Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Chocolate calls to me at night. A square of chocolate isn't enough this time.  It has to be dark, rich, and sinful. Please- take- the- pan- away- before- I- look- like- Jabba- the- Hutt delicious. Not only do these have bittersweet chocolate, they also have cocoa powder and chocolate chips. And a chocolate cheesecake layer. I must say these are my favorite brownies so far.

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Inspired by evilshenanigans.com

Chocolate Cheesecake Layer:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

2 1/2 oz. granulated sugar

1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. Dutch processed cocoa powder

2 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt


Brownie Layer:

1 1/2 oz. unsalted butter

1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

7 oz. granulated sugar

2 oz. honey

1 1/2 oz. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 3/4 oz. cake flour (if using all purpose, replace 1/2 Tbsp. flour with cornstarch)

1/2 oz. Dutch processed cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

1. Spray an 8x8 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cut a piece of parchment paper larger than the pan so it will cover the sides.  Cut diagonal lines on the corners so the paper will fit into the pan. Place paper in pan and spray again.

2. Make the cheesecake layer by combining the cream cheese and sugar. Beat until well blended. Mix in melted chocolate. Beat in egg, vanilla, cocoa powder and yogurt. Set aside.

3. Next make the brownie layer. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or in microwave in 20 second intervals. In a large bowl mix together the cooled melted butter and chocolate mixture, sugar, honey, butter, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt. Whisk it into the brownie batter 10 strokes. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Pour half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Pour cheesecake mixture on top. Drizzle other half of brownie batter on top. Use a knife to cut through the batter using wavy lines to create a marble effect.

6. Bake for 40 minutes. When the center is set on top but still wobbly underneath, turn off the oven. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for another 30 minutes. Cover with foil and refrigerate until cold. Cut into 1 inch (mini) or 2 inch bars using a sharp knife. For clean cuts, dip the knife in hot water and wipe off between cuts.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze

Fresh from the oven cinnamon rolls are great on a rainy fall day. Canada is known for their maple syrup. I added some to the glaze. We moved this weekend only two blocks away. We didn't hire movers but carried everything down the street. August and some of his work friends hefted bags, boxes, the t.v. and even a desk. We must have made at least 20 trips back and forth. It rained off and on. The wet leaves stuck to the wheels of the suitcase. We pulled up our hoods since we didn't have extra hands to carry an umbrella. Now it's time for a rest and some breakfast.
These cinnamon rolls were made in the mini muffin pans. If you don't have any, you can just put them in a square or round pan though they do turn out bigger.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze
(inspired by  http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/181511-Mini-Cinnamon-Rolls?full_recipe=true)

dough:

1 pkg. active dry yeast ( 1/4 oz. or 2 1/4 tsp.)

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup luke warm whole milk, scalded and cooled

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsalted butter (75.6 g or 2.7 oz.)

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

3 1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour

filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (2 oz. or 57 g)

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

3 Tbsp. maple syrup (the darker the better)

1-2 tsp. milk

1. Add warm water to yeast. Stir to dissolve. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Add milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg and 2 cups of flour. Beat in stand mixer with paddle on medium speed until smooth. Add more flour until the dough is easy to handle.

2. Knead on flour dusted board for 5 minutes. Place in large greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled. The dough should stay indented when pressed with a finger.

3. Punch dough down and divide into 4 equal parts. Roll to the thickness of a tortilla.

4. Mix filling ingredients and spread onto dough. Roll up and slice. Spray mini muffin pans with nonstick spray. Place dough in pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes. I like to turn oven on to lowest setting for a few minutes. Then turn it off and let rolls rise in warm oven. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

5. Mix together glaze ingredients. Add more milk as needed for the glaze to be spreadable. Spread on warm rolls.

Scottish Tablet

A friend of mine tasted my salted caramels and asked me if I'd ever heard of tablet. Tablet? It's a Scottish candy that's sort of crumbly, slightly grainy, melts in your mouth,  harder than fudge and has the flavor of dulce de leche. Tablet is made up of sugar (lots of it), condensed milk (yes more sugar), butter, and water. You need a big pot. In fact, make half of the recipe in one large pot and the other half of the recipe in another large pot. Mine boiled over even though I thought my pot was quite big. And it didn't get hot enough. When it didn't set, I reboiled it in two pots, to 250 degrees F, and it came out great. Be very careful when it boils. I got burned on my hand from bubbling sugar. Wear gloves or mitts!

