Pretzels (Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

I doubled this recipe because my family inhaled these and was asking for more. 
View original recipe here.

Dough

5 cups (20.1 oz) all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
4½ tsp instant yeast
2 cups (16 oz) very warm water

Topping

½ c (4 oz) warm water (try boiling)
2 Tbsp baking soda
Coarse salt
6 Tbsp butter, melted

In the bowl of an electric mixer, place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix to just combine. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour, as needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth and quite slack. The goal is to get a really soft dough that isn’t overly sticky. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30-60 min.

Preheat your oven to 400°. (Originally 500°). Line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into 16 equal pieces (about 2.5 ounces each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 min. While the dough is resting combine the ½ c warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn’t, it will make your pretzels splotchy. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the baking soda completely dissolved, so I just lightly stir up the mixture right before adding each pretzel.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (anywhere from 14-22” long) and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 min.

Bake the pretzels for 7-9 min (I baked mine at 500 for only 6 min) or until golden brown. Bake one sheet at a time – it won’t hurt the other pretzels to chill out for a little longer.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you’ve used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that’s what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

Mini Corn Dogs

Corn bread batter

Hot dogs

Mini muffin tins

Corn bread batter:

½ c cornmeal

1½ c flour


2/3 c sugar


1 Tbsp baking powder


½ tsp salt


1/3 c oil


3 Tbsp butter, melted


2 eggs, beaten


1¼ c milk

Add dry ingredients, make a well and add oil, butter, eggs, and milk into the center. Stir until just mixed (batter will be runny). 

Cut hot dogs into 3/4" slices. Lightly spray mini muffin pan. Pour prepared cornbread batter into muffin tins most of the way full. Press hot dog slices into batter. If desired, cover hot dogs with a little more batter. Bake at 350° for 15-16 minutes or until baked through. Bake extra batter in regular muffin tins. (If doubling the cornbread batter recipe, bake the extra in an 8x8" pan for 35 min.)

Gourmet Raspberry Rolls with Lemon Vanilla Icing

Recipe from food-of-love-mmm.blogspot.com. I just added lemon extract to the dough of my regular cinnamon roll recipe, and used their filling and icing. So yummy!
Dough:

1 egg
1 c hot water
¼ c sugar
1 tsp salt
¼ c canola oil
½ c cold water
1 Tbsp yeast
1/4-1/2 tsp lemon extract (I added 1/4 last time. Try 1/2 tsp next time.)

3-4 c white flour

Crack egg in mixing bowl. Pour hot water over egg and beat till egg is mixed in well. Add sugar and salt. Mix again a few strokes. Add oil, cold water and mix again. Add yeast and mix again. Let sit for 15 min, then add lemon extract and flour till it looks like a sponge (touch it w/your finger. If you can touch it lightly without sticking too much, it’s good. It’s better if the dough is a little sticky.) Scrape down sides of bowl and cover bowl with a towel. Let it rise 15-20 min, and then punch it down. Repeat the rising and punching. 

Filling:
12 oz pckg frozen raspberries, not thawed (I used fresh)
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp cornstarch

In a medium bowl, toss the raspberries with the sugar and cornstarch. Roll out the dough into a rectangle. Spread the raspberry filling evenly over the rolled-out dough. Tightly roll up the dough into a long tube and slice with a pizza cutter into 12 pieces (1-1.5" thick). Arrange on a greased cookie sheet cut sides up. This will get messy if using fresh raspberries. Scrape any berries and juice from the work surface into the baking pan between the rolls. Let rise till rolls look bigger (20-30min). Bake at 350° for 15-20 min or until the tops brown slightly. Cool. Drizzle with lemon icing.

Icing:
1 c powdered sugar
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small bowl, whisk together the icing ingredients until thick and spreadable. Top rolls with icing and enjoy!

Corn Bread Cake (Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

$2.90

I have never tasted cornbread this divine! I had to change the title to "Corn Bread Cake" because I just might prefer this over cake. This tasted amazing with honey butter, and just as yummy crumbled into chili. Wow. You must make this! I love Mel's Kitchen Café!

