random recipes

I'm always telling people that I'll post the recipes I tell them about on my blog...so here are a few that we've enjoyed the past few weeks.

NO YEAST PIZZA
1 c. flour 1/3 c. milk 2 tbsp. oil 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt Combine all ingredients. Gather in a ball. Knead 10 times. Let stand 15 minutes. Put dough on a greased cookie sheet. Cover with wax paper and roll. Remove paper. Top with favorite toppings. Try it with no sauce, bacon, broccoli, tomato, seasoned with a little garlic and topped with cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees.

(perfect for those last minute dinners when you don't have time to wait for pizza crust to rise

Auntie Anne's Pretzels

The first Auntie Anne's pretzel store in 1988 at a Pennsylvania Amish farmer's market. Over 500 stores later Auntie Anne's is one of the most sought after recipes around, especially on the Internet. Many of the clone recipes for Auntie Anne pretzels passed around the Internet require bread flour and some use honey as a sweetener. But by analyzing the Auntie Anne's home pretzel-making kit, we've discovered a better solution than any clone recipe out there. For the best quality dough, you just need all-purpose flour and powdered sugar works great to perfectly sweeten the dough. Now you just have to decide if you want to make the traditional salted pretzels, or the sweet cinnamon-sugar coated kind.

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 TB plus 1/4 teaspoon yeast
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 2TB powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups baking soda
1/4 cup butter, melted
kosher or pretzel salt

Bath: 4 cups warm water

Toppings:
Salted: Kosher or pretzel salt
Cinnamon Topping: 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a small bowl or cup. Let sit for a few
minutes.
2. Combine flour, powdered sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add water with yeast and vegetable oil. Stir with a spoon and then use your hands to form dough into a ball. Knead the dough for 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface. (Dough will be nice and smooth when ready). Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover
it, store in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until dough rises to double in size.
3. When dough has risen, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Make a bath for the pretzels by combining the baking soda with the warm water
and stir until baking soda is mostly dissolved.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 8 even portions. Roll each portion on a flat non-floured surface until it is about 3 ft long. Pick up both ends of the dough and give it a little spin so the middle of the dough spins around once. Lay the dough down with the loop nearest to you. Fold the ends down toward you and pinch to attach them to the bottom of the loop. The twist should be in the miiddle.
6. Holding the pinched ends, dip each pretzel into the bath solution. Put each pretzel on a paper towel for a moment to blot the excess liquid. Arrange the pretzels on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. If you want salt, sprinkle pretzels with kosher salt or pretzel salt. DON'T salt any pretzels you plan to coat with cinnamon sugar. You will likely have to use two baking sheets and bake them separately. Bake the pretzels for 4 minutes and then spin the pan around and bake for another 4-5 minutes or until the pretzels are golden brown.
7. Remove the pretzels from the oven and let them cool for a couple of minutes. If you want to eat some now, brush them with melted butter first before serving.
7a. If you want the cinnamon sugar coating, make it by combining the 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl. Brush the unsalted pretzels with melted butter. Sprinkle a heavy coating of the cinnamon sugar on the pretzels over a large plate.

Makes 8 pretzels.

These are the best pretzels ever!!!
Try them - you won't be sorry and you'll wish they made more than eight!