Scottish Tablet
Inspired by the recipe at http://britishfood.about.com/od/scottishregionalrecipes/r/tablet.htm

500 ml water

225 g unsalted butter, chopped

1.8 kg caster sugar

450 g condensed milk ( I had to buy 2 cans though I only used a little of the second one)

1. Butter a 9x 13 inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper. Cut the parchment paper bigger than the pan and cut the corners at a diagonal so it fits into the pan nicely.

2. Heat water to a simmer then add the butter. Stir until melted. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Put on gloves or oven mitts.  Turn the heat up to high and boil for 5 minutes at 250 degrees F. stirring constantly (hard ball stage).

3. Add the condensed milk slowly. Be careful it may splatter. Stir the mixture well then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. The candy will start to darken a little.

4. When mixture is thickened, remove from heat and pour into a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat for 5 minutes until it is the consistency of caramel sauce. Pour into parchment lined pan.

5. When it is cool but still soft, score into 1 inch squares. Let it sit at room temperature overnight. Break or cut into squares. Wrap in waxed paper or parchment and store in airtight container.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

August loves oatmeal cookies. I've always made a recipe where the oatmeal cookies turn out like mounds rather than flat disks. After trying out this recipe, August said these were the best oatmeal cookies he ever had. I had to put them away after they were cool lest he eat them all. When they came out of the oven they were crispy on the outside and chewy in the center.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Adapted from  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-oatmeal-cookies/

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup dried cranberries

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup unsalted butter, softened (226 g)

1 cup brown sugar (I didn't pack it to lessen the sugar a bit)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. baking soda, sifted

2 cups rolled oats

1. Combine dried cranberries, beaten eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment.

3. Cream together butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Mix flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir well.

4. Stir in egg mixture. Stir in oats. Dough will be stiff. Drop by Tbsp. fulls onto baking sheet 2 inches apart. They will spread quite a bit. 12 cookies per sheet.

5. Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove and cool slightly on cookie sheet. Transfer to wire rack.

Canadian Thanksgiving Apple Pie

Our Canadian Thanksgiving feast was small and simple. Spinach and cheese lasagne and apple pie. I thought I'd take a break from pumpkin pie this year or maybe make it for American Thanksgiving. I used three different types of apples- granny smith, golden delicious, and fuji. The granny smith gave the pie a tartness. The golden delicious melted in your mouth. The fuji was sweet and crunchy. All together I thought they made a great blend. I've also heard honey crisp apples and cortlands are wonderful too. Stay away from the red delicious or you will have a mushy pie. If you do use golden delicious I would only add a little so your pie isn't too soft. For the fat you can use butter, shortening, lard or a combination. I used half butter and half shortening. The butter adds wonderful flavor but makes a dough that's tougher. The shortening makes the dough easier to work with and the crust flaky. My crust came out very flaky and tasty but the dough kept breaking when I made the lattice. I think I needed to add a little bit more water to the dough. Do not add too much or it will become tough.

Apple Pie
Recipe adapted from the Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America Cookbook

Double Pie Crust Recipe

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour plus extra for dusting

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup frozen unsalted butter (113 g)

1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening 

1/2 cup ice water, as needed

1. Stir flour and salt together. Grate the frozen unsalted butter into the flour. Cut the shortening in with a pastry cutter or two knives.

2. Sprinkle water a few Tbsp. at a time onto the flour and rub it in just until it holds together into a ball. It should be moist but not wet. Press dough into a ball on lightly floured work surface.

3. Divide into two balls (one slightly larger than the other) and pat into disk shapes. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate 20 minutes.

4. Unwrap smaller dough. Sprinkle a little flour on top. Roll out on floured surface with a rolling pin to the thickness of a tortilla 1/8 in thick. Fold into quarters and place in 9 inch pie plate. Unfold and press gently into sides and bottom. Trim overhang to 1 inch.

5. After the filling is prepared, uunwrap larger dough. Sprinkle a little flour on top. Roll out on floured surface with a rolling pin. Cut vents in dough using little shape cutters or use a ravioli wheel to cut into 14  1/2" wide strips if making a lattice top.

