Big Soft Pretzels

These pretzels are honestly out of this world. I swear, I'll never buy them again from the store. I had a batch of about 12 of them, maybe? And they were gone in a couple hours. The ones on the left were lightly salted, and the ones on the right were cinnamon sugar. For the salted ones, we dipped them in mustard and nacho cheese, and I made just a regular powdered sugar/milk glaze, and they were absolutely delicious. Honestly just as good, or better than Auntie Anne's.

Big Soft Pretzels

adapted from www.allrecipes.com

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water

5 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
salt or cinnamon-sugar, for topping

Dissolve the 1 teaspoon sugar in the 1 1/4 cup warm water. Add the yeast and let it sit and activate for maybe 5-10 minutes, until it starts to foam. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center, and add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add a little bit (up to 2 tablespoons) of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water. 

When risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt or the cinnamon-sugar. 

Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Watch the bottoms, they cook very fast!

I promise you'll love them.

Next time I think I'll brush melted butter on them.

I'm drooling.

Irish Soda Bread

Happy belated Saint Patrick's Day!!

My stepmom is Irish, and for St. Paddy's Day we would always have Irish Soda Bread, Corned Beef, etc. I haven't had Irish Soda Bread in a long time, and was really craving it, especially with the holiday passing.

This isn't the same recipe she used to use, but it tastes pretty damn close.

Irish Soda Bread
recipe from www.hunwhatsfordinner.blogspot.com

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 T baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup golden raisins (i didn't add, because I didn't have)
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 T melted butter, divided
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and raisins in a large bowl. In a small bowl, beat the buttermilk, eggs, 2 tablespoons of the butter and vanilla until blended. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir until evenly moistened.
Spread batter in a greased 10-inch ovenproof frying pan or a spring form pan with removable sides. I didn't have these, but I used a regular loaf pan and it turned out fine. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Bake in a 350º until bread is browned and pulls away from sides of pan (about 45 minutes). Let cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove rim. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 1 loaf.

Cheddar Bacon "Crack" Dip

I've literally had this recipe for ever. I've always wanted to make it but really never had an occasion, and we finally made it for the superbowl. And now I understand why it's nicknamed "crack dip" - once you start eating it, you literally can't stop. It's like buffalo-chicken dip addicting. And it's SO easy to make!!

Cheddar Bacon Dip
recipe from www.plainchicken.com

16 oz sour cream
1 packet ranch dressing mix (like Hidden Valley)
3 oz bacon bits (in the bag, not the jar)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix together and let sit in the fridge for 24 hours. Serve with tortilla chips or veggies.