Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks

This recipe is from Lauren's Latest and it may well be the best recipe I have tried all year. Stop by her blog and see her photo tutorial.

1/2 recipe Pizza Dough
2 tablespoons salted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 pound grated mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 500 degrees (with pizza stone inside, if you are using one.)
Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.
Spread pizza dough out into a 12-inch pizza pan (or on parchment paper if you are using a pizza stone.)
Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and top with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Top with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper, if desired. (Transfer to pizza stone, if you are using one.)
Bake 9-10 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Remove from oven and cool 1-2 minutes before cutting. Serve hot, with marinara.

The Very Best Pizza Dough in the World

And I am not kidding. This recipe comes from Lauren's Latest, and you should really go to her blog first as she has a step-by-step photo tutorial. 

Makes 2-12 inch pizzas or approximately 1 lb. of dough.
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey {or sugar}
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
2 1/2-3 1/2 cups bread flour {depending on the heat & humidity}

In a large mixing bowl, preferably that of a stand mixer, stir yeast and honey into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking. Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix. Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn’t stick to your hands. Once you reach this stage, turn the mixer on high to knead for 6 minutes. Turn a timer on and walk away! Resist the temptation to stop earlier than 6 minutes! The dough should be smooth and easy to work with. And the bowl should be clean. Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn’t dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. Now you can turn this dough into anything your little heart desires.

Butterfly Lunch

tutorial for how to make this chicken nugget and chips butterfly at Hungry Happenings

In the summertime I like to take a little extra time to make meals and snacks more fun. Today we had these chicken nugget and chips butterflies for lunch. I made the first one for them, and then put the rest of the chips, nuggets and chow mein noodles on the table and let them make their own butterflies. They had so much fun making and eating them!

Bavarian Soft Prezels

From Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe's Best Artisan Bakers by Daniel Leader
History of Pretzels here.

Yields 8 pretzels.

3 1/4 cups unbleached bread flour
3 tbs unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups tepid water
1 tsp instant yeast
2 1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup baking soda for boiling
Kosher salt and/or sesame seeds for topping


In a large bowl, mix flour and butter and work butter into the dough with your fingers until evenly distributed. Add water and mix until absorbed, then add the salt to one side of the dough and yeast to the other side and work in both. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter top and kneed for 10 to 12 minutes until firm and smooth. Round dough into a ball and allow to rise, covered, in a oiled bowl at room temperature until light and springy, about 1 hour (it won’t double in size.)
Place the dough on a lightly floured counter top and from into a rectangle. Use a knife to cut into 8 equal pieces, form each piece into a ball, and allow to rest covered for about 5 minutes. Roll out each piece with your hands until it is about 18 inches long, tapering the ends slightly. To form the pretzels, grab hold of each end and cross the left end over the right with the looped portion nearest you. Now create a twist by crossing top piece under.

 Finally, lift the twisted ends and flip them over onto the loop. Press the ends down to seal.
Place the pretzels on a oiled baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2-24 hours.

When you are ready to make the pretzels, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add the baking soda slowly and turn the heat down to a simmer. Place the pretzels into the boiling water one at a time, simmering on each side for 15 to 20 seconds. Remove from the water, draining well and return to the oiled baking sheet. Repeat until all pretzels are boiled. They will swell a little as the heat makes the yeast rise.

Sprinkle pretzels with kosher salt and/or sesame seeds and bake until they are a rich brown, about 35 minutes. Enjoy warm or at room temperature with a good mustard. They are best fresh.

Sunflower Cake

I found this recipe at HodgePodge.
It is so simple, and yet so cute.

Bake a round cake. Cover in chocolate icing.
Place chocolate chips in circles around the center for the seeds.
Place yellow Peeps around the edges for the petals.

The Queen's Waffles- Breakfast or Dessert?

I decided one day to treat my boys to something spectacular...something really different for breakfast. Then I saw these at Daily Dose of Sugar Mama. How about a sundae on waffles? "A sundae for breakfast!?" I can hear you asking incredulously.  Why not? To tell you the truth, there isn't more sugar in this than many other breakfast foods and oh, my! They really felt it was something special. We might even have them for dessert one day.

frozen cinnamon mini waffles
vanilla ice cream
fudge sauce
strawberry ice cream sauce
sliced bananas
chopped pecans

Toast the waffles, quickly top with ice cream, toppings… then eat. The cinnamon waffles were PERFECT with the vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Chip Scones

recipe and photo from Beautiful Nest

2 cups flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 & 1/3 cups whipping cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl. Add chocolate chips. Blend in whipping cream with a fork or spatula, adding 1-2 Tbsp. extra whipping cream, if necessary. When mixed, turn out onto a floured surface and knead several times. Pat into a 10 inch diameter, and cut into triangles. (You can also use a round cookie cutter instead, if you like!) Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 11-13 minutes.