Apple Pie Filling

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (I lessened it a bit)

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

6- 7 medium apples, cored and thinly sliced (about 7 cups) I used 1 large fuji, 3 medium golden delicious and 2 medium granny smiths

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, diced

egg wash (1 large egg whisked with 2 Tbsp. water)

1. Mix brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. Toss apples with lemon juice in a large bowl. Sprinkle sugar mixture on apples and toss to coat the slices. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (if using a glass pie plate, lessen heat by 25 F)

2. Scoop apples into the dough lined pan and make a mound where it's higher in the center. Dot the top with small pieces of butter. Brush the rim with egg wash. Prepare the top pie dough. Transfer the dough onto the apples and crimp the sides to seal. If using a lattice, lay the strips in a weave pattern. Brush with egg wash.

3. Place the pie on a baking sheet. This is so the drips do not cause a fire in your oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F then turn the heat down to 350 degrees F. Bake for 40-45 minutes rotating if necessary for even browning. Test apples with a fork. It is ready when apples are tender. Remove and cool on wire rack for 20 minutes so the filling thickens.

Mini Whole Wheat Strawberry Shortcakes

Dagan's class had a harvest feast last Friday. Each child had to pick an ingredient and bring a food that showcased that ingredient to the potluck. Dagan picked strawberries. He wanted to bring cupcakes but I thought that would be too sugary. Instead, I found a recipe for whole wheat shortcakes. The only not so healthy ingredient was the whipped cream but it was not very sweet. I used mini whoopie pie pans/ macaron pans to make the little "hats" to make them look more like shortcakes. Sage did the piping of all of the whipped cream and stacked the strawberries. He said when he grows up he wants to be a baker or pastry chef.

Mini Whole Wheat Strawberry Shortcakes
Adapted from recipe  http://www.tammysrecipes.com/whole_wheat_strawberry_shortcake

4 eggs, separated

3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup water

1/8 cup vegetable oil

1/8 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 lb. (2 cups) strawberries, sliced

2 cups chantilly cream

Chantilly Cream recipe:

1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Grease and flour mini muffin tins or use paper liners. Spray mini whoopie pie/macaron pan with non stick spray. Preheat oven to 325 F.

2. In a large mixing bowl use electric mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment to whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat in 1/4 cup of sugar (2 Tbsp. at a time) until sugar is dissolved and egg whites form stiff peaks.

3. Mix egg yolks, flour, water, oil, baking powder, vanilla and 1/2 cup of sugar together in another large bowl. Fold egg whites into the batter using a rubber spatula.

4. Spoon batter into mini muffin tins about 3/4 full. Fill whoopie pie/macaron pan with batter. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven when toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

5. To make the chantilly cream, place stand mixer mixing bowl and whisk attachment in fridge until cold.

6. Whip heavy cream on medium speed for 3 minutes until thickened. Turn mixer onto high and add confectioner's sugar. Add the vanilla extract and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Fill a piping bag with a large star tip with the chantilly cream.

7. Pipe chantilly cream onto the mini shortcakes. Place a slice of strawberry on top. Add some chantilly cream on top of strawberry. Gently press a "hat" (macaron shortcake) onto the chantilly cream. Pipe more cream onto the "hat" and top it off with another strawberry piece.

8. Refrigerate until serving. These topple over quite easily if the whipped cream starts melting.

Pumpkin Spice Mini and Micro Cream Puffs

 Naked Puffs

 Filled Puffs

I had a craving for cream puffs since eating some Beard Papas about a month ago and a can of pumpkin has been sitting in the cupboard since last fall (It expires a year from now!) Because I try to make about 40 little bite size treats a week, I made pumpkin mini cream puffs. For the first batch, I tried out a new recipe on the internet. They turned out tiny and doughy, barely big enough to hold any filling. Even though it was late at night, I decided to make another batch. This new batch from the Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America Cookbook  turned out much better. I also made the coconut cream puffs (earlier post) from the same book with good results. I researched many different sites trying to figure out why they didn't rise. My theory is that the eggs weren't mixed in well enough. The dough when piped was shiny, greasy and didn't pipe well. The second batch's dough was sticky and more like bread dough in texture.  I was about to throw the tiny ones in the trash but saved them overnight. The next day I cut them in half, pulled out the middles, crisped them in the oven for 5 minutes and filled. They tasted just as good, only smaller. The pumpkin filling is a cross between a pastry cream and a whipped cream. It's called a diplomat cream. The tops are sprinkled with powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spices.