1 c cornmeal

3 c flour


1 1/3 c sugar


2 Tbsp baking powder


1 tsp salt


2/3 c oil


6 Tbsp butter, melted


4 eggs, beaten


2 1/2 c milk (can use milk made from powdered milk)

Add dry ingredients, make a well and add oil, butter, eggs, and milk into the center. Stir until just mixed (batter will be runny). Bake in an 9x13” pan and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. (If you halve the recipe, bake in an 8” square pan for 35 minutes).

Variation: Corn Dogs
Corn bread cake batter
Hot dogs
Mini muffin tins

Cut hot dogs into 3/4" slices. Lightly spray mini muffin pan. Pour prepared cornbread batter into muffin tins most of the way full. Press hot dog slices into batter. If desired, cover hot dogs with a little more batter. Bake for 15-16 minutes or until baked through. 

Egg Nog Bread (Recipegirl.com)

This bread is tasty! The glaze is the best part. I've never seen eggnog extract, but I'd like to try that since it would surely lend a stronger egg nog flavor.

Makes one 9x5 loaf or 3 mini loaves.

2¼ c all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly ground

2 eggs

1 c sugar

1 c eggnog

½ c butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla (or eggnog extract)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease bottom of 9x5 bread pan or 3 mini loaf pans. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, eggnog, melted butter and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Pour into greased pan. Bake at 350° for 45-50 min for large loaf or for about 20-25 min for mini loaves. Bread will be golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 min. Remove from pan. Cool bread completely.

Glaze

½ c powdered sugar

¼ tsp vanilla

Dash nutmeg, freshly ground

Eggnog

Combine sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. Stir in enough eggnog to reach a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled loaves. Grate a little bit of fresh nutmeg over the icing. Let glaze set completely before wrapping loaf.

Witches' Brooms and Sauce (Pillsbury)

I didn't do a good job of shaping my breadsticks. Pillsbury's brooms look much better.

1 can (8 oz) refrigerated garlic breadsticks

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil

½ c grated Parmesan cheese

2 c marinara sauce

Heat oven to 350°. Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray. Unroll breadstick dough on work surface. Cut dough in half crosswise, and separate to make 16 strips. Place strips on cookie sheets, 1” apart. Using a small paring knife or kitchen scissors, make 4 thin cuts (2” long) on 1 end of each strip. Spread out cut ends to make bristles of each broom. Brush dough with oil; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 8-10 min or until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce.

Marinara Sauce (Giada De Laurentils; Everyday Italian) 1 hr 10 min; Makes 2 cups.

¼ c extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 (32-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 dried bay leaf

In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 10 min. Add the celery, carrots, salt and pepper. Sauté until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 min. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Re-warm over medium heat before using.)

Challah (realfoodliving.com)

Challah or khale is a special braided bread eaten by Ashkenazi Jews on the Sabbath and holidays. According to Jewish tradition, the three Sabbath meals (Friday night, Saturday lunch, and Saturday late afternoon) and two holiday meals (one at night and lunch the following day) each begin with two complete loaves of bread. This “double loaf” commemorates the manna that fell from the heavens when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years after the Exodus from Egypt. The manna did not fall on the Sabbath or holidays; instead, a double portion would fall the day before the holiday or Sabbath. It is these hunks of bread, recognizable by their traditional braided style that are commonly referred to as challah. (I am not Jewish, but enjoy learning about Jewish traditions.) Serving Size : 24

1 1/3 c warm water, 120°

2 Tbsp organic butter, softened

1 Tbsp yeast

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/3 c honey

2 large organic eggs, beaten slightly

2 Tbsp vital wheat gluten

~4 c whole wheat flour +/- as needed (I used 3¾ c)

1. Place hot water in mixing bowl (Kitchen Aid). Add softened butter and mix to dissolve butter. Add 3 cups of flour and yeast. Mix well and let sponge for 15 min.

2. Stir down sponge and add oil, salt, honey, eggs, gluten and 2 c flour. Stir to mix. Stir in flour, one cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl and clings to itself. The dough should not be very sticky, but still moist and supple. The amount of flour needed will vary. Let dough knead until very supple and springy and gluten is developed (by hand, 12-15 min, by large mixer 6-7 min).