See them at Cooking with Jessica

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

This recipe is from Katrina of Baking and Boys!

Dough:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened canned pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1/2 cup warm water
1 packet or 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Icing:
3 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup Grade A pure maple syrup
1-2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon salt

Spray your baking pans with cooking spray (either 2 8-inch round pans or a 9x13 pan). Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar, salt, pumpkin and egg for the dough and set aside. In another bowl (small), whisk together the warm water, yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is frothy. Place the flour (all 3 3/4 cups) in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add yeast and pumpkin mixture to the flour. Mix on low with the dough hook until all the flour is incorporated and a sticky dough forms. Knead with dough hook on medium speed for five minutes. If the dough is too sticky (not forming a ball in the mixter), add a little more flour. At this point I added about 1/4 cup more all purpose flour. Form dough into a ball and transfer to a large bowl sprayed with cooking spray. Roll the dough around the bowl to coat all sides with spray. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and place in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 16 by 10 inch rectangle. Keep making sure the dough is not sticking to the surface as you roll, lifting it and adding more flour if necessary.

Spread the softened butter in a thin layer over the dough, leaving a small border on all sides. Whisk together the brown sugar and spices and sprinkle it evenly over the buttered dough. Roll the dough tightly from the long side until completely rolled up with open seam side down on the counter.

Slice the dough into about 1 1/2 inch pieces and arrange them in the prepared baking dish cut side up, leave a little space in between each one for room to rise. Cover the pan with lightly sprayed plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let rise for 30 minutes in a warm, draft-free place. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove towel and plastic wrap. Bake until tops and edges are golden, 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes before icing. You can remove the rolls from the pan by inverting them onto another dish, or just leave them in the pan.

Make the icing while the rolls are cooling. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add maple syrup and salt and beat until incorporated. Add one cup of powdered sugar and beat. Add the other cup of sugar and mix well, it will make a stiff icing. Add the milk slowly, a little at a time until the icing is the desired consistency.

Spread or drizzle the icing over the rolls. Serve.

Funnel Cakes

This recipe is from Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen.

3 cups All-purpose Flour
¼ cups Sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
3 whole Eggs
½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2-¼ cups Milk
Powdered Sugar (for Dusting)
Canola Oil, For Frying

In a large, deep fryer or pan, heat the oil to 350 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients then whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract, and milk. Add a dash more milk if need to achieve the proper consistency. The batter should resemble thin pancake batter.
Pour 1/2 cup batter through a funnel, while making circular, swirling motions, into the hot oil. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, flipping halfway through. Drain on a paper towel, coat with powdered sugar, and enjoy!

El Submarino- Argentinian Hot Chocolate

The idea for this originally came from here.

In Argentina they serve mugs of hot vanilla milk with a thick rectangle of dark chocolate served alongside. The chocolate is the submarine and should be sunk into the hot milk. As you stir, the milk becomes hot chocolate, and a treat of melted chocolate "sludge" awaits you at the bottom of the cup. 4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces bars of good quality dark chocolate,broken into 1 ounce pieces

You can make this one of two ways. You could pour the milk into a saucepan, stir in the sugar and the vanilla and heat the milk until it is just about to boil. Or you could heat 2 1/2 cups of water until boiling, Add the vanilla and sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add 1 can of Evaporated Milk to the water and, stir.

In either case, when you are finished with warming the milk, divide milk into 4 mugs. Serve each mug with the blocks of chocolate. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls

Take the dough for a loaf of bread and roll it out on a floured surface until it is about 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Top it with 1 stick of butter (which has been softened), 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. You may add 1/2 cup chopped pecan pieces and/or 1/4 cup raisins if you wish.

Roll the dough at one long end to make a log. Cut the dough into slices about 1 inch wide and place slices on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise for about 2o minutes. Bake for 20 minutes in a 400 degree F oven.

Octopus Hot Dogs or Octodogs

To make Octopus Hot dogs or Octodogs, take a hot dog and slice the bottom half into 8 slices, keeping the top part intact with the rest of the hot dog. Boil in a pot of water until done. They come out with the bottom cut part curled up into tentacles. Add mustard eyes and a ketchup mouth. Cute, aren't they?