sick and after dealing with it for a few years now I know that the only cure for the sickness is  making something that reminds me home. This recipe is from my grandma, and I do not remember having a family gathering without it. In fact it was one of the recipes I made sure to master before I left for college knowing that I would need it and use it for the rest of my life. Eating these little guys gave me just the taste of home I was looking for and will hopefully hold me over until I get to see my fam at Thanksgiving.

Chocolate Pie is gooey and delicious and perfect. This recipe does not focus on the crust, in fact go ahead and buy a frozen or a cookie crust, nobody will care because all the focus will be on the perfect pudding filling.  You can top it with cream, berries, powdered sugar, or just eat it plain. I can promise you, you will not be disappointed.



Chocolate Pie

Tooley Style

1.5 cups sugar
1.5 cups milk
1 beaten egg
dash of salt
4 tbsp corn starch
4 tbsp cocoa
chunk butter
1 tsp vanilla

In a large saucepan over medium heat whisk sugar and milk together. Once the mixture starts to heat up add in the beaten egg. From this point on you will have to whisk vigorously. Add in the cocoa and once it is completely incorporated add in the corn starch. It will start to thicken pretty quickly, keep on whisking until you reach the desired texture, which for me is super thick and creamy. At this point remove the pudding from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Fill shell and let cool in the fridge for a hour or two (if you can make it that long)

As you can see I made mini pies, using a half batch of the above pudding recipe. This pudding keeps for about a week but I promise you it will not last that long.

Buttermilk Onion Rings

For the start of college football season last Saturday, I felt like we needed some fried snack food. And of course, who pops up on my tv that morning but Bobby Flay making some delicious onion rings. Sold.

These were a great snack. They probably should have counted as a meal because we ate so darn many! I loved the way soaking the onions in the buttermilk mixture made them a little bit softer but still had that crunch! I will definitely make these again. Just what I need, another favorite fried food!

Buttermilk Onion Rings
Adapted from Bobby Flay on Food Network

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Pinch cayenne

Salt

1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut crosswise into 3/4-inch slices

2 cups peanut oil

2-3 cups all purpose flour seasoned with salt and pepper

Combine buttermilk, flour, cayenne and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Soak the onion rings in the batter for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Heat oil in a large saucepan to 375 degrees F. In batches, remove onion rings from batter and dredge in the seasoned flour mixture. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and season immediately with salt.

Salted Caramel Milkshakes

Once upon a time there was a restaurant in New York that made Salted Caramel Milkshakes. (Yup, you read that right. Salted. Caramel. Milkshakes.) One day a girl (I'm the girl, the jig is up) tried one of said milkshakes and burst with joy. From then on she was obsessed with trying to make one of her own. She succeeded and lived happily ever after. The end.

Salted Caramel Milkshakes

Vanilla Ice Cream:
Alton Brown

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Combine all ingredients (including the bean and its pulp) in a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Attach a frying or candy thermometer to inside of pan. Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to 170 degrees F. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove the hull of the vanilla bean, pour mixture into lidded container and refrigerate mixture overnight to mellow flavors and texture.

Freeze mixture in ice cream freezer according to unit's instructions. The mixture will not freeze hard in the machine. Once the volume has increased by 1/2 to 3/4 times, and reached a soft serve consistency, spoon the mixture back into a lidded container and harden in the freezer at least 1 hour before serving.

Salted Caramel Sauce:
Food and Wine

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

3/4 cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup and bring to a boil. Using a wet pastry brush, wash down any crystals on the side of the pan. Boil over high heat until a deep amber caramel forms, about 6 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and carefully whisk in the cream, butter and salt. Let the caramel cool to room temperature.

For the Milkshakes:

Place 2 cups vanilla ice cream, 3/4-1 cup milk (depending on your ice cream consistency), 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a blender. Run until combined.

Salmon Turnovers

I am obsessed with fish at the moment. By "at the moment" I mean for the past few months. Needless to say, when I saw this recipe from Alton Brown for Salmon Turnovers, I knew they were going down in my kitchen toute de suite.

They turned out delicious, but lets be serious here, anything you wrap in puff pastry dough is bound to be yummy. Now, if you want to get really funky with your bad self, try making your own puff pastry, which I have yet to do (but don't worry, its on the list!). I loved how this was pretty much an entire meal  in itself and how easy it was!  This will definitely be on my make again list!