3. Let rise, covered, until doubled ~1 hour. Punch dough down and divide into 2 portions. On oiled surface, divide each loaf into 4 portions. Roll each fourth into long snakes. Braid by starting with the left portion and running it over, under over under the other portions. Pinch each end of the loaf to seal. Roll loaf slightly longwise on counter before placing on the baking sheet. Let rise about 30 min.

4. Brush with glaze before baking. Bake at 350° for 22-25 min, or until done.

Margherita Pizza (Sisterscafe.blogspot.com)

This pizza was amazing! It looked amazing, it smelled amazing, and it tasted amazing. I couldn't believe that I actually made it myself from scratch! I'm definitely making this one again! It has quite the Italian flare.

I make pizza almost every Friday night and have been working on improving my pizza each week. I've had some serious set backs, but this one is a huge step forward. Yahoo! I am very surprised that even my boys ate this with all the tomato chunks and green basil so visible. Of course, it helped that they couldn't refill their root beer until their pizza was gone.

2 hours

Dough:

1½ c very warm water

1 scant Tbsp yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 c flour, divided

In a large mixing bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and let sit for 10 minutes. Foam should form on top. Mix in salt, olive oil and 1 cup flour.* Add in remaining flour one cup at a time. If your dough is too sticky, add flour a little bit at a time until dough forms a ball. Knead for 5 minutes (or 10 minutes by hand). Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for an hour in a warm place until double in size. Punch down dough and divide into 2 parts. Each half will make a 12” pizza. If you only want to make one pizza now, then put other dough ball in an oiled freezer bag and pop in the freezer for another day! Allow dough to rest for 15 minutes then roll out.

*The original recipe instructs: Whisk in salt, olive oil and 1 cup flour. Whisk in 2nd cup of flour. At this point put on dough hook and turn mixer in low as you add the last 2 cups of flour.

Pizza:

3 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, diced

1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp)

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/3+ c fresh basil leaves, julienne cut (or 1/2 Tbsp dry)

Mozzarella cheese, shredded (fresh is best)

¼ c Parmesan cheese, shredded (or 1/8 c canned)

1-2 Tbsp fresh basil, julienne cut

Combine all ingredients except cheese and toss lightly. Roll out pizza dough on a large, greased pan (I used a 16" round pan). Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella on dough. Spoon on tomato mixture and spread evenly over cheese. Sprinkle about ¼ cup Parmesan on top. Bake in preheated oven at 450° for 12-14 minutes or until cheese is starting to brown and crust is a deep golden. Let cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle additional 1-2 tablespoons of fresh basil over pizza before serving.

Buttermilk Biscuits (Cooks.com)

I've been searching for a biscuit recipe that makes light and moist biscuits; most seem to turn out dense and dry. These are the best I've ever made. So yummy! The whole family loved these. 20 minutes. $1.66 including tax
2 c white flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
½ tsp cream of tartar
½ c butter
1 c buttermilk (or sour milk)

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and cut in the butter using a fork or pastry blender (butter chunks should end up pea-size). Stir in the buttermilk and continue stirring only until the mixture forms a ball and begins to hold together (do not over-mix or biscuits will be tough). Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll out ¾-1” thick and cut into rounds. Place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet (or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper). Arrange biscuits close together for soft sides or 1” apart for more crusty sides. Bake at 450° for 12 min or until just golden brown.

Sloppy Joes (Anita Heap)

Updated 3/24/11.

1 pound ground beef

Salt

Pepper

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Ketchup

BBQ sauce

Homemade sandwich rolls or hamburger buns

Brown beef in medium skillet. Season with salt, pepper, onion and garlic. Mix in ketchup and BBQ sauce until meat is covered and it smells good. Serve on homemade sandwich rolls (best) or hamburger buns.

Quick Pizza Dough (April Ashton)

Updated 11/11/12. Makes one cookie sheet of dough.

