Homemade Soft Pretzels

These were actually really good! When Don and I first got married we would go to Sam's Club every so often, and to treat myself to the "bulk shopping" adventure I would get a huge soft warm pretzel from the food court. Mmmmm I love big chewy pretzels! Sadly, these are not as good as Sam's Club...but hey, what can ya do? :)

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt

Combine the water, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

"The Chewy" Chocolate Chip Cookie

I love to peruse the different recipes and reviews on sites such as foodnetwork.com and found this one. "The Chewy" as it was titled was by chef Alton Brown. I had all the ingredients, and there were many many positive reviews. Now I feel I already have my favorite Chocolate Chip recipe, but I wanted to try other variations to see where they stood. Well these stood flat, literally. They were "chewy", but aren't most cookies? My husband and I like the large, fluffy comforting type cookies. These were not it. My husband of course ate them, because he will eat anything, and I shared one with Carter. Instead of bagging them up and having Don take them to school the next day to pawn off on fellow students I felt embarrassed to even have "outsiders" eat my work. ((outsiders that is, those who were not living in my house)) So instead I bagged them up and sucked the air out and threw them in the far back corner of the freezer. I figured they were still edible and might come in handy if a cookie attack every occurred for Don or I...or Don...or Don.... Did I say Don? :)
To my surprise these little frozen yummies came in handy! They tasted better after being frozen and were a nice addition to a little bowl of vanilla ice cream, or just a random snack attack. Of course...it did not take long for my freezer cookies to end up in the belly of cookie monster husband. ...and where does he get off blaming me for his newly found chunkiness? Hmmmm

Verdict: Good...but on to other recipes.

Recipe:
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium sausepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes.

DON'T OVER COOK!...yuck