Salmon Turnovers
Alton Brown

1 sheet puff pastry

Flour, for dusting

1 can boneless, skinless, salmon

1/2 cup Sauteed mushrooms

1 to 2 tablespoons sour pickle relish

1 cup cooked white, brown or fried rice

2 to 3 chopped scallions

1 tablespoon parsley leaves, chopped

Salt and pepper

1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly flour the countertop. Roll puff pastry so there are no seams. Cut into 4 squares.

In a bowl, combine salmon, mushrooms, pickle relish, rice, scallions, parsley, salt, and pepper. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of each square. Brush inside edges of puff pastry with egg wash and fold over to make a triangle. Using a fork, seal the edges. Poke a slit or two in the top of each turnover. Brush tops with egg wash. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Yellow Cake Cupcakes with Sunflowers

These were an impulse-bake. I wanted to take advantage of a few cool days here in New York and decided to give some cupcakes and decorating a go! What a loverly way to usher in fall.

The cupcakes were great, definitely on the dense side, so very similar to Magnolia's cupcakes if you have had those. The decorating was fun, too! Of course, it's from Hello, Cupcake!, of which I have several copies if you are ever in need. I am ashamed to say that I used canned frosting. BUT only because I knew it would hold its shape better than what I would have made. The sunflowers were fairly easy to make, as well, especially if you have a leaf-tip for decorating. My favorite part has to be the ladybugs...what a cute idea!



Yellow Cupcakes
The New Best Recipe

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg, plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position; heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with paper or foil liners.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer. Ad the butter, sour cream, egg, yolks and vanilla and beat the wet ingredients into the dry at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and stir by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.

Divide the batter evenly among the cups of the prepared tin using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop or a spoon. Bake until the cupcake tops are pale gold and a toothpick or skewer isterted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Use a skewer or paring knife to life the cupcakes from the tin and transfer to a wire rack; cool the cupcakes to room timperature, about 45 minutes. Makes 12 cupcakes.



For the Sunflowers
From Hello, Cupcake!

12 vanilla cupcakes
2 cans vanilla frosting
Green, yellow, orange and black food coloring
12 regular chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies (Oreos)
12 red M&M's

Tint 1 1/2 cups of the vanilla frosting green with the food coloring. Spread an even layer of the green frosting on top of the cupcakes and smooth. I added some green sanding sugar here to the frosting, but that is entirely optional. Arrange the chocolate sandwich cookies over the cupcakes, pressing them into the frosting to secure.

Tint the remaining vanilla frosting bright yellow and with food coloring. Remove 1/2 the yellow frosting and tint it orange with the food coloring. Secure a pastry bag with a leaf tip. Spoon the orange frosting into one side of the bag and spoon the yellow frosting into the other side of the bag. Press out the excess air and seal the bag. Pipe the yllow-orange frosting around the edge of each cookie to make petals. Pipe another circle of petals just inside the first and slightly overlapping.

Tint about 1/4 cup of the vanilla frosting black with the food coloring and spoon it into a small ziplock bag. Press of the excess air and seal the bag. Snip a 1/16-inch corner from the back. Pipe a dot of black frosting on each cookies and attach the red chocolate candies to make the ladybugs. Pipe a line of black frosting down the center of each ladybug and add a dot for the head and a few dots on the back.

Blackberry Frozen Yogurt

This was a great addition to my ice cream arsenal! With a few blackberries to use up, frozen yogurt was the perfect choice! It brought back summer memories from childhood for me, standing in line at the waterpark.

This frozen yogurt was very tart with both the blackberries and yogurt. But tart is good with frozen yogurt! I think the chocolate chips were a great addition too, but I just love a little crunch in my ice cream! This one was very creamy, almost like an actual ice cream, but used just yogurt.

Blackberry Frozen Yogurt
Adapted from Erin Cooks

2 cups fat free Fage yogurt
1 cup full fat Fage yogurt
3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups blackberries
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix together the yogurt, sugar, and vanilla. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Puree the blackberries in a food processor and than strain through a fine mesh sieve to separate the liquid from the seeds. Stir 1 tablespoon of sugar into the berry puree and also refrigerate for 1 hour.

Thoroughly combine the frozen yogurt base with the berry puree and freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pour in the chocolate chips during the last 5 minutes of churning.