Pumpkin Pastry Cream (Make ahead of time, needs to be refrigerated until cold)

(Inspired by recipe from http://frenchfood.about.com/od/pastrycream/r/Pumpkin-Pastry-Cream-Recipe.htm)

1 cup whole milk

3 egg yolks

1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/8 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cloves

2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Prepare an ice bath. Whisk together egg yolks, pumpkin, sugar, flour, spices and cornstarch until smooth. Heat milk just until steaming in a small saucepan over low heat. Add milk to egg mixture 1/4 of a cup at a time whisking constantly. When all of it has been incorporated, pour it back into the saucepan and heat. Stir constantly until mixture is very thick and reaches 170 degrees F on thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Place saucepan in ice bath and stir occasionally until cool. Push through a mesh strainer to get out any lumps. Transfer pastry cream to a container or bowl. Press plastic wrap onto the surface so a skin doesn't form. Chill in refrigerator.


Pumpkin Diplomat Cream (Make just before filling puffs)
Inspired by Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America Cookbook

1 package powdered unflavored gelatin (2 1/4 tsp.)

1/4 cup cold water 

2 cups pumpkin pastry cream (see recipe above)

1 cup cold heavy cream

cold stand mixer bowl and cold whisk attachment (I like to put mine in the fridge for an hour or so)

Stir gelatin into cold water in a small bowl. Set aside for 2 minutes. Microwave (20 sec.) or heat until gelatin is dissolved. Stir into pastry cream with rubber spatula.

Whip heavy cream in bowl with whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into pastry cream with rubber spatula. Scoop into piping bag and use immediately.


Pumpkin Pie Powdered Sugar- For Sprinkling on Puffs- (Can be made ahead of time)

2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 tsp. powdered ginger

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. cloves

1/2 cup powdered sugar- sifted

Mix spices together in a small bowl. Mix in powdered sugar. Use sifter to sprinkle on top of puffs. You can also use store bought pumpkin pie spice. Store in airtight container.


Mini Pumpkin Cream Puffs
Inspired by Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America

Pate a Choux:

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup bread flour sifted ( I sifted first then measured)

3 large eggs

1 large egg white


egg wash (1 large egg whisked with 2 Tbsp. water)

2 cups pumpkin diplomat cream

pumpkin pie spice powdered sugar



1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a medium saucepan combine milk, butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon about 5 minutes until the dough dries a bit and starts to form a ball. Transfer dough to stand mixer with paddle and beat at medium speed until cooled to body temperature. Add eggs one at a time. Beat well and scrape down sides of bowl after each addition using a rubber scraper. Add in egg white. Beat well until the dough is sticky and well blended.

3. Transfer dough to a pastry bag with a plain round tip  or use a disposable pastry bag and cut off the tip to make a 1/2"- 3/4" hole. Pipe onto parchment covered baking sheets, about walnut size. 20 should fit on one baking sheet if making mini cream puffs. Use a wet finger tip to smooth down any peaks so they won't burn. Brush lightly with egg wash.

4.  Bake about 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.  Lower the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake another 20-25 minutes until puffs are dry and golden. Remove from oven. Use a toothpick to poke a hole in each puff to release the steam. This will keep the puffs from getting soggy. Cool on wire rack.

5. If not using right away, store them in an airtight container. Recrisp at 350 degrees F for 5 minutes when ready to use. But be sure to cool them first so they don't melt the filling. Slice puffs in half or poke a hole in them to prepare for filling.

6. Fill a pastry bag with a large star tip with pumpkin diplomat cream. Pipe into cooled puff shells. Cover with puff tops and sprinkle with pumpkin spice powdered sugar. These will keep assembled and refrigerated up to 4 hours. They taste better the fresher they are though.

Pumpkin Raisin Walnut Bread

Fall is here and with it the flavor of pumpkin. This recipe makes a moist bread that's healthy and great for breakfast or snacks. It freezes well too. The bread turned out well even though I forgot to put in the brown sugar. The streusel was too sweet. I ended up scraping some of it off. August
 said it looked like mold. I included the recipe here for the streusel but lessened the amount  if you want to try it. I would suggest either use the brown sugar in the bread or the streusel on top but not both unless you like it really sweet. The kids loved this for breakfast.

