Pretzels

Due to the flooding in Iowa, the dental school was closed this past week and Erin used her extra time to try making homemade pretzels. I was very impressed and thought I'd post this unique recipe. Making these would be a fun family/group activity. Note that this recipe is from a bread machine cookbook (Better Homes and Gardens) and so the dough was made in our bread machine.


Place the following ingredients in your bread machine and select the Dough cycle. Those listed are for 1 1/2 lbs. (those in parenthesis are for 2 lbs.):

• 1 cup (1 1/3 cup) milk
• 2 T. (3 T.) water
• 1 T. (4 tsp.) cooking oil
• 3 cups (4 cups) bread flour
• 2 T. (3 T.) sugar
• 3/4 tsp. (1 tsp.) salt
• 1 1/4 tsp. (1 1/2 tsp.) active dry yeast

When dough cycle is complete, remove dough. Punch down. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Grease 2 large baking sheets; set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the 1 1/2 lb. dough into a 12 x 8" rectangle. Cut lengthwise into sixteen 12 x 1/2" strips. (Roll 2 lb. dough into a 12 x 11" rectangle; cut lengthwise into twenty-two 12 x 1/2" strips.) Gently roll the strips into 16" ropes.

Shape each pretzel by crossing 1 end of a rope over the other to form a circle, overlapping about 4 inches from each end. Take 1 end of dough in each hand and twist once at the point where the dough overlaps. Carefully lift each end across to the edge of the circle opposite it. Tuck ends under edges to make a pretzel shape; moisten ends and press to seal. Place on the prepared baking sheets. Do not let rise.

Bake in a 475 degree oven for 4 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, generously grease another 2 large baking sheets; set aside. In a large pot bring ~8 cups of water + 2 T. salt to boiling. Add pretzels, 3 or 4 at a time, and boil gently for 2 minutes, turning once. Using a slotted spoon, remove pretzels from water and drain on paper towels. Let stand for a few seconds. Place pretzels, about 1/2" apart, on the prepared baking sheets.

In a small bowl combine 1 slightly beaten egg white and 1 T. of water; brush over pretzels. Sprinkle with coarse (kosher) salt and/or sesame seeds. (Note: I recommend making a few with cinnamon sugar.)

Bake in the 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheets; cool on wire racks.

Triple Chocolate Torte

I've been in a cake mood lately and was excited to try this recipe that Erin got from her parents. Erin made it mostly on her own (while I helped with some mixing and, of course, sampled the batter and frosting at various times just to make sure it wasn't poisoned). We took it to a dinner party at my parents' house. Served with Breyer's vanilla ice cream, it was a hit.

• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk (or sour milk)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9" round baking pans. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. In a large mixer bowl, stir together remaining 1 cup of sugar. Flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt. Add oil, buttermilk, and egg yolks and beat until smooth. Gently fold egg whites into batter. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 25-30 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched in the center. Cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and place on wire racks. Cool completely.

Filling:

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1 1/2 cup cold whipping cream
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a small mixing bowl, combine sugar and cocoa. Add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat on low until blended, then beat on medium until stiff. Once made, keep the filling chilled.

With long serrated knife, cut each cake layer horizontally in half (to make a total of 4 layers). Spread one layer with 1/3 of the filling. Top with second layer of cake and repeat, ending with a plain layer of cake on top. Prepare chocolate glaze.

Glaze:

• 3 T. butter or margarine
• 3 T. light corn syrup
• 1 T. water
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a small saucepan, combine butter, corn syrup, and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips, stirring until melted. Cool to room temperature.

Spread glaze over cake and be as creative as you like with additional decorating (Erin and I drizzled with white chocolate). As the base of the filling is whipped cream, it is best to keep refrigerated when not serving.

BYU Mint Brownies

As a student at BYU, I was a big fan of the mint brownies that were served in the dorm cafeteria and that could be purchased at the Cougareat Food Court. I was excited to find this recipe in BYU Magazine.

• 1 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 T. honey
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 T. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Mint Icing:

• 5 T. margarine
• dash of salt
• 3 T. milk
• 1 T. light corn syrup
• 2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. mint extract
• green food coloring (several drops)

Chocolate Glaze:

• 6 T. butter
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Make brownies: Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool.
2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring (until it is a nice green color). Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.
3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen icing.
4. Prepare chocolate glaze: Microwave butter and chocolate chips together at 50% power until just melted, stirring occasionally. Add vanilla and stir.
5. Remove mint-covered brownies from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate glaze.

Toasted Butter Pecan Cake

Erin made this cake last night. It is another recipe from Taste of Home magazine. If you don't like pecans, you definitely won't like this cake. But, in my opinion, any recipe with lots of butter, sugar, and pecans must be a winner!

This recipe calls for a total of 2 2/3 cups of chopped pecans. As you can see from the picture, it is loaded with them. I think you could easily get away with using quite a bit fewer and still have it be delicious (maybe 1 to 1 1/2 cups in the cake and then a few pecans sprinkled on top for appearance). Also, this recipe makes a ton of frosting. Either frost it extremely generously, or expect to have quite a bit of frosting left over.

