Soft Pretzels

In an effort to keep my grocery budget in check, I have been buying fewer snacks, and making more of my own stuff and freezing things. I don't actually love to bake a ton (except in the Fall, something comes over me come October and I love to bake), but it's something I am willing to do if it will help save a little money. I have baked and frozen cookies, muffins, pumpkin bread, and these soft pretzels.  Lest you think I only feed my kids carbs, I also stock up on fruit and stuff like string cheese.  But, buying crackers and granola bars, etc. really runs up my grocery bill.  A friend of mine gave me this recipe.  It's really easy and the kids love it.  They are definitely best fresh from the oven, but I make a huge batch and freeze them, and then pull out and thaw a few at a time for afternoon snacks.  I plan on sticking one in Paige's lunch here and there too.  I don't get too particular about getting them perfect looking, I actually just tie them in a knot and throw them on the pan.  You can do any shape you want.

Ingredients:   1 1/2 cups warm water
                      1 Tbsp. yeast

Combine and let rest 5 minutes.  Then add the following ingredients to the yeast.  Mix with a dough hook or wooden spoon until dough forms a ball.

                      5 cups flour
                     1/4 cup sugar
                     1/4 cup powdered milk
                     1 1/2 tsp. salt
                   
Remove dough and cut into 12-15 small pieces.  Roll each piece into a snake about 18" long and twist into a pretzel shape, or make your own shapes, but not too thick or they won't cook in the center.

Dip uncooked pretzels into a bath of:

                     4 cups water
                     1/4 cup baking soda    **  This is a lot, you could also just half this part of the recipe.

Place on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt.  Bake at 425 degrees until brown (approx. 10 minutes).  Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.

Moist Pumpkin Scones

In our monthly Relief Society newsletter there is usually a recipe from someone in the ward.  I haven't ever really paid attention to the recipes before, but this one caught my eye and sounded good and fairly simple, so I made them for FHE.  I loved them!  My little ones didn't care for them, so maybe it's a more sophisticated taste…or not.  Even with the glaze these are not super sweet, which I liked.  I thought they were a great breakfast with milk.  I also think the pumpkin flavor is mild, not too strong.

 I think these could be frozen and warmed whenever you wanted one.  I love recipes that can be frozen so you don't feel like you have to scarf them down before they get stale.

The most important thing with scones is to make sure the butter is super cold.  When they bake, the steam that the cold butter lets off while baking is key to making the scones moist and not dry and flaky.  Also, don't overwork the dough.  You might think it looks too dry and that it needs to be mixed longer, but don't do it!  It will make the scones dry and heavy.  Here's a quick tip:  grate the cold butter with a cheese grater.  It will incorporate much easier and you don't have to handle it too much, which would make the butter too warm.

One last thing…the picture at the top is just some random picture I googled, but the scones look exactly like this, and I like to see a picture with a recipe that I am considering trying.

Moist Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
3/4 cup milk, divided

Glaze:

2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  In another bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin and 1/2 cup milk.  Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead 10 times.  Divide dough in half.  Pat each portion into an 8-inch circle; cut into 8 wedges.  Separate wedges and place 1-inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Brush with remaining milk.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove to wire racks; cool for 10 minutes.  Combine the glaze ingredients; drizzle over scones.   Yield: 16 scones.

Homemade Tortillas

The tortillas are not a must make, but they definitely add something delicious to the salad. If you really don't want to make your own tortillas, even though it is super easy, you should at least buy the raw ones from the store and cook them up. They are way better than the precooked ones you can buy.

Flour Tortillas

2 ½ C Flour

¾ t Kosher Salt

¼ C Plus 2 T Shortening

¾ – 1 C Hot Water

Combine flour and salt in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add shortening and combine until crumbly.

Slowly add in water. Mix until the dough comes together like play dough. Divide dough into 8-10 balls. Roll out each tortilla as thin as possible and heat in a skillet.

Zucchini Bread

First things first, I am absolutely loving my food processor lately. I've had one since I got married, but I've rarely used it until the last few months. They are awesome! It makes quick work of shredding anything (which you will need to do for this recipe) and blending/pureeing anything(which you will need for the homemade spaghetti sauce recipe which will be my next post.) There is a place for the blender, but the food processor is quickly gaining my respect and admiration. If you have one and don't use it, get it out! If you don't have one, look into it, they're not too expensive. Man, someone should pay me for this kind of promotion. Now, onto the recipe!

Ammon's mom uses this recipe, and it probably is more like a cake(see amount of sugar involved), but since it's a loaf shape, we'll call it bread. It's really delicious, so if you have any extra zucchini, or some neighbor's garden is exploding with them, try this recipe. I made a ton this weekend, and then froze them. I don't have a picture, sorry. I hardly ever transfer pictures of my own children from the camera to the computer, let alone a loaf of bread/cake.

Cream the following ingredients together:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Mix the following ingredients together and add to creamed mixture:

2 cups oatmeal flour (just put 2 1/2 cups of oatmeal in the blender until it looks like flour)
1 cup regular flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg (I didn't have any and it still tasted good)

Finally, add 2 cups shredded zucchini.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease loaf pans really well, these do not like to come out.

If you make mini loaves, bake for 35-40 minutes (makes 4 mini-loaves).

If you use a regular-sized loaf pan, it will take 55-60 minutes (makes 2 loaves).

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

2 1/2 cups white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

3 cups granulated sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp salt
1 (15 0z) can pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling)

1 cup canola or vegetable oil

4 large eggs
2/3 cup water

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9x5 loaf pans or three 9x4 loaf pans. (I did several smaller pans, as many as I could until the batter was gone.) In a large mixing bowl, mix flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together. Set aside. In another large mixing bowl, whisk together, canned pumpkin, oil, eggs and water until well combined. Stir in dry ingredients just until moistened and no dry streaks remain. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 60 or 70 min (35 min for mini pans), or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let sit for 10-15 min. Run a knifearound edges and flip over and continue cooling on a wire rack.

I got this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and she claims that the bread is best after it has cooled completely and is even better the next day. They are so yummy!

Butterscotch Bundt Rolls

18 frozen dinner rolls

1 (3oz) pkg butterscotch pudding (non instant, and unprepared)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup melted butter

Arrange frozen rolls in a greased bundt pan. Sprinkle pudding, sugar and pecans over rolls. Drizzle butter over all. Cover pan with a dishtowel , plastic wrap or wax paper and let rise at room temp overnight, or about 12 hours. Remove dishtowel, bake at 350 degrees for about 25 min. Cool 5-10 minutes before inverting to a serving plate. Serve warm.