Pumpkin Raisin Walnut Bread
Makes two regular  loaves or four mini loaves

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup unsweeted applesauce

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (leave out if making streusel topping)

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

15- 16 oz. can of pumpkin (if you use 14 oz. add a little extra applesauce to add moistness)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. table salt

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

2/3 cup raisins

Streusel topping:

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter cut into bits

1. Butter and flour two loaf pans or four mini loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together oil, applesauce, sugars, eggs and vanilla until well blended. I used a paddle attachment on my kitchen aid but you can also use an electric mixer or mix by hand.

3. Mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until evenly distributed.

5. Fold in the walnuts and raisins.

6. If you are making streusel, mix flour, sugar and butter in a small bowl with your hands until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle crumbs on loaves.

7. Bake for 30 minutes for mini loaves or 50-55 minutes for regular loaves until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Remove from pans. Slice and serve. If you want to freeze the loaves, wrap tightly in foil and place in a ziplock bag.

Scented Preschool Playdough

Lemon Playdough - lemon extract

Pumpkin Pie Spice Playdough- pumpkin pie spice


I've read a few Montessori books that talk about learning through the senses. The playdough that I've made uses touch, sight and smell. I've been making playdough since the boys were little. I try to make just one color since most times too many colors will get mixed up and turn into an unappealing brown or gray. Analogous colors work best if you want to make more than one. Here's a recipe I was given from the family preschool the boys went to when we lived in Sunnyvale. If it's too wet for you, add flour. If it gets too dry, add a little vegetable oil. The recipe works well halved or quartered if you don't want to make so much.

Preschool Playdough

6 cups all purpose flour

3 cups table salt

4 Tbsp. + 2 Tsp. cream of tartar

6 cups water

 3/4 cup vegetable oil (you can use a little less)

food coloring

extracts, oils or spices



1. Mix all ingredients together in a large pot. Add  food coloring or liquid watercolor.

2. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until ball forms.

3. Turn out onto a floured board and knead. Add in a few drops of extracts or oils or sprinkle in some spices.

4. Leave on board at room temperature to cool. Knead occasionally. When dough is cool transfer to airtight container or ziplock bag.

Some ideas for colors and scents:

Valentine's Day- Brown- Add cocoa powder. Make "candies" and put into empty candy boxes.

St. Patrick's Day- Green- Add mint extract. Shape into clovers.

Fall- Red- Add cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. Shape into apples.

Summer- Yellow- Add lemon extract. Shape into suns and create a beach scene using dough as sand. 

Halloween/Thanksgiving- Orange- Add pumpkin pie spice. Shape into jack o lanterns and turkeys.

Winter- White- Add clear vanilla extract and silver glitter. Make into snowflakes and snowmen.

Sweet and Salty Soft Pretzels

It was dinnertime Friday night and we were out of food. Tummies rumbling I searched in the fridge and found leftover dough from the boule recipe. A quick roll and shape and we had pretzels. August wanted his salty but the kids wanted them sweet. I found a combination of sweet and salty worked for me. The boys had fun shaping these themselves. They came out of the oven hot and fluffy. They tasted much better than the boules since they didn't have a hard crust.

Sweet and Salty Soft Pretzels

Makes 4 large pretzels

1 lb. of boule dough (1/4 of the full recipe found in Middle of the Week Bread post)

1/2 cup baking soda

4 cups hot water

coarse salt for sprinkling

coarse sugar for sprinkling

unsalted butter (optional)

cinnamon (optional)

mustard (optional)

parchment paper

flour for dusting

1. Dust work surface with flour. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Dissolve baking soda in hot water in a medium bowl or pan.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

4. Take boule dough out of the fridge and place on work surface. Cut into 4 equal parts. Take a piece of dough and roll into a long snake shape. Twist it into a pretzel, heart, or other fun shape. Carefully dunk it into the baking soda solution. Place it on the baking sheet.

5. For sweet cinnamon pretzels, sprinkle with cinnamon and coarse sugar. For salty pretzels, sprinkle with coarse salt. For sweet and salty pretzels, sprinkle with coarse salt and sugar.

6. Bake for 8 minutes until browned.

7. For salty pretzels, brush with butter if you like. I also like to dip mine in dijon mustard.