Pretzels

Ingredients:

 
1/8 c. hot water
1 pkg. dry active yeast
1 1/3 c. warm water
1/3 c. brown sugar
5 c. flour
extra flour
coarse kosher salt
baking soda

Directions

Heat the oven to 475 degrees. In a large bowl mix the hot water and yeast until the yeast dissolves. Stir in the warm water and the brown sugar. Slowly add 5 cups of flour to the mixture, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl. Put the dough on a lightly floured board. Dip your hands in the extra flour. Knead the dough until it is stretchy and smooth. Push it down and away from you with the palms of your hands. Turn the dough as you work.

Grease two cookie sheets very well. Sprinkle each with coarse kosher salt. Set the sheets aside. Pinch off a piece of the dough about the size of a golf ball and shape it like a pretzel (or not – whatever strikes your fancy!).

Fill a frying pan the pan, with water. For each cup of water in add 1 tbsp. baking soda. Bring the water to a gentle boil. Use a spatula to lower each pretzel into the frying pan. Count to thirty very slowly, then lift the pretzel onto the greased and salted cookie sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used.

Sprinkle some kosher salt on top of the pretzels and put them in the oven for 8 minutes or until the pretzels are golden.

We had these for supper on Wednesday night. I wasn’t sure they were going to work out because the batter was just so soupy. It looked rather unappetizing too. And you know what? I just realized I forgot to put the salt and pepper in. I used Jiffy mix, as it was on sale, instead of Bisquick. The biscuits turned out very soft, more like a dumpling than a biscuit. Next time, I will use Bisquick to see if the mix makes a difference, or if I need to cut back on the amount of milk being used.

Chicken Honey Mustard Biscuits

 
Serves 4

3 cups baking mix, such as Bisquick
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded carrots
3-4 scallions, thinly sliced on a bias
1 small zucchini, shredded
1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup mustard
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Salt and ground black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 425ºF.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the baking mix and milk until almost completely mixed. Add the carrot, scallions, zucchini, chicken, honey, mustard, half of the cheese, some salt and pepper, and continue mixing until evenly combined.

Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, deposit the mixture into 2-inch rounds (just eyeball it) onto two greased baking sheets. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the biscuits and bake until golden brown and the cheese has melted, 15-18 minutes.

Black Pepper and Asiago Scones

 
1 box biscuit mix (one of the small boxes, like Jiffy)
2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
1/2 cup cream
A couple pinches salt
1 cup shredded Asiago cheese (or another hard cheese, such as Parmesan)
A generous grating fresh nutmeg
1 egg beaten with a splash water
1 teaspoon sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine biscuit mix, black pepper, cream, salt, cheese and nutmeg. Pile mixture into 4 large mounds or 8 small mounds onto a nonstick cookie sheet. Brush scones with egg wash, sprinkle with a little sugar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes for large scones, 7 to 8 minutes for small scones.

Makes 4 large or 8 small scones.

If you go with the large version, and form them into rounds, you can slice them in half horizontally and use them to make little sandwiches. Really good with smoked ham or turkey.