• 1 1/4 cups butter, softened, divided
• 2 cups chopped pecans, toasted
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup milk

Frosting:

• 2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 package (2 lbs.) powder sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 to 3 T. milk
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted

In a small heavy skillet, melt 1/4 cup butter. Add pecans; cook over medium heat until toasted, about 4 minutes. Spread on foil to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar and remaining butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Beat just until combined. Fold in pecans. Pour into three greased 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

For frosting, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, powder sugar and vanilla. Beat in enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with pecans. Store in refrigerator.

Sweet 'n' Tender Cabbage Rolls

Picture from Taste of Home magazine

Erin and I found this recipe in Taste of Home magazine. We made it together and it is one of my new favorite meals! Basically, they are meatballs wrapped and cooked in cabbage and a delicious sauce. The hardest part about making them is wrapping them in the cabbage leaves, but it is also kind of fun. It is cooked in a crockpot and so it works perfectly if you prepare them the night before and cook them the next day. If I were feeding a family, I would probably make two batches. For just the two of us, Erin and I made one batch but only cooked half of them. We froze the other half and cooked and ate them several weeks later. They froze well and tasted great even the second time around!

By the way, the reason I say the mushrooms are optional is because I don't like mushrooms. I don't think that I'm a picky eater, but after nearly three decades of trying things and trying them again, there are a couple of foods that I am confident that I don't like (e.g. mushrooms & olives).

• 1 large head cabbage


• 2 eggs, beaten


• 1/2 cup milk


• 2 cups cooked long grain rice


• 2 jars (4 1/2 oz. each) sliced mushrooms, well drained (OPTIONAL)


• 1 small onion, chopped


• 2 tsp. salt


• 1 tsp. dried parsley flakes


• 1 tsp. dried oregano


• 1 tsp. dried basil


• 1/2 tsp. pepper


• 2 lbs. lean ground beef

Sauce:

• 2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce


• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar


• 2 T. lemon juice


• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Cook cabbage in boiling water just until leaves fall off head. Set aside 14 large leaves for rolls. (Refrigerate remaining cabbage for another use.) Cut out the thick vein from the bottom of each reserved leaf, making the V-shaped cut.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, rice, mushrooms, onion and seasonings. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Place about 1/2 cup on each cabbage leaf, overlap cut ends and fold in sides, beginning from the cut end. Roll up completely to enclose filling.

Place seven rolls, seam side down, in a 5-qt. slower cooker. Combine the sauce ingredients, pour half over cabbage rolls. Top with remaining rolls and sauce. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Pecan Pie

Pecan Pie is probably my favorite kind of pie. For a long time I have been wanting to learn to make a good, traditional pecan pie. Well, I discovered that they are much simpler to make than I ever expected. This recipe is from Joy of Cooking.

You may use either light or dark brown sugar and either light or dark corn syrup, depending on your taste. I used light brown sugar and half light and half dark corn syrup. The recipe also calls for 2 cups of pecans, but 1 1/2 cups was plenty. Pecan halves look more traditional, but I used the more finely chopped pecan pieces. I think they make the pie easier to cut into slices and, as you can see from the above picture, still make a very nice-looking pie.

Erin and I usually use the refrigerated pie crusts that you unroll and put in the pie pan. We pre-baked the crust for 10 minutes at 375 degrees with tin foil over it, but the pre-bake may not be necessary.

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup corn syrup
• 5 T. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups pecans

Thoroughly whisk all ingredients except pecans together in a large bowl until well blended. Stir in the pecans and then pour into the pie crust. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the edges are firm and the center seems set but quivery, like gelatin. Rotate 180 degrees halfway through baking. If the crust starts becoming too brown before the pie is ready, wrap tin foil around crust to prevent it from burning.

Remove from oven, allow to cool on a wire rack, and enjoy!

Butterscotch Pecan Pie

This is another very good pecan pie recipe. I found it in the book "Pie" by Ken Haedrich. If you like butterscotch flavor and feel like adding a little excitement to your traditional pecan pie, I highly recommend this one. This recipe also calls for 2 cups of pecans, but 1 1/2 cups is just fine.

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (light brown works fine too)
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
• Generous pinch of salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups coarsely choppped pecans

Prepare the pie crust, partially pre-baking for 10 minutes as in the recipe above. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Gently warm the corn syrup, brown sugar, and butter together in a medium-size saucepan until the butter melts. Turn off the heat and add the butterscotch chips. Scatter them around rather than dumping them in one spot. Set the pan aside for 5 minutes, shaking it once or twice to move hot liquid over the chips. After 5 minutes, add the salt and whisk to smooth. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.

In a medium-size bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk together just until frothy. Whisk in the vanilla. Whisk a little less than half of the hot liquid and whisk until smooth. Add the pecans and stir well. Turn the filling into the cooled pie shell. Using a fork, gently rake the filling to distribute the pecans evenly.

Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake until the perimeter of the filling has puffed up and perhaps cracked slightly, 40-45 minutes. Rotate the pie 180 degrees halfway through the baking. When done, the center may wobble a little, but it shouldn't seem soupy.

Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool.