Pretzels

Pretzels, who can resist them? Certainly not me, especially when baked fresh and still warm from the oven, dipped in cheese or a sugary glaze. There are several different styles and dough's to choose from when deciding on a recipe to make, however if your anything like myself, you prefer the big soft Pretzel cart style that frequent so many of our mall vendors (like Aunt M's). The recipe below is from my Best-Ever Bread Book and makes wonderfully flavored soft Pretzels.

Ingredients: 

For the Yeast Starter: 

2 1/4 tsp. Yeast

5 Tbls. Water

1 Tbls. All-Purpose Flour

For the Dough:

2 1/4 tsp. Yeast

2/3 Cup Lukewarm Water

5 Tbls. Lukewarm Milk

3 1/2 Cups Bread Flour

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

2 Tbls. Butter (melted)

For the Topping:

1 Egg Yolk

1 Tbls. Milk

Sea Salt

Cinnamon

Sugar

For the Yeast starter: cream together the Yeast

Water

And Flour

Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for two hours

For the Dough: In a large bowl, mix together the Yeast

And Water until dissolved 

Then stir in the Milk

Sift in 3 Cups of Flour

Add the Salt

Yeast Starter

Then Butter mixing well 3-4 minutes

Turn out onto a lightly Floured surface and knead to make a medium firm Dough

Place in a lightly Oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap, let rise 30 minutes (or until doubled)

Punch the Dough down

Knead into a ball again and place back in the Oiled bowl to let rise another 30 minutes

Punch the Dough down and divide into twelve equal parts

Roll into balls

Roll out one (cover the unused Dough) at a time into long, thin sticks

Bend the Dough into a U shape

Fold over one end

Then the other over the top

Place onto a lightly Floured pan and let rise ten minutes, bring a pan of water to a boil then reduce to a simmer

Add the Pretzels to the water three at a time and poach for one minute

Drain off the excess water

Place onto two greased baking pans

Mix together the Egg and Milk together and brush over the Pretzels

Sprinkle on the Salt and Cinnamon/Sugar, bake in a preheated oven at 375F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown

Remove from the oven (Salt Covered)

Let cool before enjoying (Cinnamon/Sugar Covered)

First things first, I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients, my apologies. Second, these Pretzels are delicious right out of the oven or saved overnight for a next day snack. Try dipping them in all kinds of cheese's, dips, mustard, and any other condiments you have laying around. Lastly, the preparation of the Dough takes around 3-4 hours, which is hardly worth it for twelve Pretzels. My advice is to double or triple the recipe so you can make several batches at once without all the waiting.

New York Style Cheesecake

Despite its name, Cheesecake is closer to a custard than a cake. It can be made plain with simple flavors, or extremely complicated with rare, hard to find ingredients (depending on personal taste). There are several cooking styles as well (also personal preference) that allow for many different textures ranging from dry and spongy, to smooth and creamy. With so many options available, its hard to decide on just one. The recipe below however yeilds a  feathery, lustrous flavored Cheesecake.

Ingredients: 1 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs

2 1/2 Tbls. Unsalted Butter (room temperature)

1 1/2 Tbls. Sugar, plus 1 1/2 Cups

2 1/2 lbs. Cream Cheese (softened)

1 Lemon (zested)

1 Orange (zested)

1/2 tsp. Vanilla 

3 Tbls. All-Purpose Flour

5 Eggs, plus 2 Egg Yolks

1/2 Cup Sour Cream

1 Vanilla Bean

1 tsp. Bourbon

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan

Combine the Graham Cracker Crumbs

1 1/2 Tbls. Sugar

And the Butter mixing well

Press the mixture onto the bottom of the pan and bake until golden brown (about 5-8 minutes). Set aside to cool, then butter the sides of the pan. Lower the oven temperature to 350F

In a large mixing bowl combine the Cream Cheese

Sugar

Both Zests

And the Vanilla, beat until light and creamy

Add the Flour

Then the Eggs (one at a time) mixing well after each addition

Add the Sour Cream

Vanilla Bean

And Bourbon, mix until smooth

Pour the Batter into the prepared pan

Wrap the bottom of the pan securely in tinfoil (check for leaks)

Place into a roasting pan

Carefully add enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the pan

Bake for 1 hour then shut the oven off and prop the door open and leave the cake inside for an extra 30 minutes (remove from the oven with 1-2 inches of jiggle in the middle, the residual heat will carry over and finish the cooking)

Run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake, then release the sides of the spring form pan

Cool completely, 24-48 hours (the longer the cake sits the stronger the flavor) before serving. Let the cake sit out 30 minutes before serving and use a sharp knife to cut slices.

I've made several different Cheesecakes before, but this one is so far my all-time favorite. I didn't have a proper broiling pan to place the Cheesecake in, so I substituted  a deep baking sheet. The water evaporated too quickly and the top came out a bit darker than I wanted, but it had no effect on the flavor or creaminess.