1 c warm water
1 Tbsp instant yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp oil
2½ c white flour*

Add the water, yeast and sugar first. Then salt, oil and flour. Mix until bread is pulling away from side of the bowl. Mix for about 4 min or knead till elastic. Let rest for a few min. Roll dough into desired shape. Pull off an extra portion if the dough is very thick. Roll that onto an extra (smaller) pan (about ½ a cookie sheet). Poke with a fork to avoid bubbles, then top with desired toppings. Bake at 450° for 14 min. Crust should be slightly brown.

Top with half of a 7-oz jar of pizza sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Additional fun toppings: ham, olives, Alfredo chicken, tomatoes, pineapple; BBQ chicken, cilantro and green onions. Tip: Let your kids slice olives with an egg slicer.

*You can substitute up to 1 cup of white wheat flour for the regular flour with good results. Add 1 tsp of wheat gluten if you do.


For variation, make pizza balls and dip them in pizza sauce.

Divide the dough into 15 balls. Add a slice of pepperoni and mozzarella cheese to each. Seal. *Spray a 9x13 pan with olive oil. Arrange the pizza balls. Spray again with olive oil, and sprinkle with garlic and herbs. Bake at 425° for 17 min. Dip in heated pizza sauce.

*Try melting butter in the bottom of the pan first, then rolling each ball in that.


For Valentine's Day, divide the dough and let the kids each make their own heart-shaped pizza.


For Halloween, cook your pizza on a circular pan and make it look like a Jack-o-Lantern:


Or make Candy Corn Pizza (from ourbestbites.com)

Make a thick ring of cheddar around the outside edge and a thick layer of mozzarella in the center. (You can see that mine isn't thick enough to cover the pizza sauce completely.) Cut into wedges.

Banana Bread (Debra Garry)

$1.17 + bananas (~$1.66 total)

45 minutes. Makes 3 loaves or 12 regular + 12-18 mini muffins.

1 c sugar
½ c butter
2 eggs
1¼ c pureed bananas (3)
1½ c flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix together sugar and butter. Add eggs and mix. Add bananas and mix well. Add remaining ingredients. Grease and flour 3 small loaf pans. Fill each half full and bake at 350° 40-45 min. Test and watch. Shouldn’t be too brown.

Buttermilk Rolls (Rinna Harris)

$1.89 ($0.06 per roll)
4 1/2 hours. Makes 32 rolls.

photo courtesy of Rinna Harris

1/8 c warm water
½ Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1½ c Buttermilk (room temperature)
2 c flour
1½ eggs, beaten with a fork
¼ c oil
¼ c sugar
1¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
3 c flour

Add water, yeast and sugar to a large mixing bowl and let proof a few minutes. Add the buttermilk and flour and mix thoroughly. Let this stand at room temperature until double in size, about 2 hours. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well and knead for 7-10 min. Roll out what you want and place the rest in the refrigerator, covered. The next time you want some fresh baked rolls, take from the bowl what you want and again put the rest back in the refrigerator. It will keep for 7 days.* On an oiled surface, divide dough into 3 portions. Roll one portion into a circle and cut into 8 pieces. Roll pieces into crescent shapes and place on greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining portions. Let rolls rise on baking sheets until double in size. Time depends on the room temperature, usually 1½ - 2 hours. Dough from the refrigerator will take longer because the dough is cold. Bake at 350° for 10-12 min. Brush with melted butter if you like.

*This is perfect for Sunday meals because you don’t have a lot of mess to clean up and it’s quick.

Carrot Cupcakes

25 minutes. Makes 18 cupcakes.

1½ c flour

1 c sugar

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 large egg

1 egg white (double recipe uses 1 egg white)

¼ c oil

1 tsp vanilla

½ c (8oz can) crushed pineapple in its own juice

1 c coarsely shredded carrots (about 2 medium)

¼ c applesauce

Heat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the mixture and drop in the eggs, egg white, oil, and vanilla. Drain pineapple juice over the bowl. Reserve the pineapple. Beat at medium speed until blended, about 1½ min. With a spoon, stir in the crushed pineapple, shredded carrots, and applesauce. Then spoon the batter into paper bake cups set in muffin tins. Bake until a toothpick stuck in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 22 min (or 17 minutes for mini muffins). Remove the tins from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 2 min. Serve warm.