Homemade Bagels (for a fraction of the cost of store bought)

During quarantine, back in April, we practiced our pioneer skills of making everything homemade, and this was one of the recipes we tried at that time.  And it was one of my favorites!  To me, these bagels tasted almost exactly like Einstein Bagels, and when we figured out the cost, homemade bagels cost around .08 cents per bagel, and a fresh, store bought bagel costs $1.80!

Homemade Bagels

by: sallysbakingaddiction.com

1 1/2 c. warm water

2 3/4 tsp. instant or active dry yeast

4 c. bread flour

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 egg white, mixed with 1 Tbsp. water

2 quarts water

1/4 c. honey

In your kitchenaid mixer (or by hand), mix together the warm water and yeast, cover and let it rest for 5 minutes.  Add the flour, brown sugar and salt and beat it on low speed for 2 minutes.  The dough will be stiff and a little dry.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it (by hand) for 4-5 minutes.  Place the dough into a large bowl, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Cover it, and allow it to rise until it is double in size, for about 60-90 minutes.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.  When the dough is ready, punch it down and divide it into eight equal pieces.  Shape each piece into a ball.  Press your finger through the middle of the ball to make a hole and shape it into a bagel shape.  

Cover the bagels with a light towel and let them rest for a few minutes while you prepare the hot water bath.  Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Fill a large pot with 2 quarts of water and the honey.  Bring it to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-high.  Drop the bagels in the water and cook them for 1 minute on each side, then remove them and place them on your lined cookie sheets.

Using a pastry brush, brush the egg white mixture on the top and sides of each bagel.  If you want to sprinkle some (or all) of them with cinnamon sugar, or some other delicious topping, now is the time to do it.  Otherwise, they will be plain bagels, which were also delicious.  Bake them for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.  The bagels will be golden brown.  

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

We have a tradition at our house to eat cinnamon rolls during General Conference .  Sometimes I remember this tradition the night before, so I make a quick run to the store and buy a Pillsbury can of cinnamon rolls.  Thank goodness for those Pillsbury cans of cinnamon rolls.  But, every so often, I remember the day before, and I actually have some time, and a willing helper or two, and I make homemade cinnamon rolls!  This time, I had just a little bit of time, so I found this recipe for easy cinnamon rolls, that also only need to rise one time.  They did end up being pretty easy, which was what I was going for.  If I had more time and less busy, I think I prefer my ol' standby recipe, which has to rise multiple times and is definitely more high maintenance, but a little softer and fluffier.  But, if you have limited time, these are a great alternative (to a late night run for Pillsbury canned rolls!).

Easy Cinnamon Rolls
from: sallysbakingaddiction.com

2 3/4 c. flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 package instant yeast
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. milk
2 1/2 Tbsp. butter
1 egg

For the filling:
3 Tbsp. softened butter
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. sugar

In a large bowl, stir together 2 1/4 cups of the flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  In another bowl, add the water, milk and butter, and microwave it until it is hot to the touch and the butter melts.  Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture.  Add the egg and stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft, sticky dough that pulls away from the side of the bowl while you are stirring.  On a lightly floured surface, dump your dough and knead if for 3-4 minutes.  Place it in a bowl that has been sprayed with cooking spray, and let it rest for 10 minutes.  While it is resting, mix your cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and set it aside.  After 10 minutes, on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into an 8X14 inch rectangle, spread with the softened butter and sprinkle it with the cinnamon sugar.  Roll it up and cut it into 12 pieces.  A little trick to help with cinnamon roll cutting is to get a long piece of thread, wrap it around the roll about an inch in, and pull the two sides together.  It will cut the roll perfectly.  Does that make any sense at all?

Place the cut rolls into a greased pan (I doubled my recipe and used a 9X13 and a glass pie tin), lightly cover them with tin foil and place them in an oven, warmed to 200 degrees and then turned off.  Let them rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.  Bake them at 350 degrees, for 25-30 minutes.  I covered mine with the tin foil for the first 15 minutes, and then took the tin foil off for the last half of baking.  Top them with frosting and eat them warm!

Toasted Nutmegged Almond and Coconut Waffles

I wanted to be specific with the title so you knew the yummy goodness that this waffle offers.  I got the idea for adding the nutmegged (is that an adjective) almonds from the Klutzy Chef and loved the flavor so much I tried it in a lot of different things.  I also love toasted coconut so I always add this as well and the combination is awesome.  Add fresh fruit on top and you've got some amazing flavors and textures.

Toasted Nutmegged Almond and Coconut Waffles

Ingredients:

Basic waffle recipe  (One of my favorites is this one, minus the bacon of course.)

Sliced almonds

Shredded coconut

Nutmeg 

Cinnamon

Sliced fruit (optional)

Directions:

Whip up your waffle batter.  Spread sliced almonds on cookie sheet and lightly spray with cooking spray or lightly drizzle with vegetable or olive oil, toss until they are all lightly coated.  Sprinkle with nutmeg then toss again.  Add shredded coconut to the cookie sheet.  Put your oven on broil and (set a timer if you're like me and you always forget and/or have set your oven on fire the last time you toasted coconut) toast the coconut and almonds until lightly browned.

When you're ready to make your first waffle, pour batter onto hot waffle iron then sprinkle generously with cinnamon, coconut, and almonds, right there on top of the batter.  Close the lid on that sucker and wait til all that deliciousness is baked right inside of that hot, fluffy waffle.

Slice fresh fruit on top and drizzle slather with syrup.  I can almost smell the nutmeg and cinnamon right now.

Quick and Easy Sweet Potato Casserole

I know I'm a little late, but I figured I should get this posted so I can use it the next time I randomly have a hankering for a Thanksgiving dish.  When we were preparing the dishes for Thanksgiving this year, I forgot all about the sweet potatoes until it was too late to bake them.  I decided to mix a few recipes together and made a stove top sweet potato casserole.  And if I may say, there were some at the Thanksgiving feast who don't normally like sweet potatoes and had second helpings.  So if you're looking for a quick and delicious sweet potato dish at your... next Thanksgiving meal, try this one.

Quick and Easy Sweet Potato Casserole

3-4 large sweet potatoes

3-4 tbsp. butter

1/3 c. brown sugar

cinnamon

3/4 c. pecans

Peel sweet potatoes and microwave on a plate with a little water for 5-8 minutes until soft when stuck with a fork.  When done, chop roughly.  Melt butter and sugar in dutch oven skillet.  Toss pecans in and stir on med/low heat until coated and starting to caramelize (about 3-5 minutes).  Toss in sweet potatoes and stir with spatula until well coated.  Sprinkle cinnamon to coat and continue to sauté potatoes around until ingredients are mixed in.  Sweet potatoes will mash slightly.  Pour into a glass baking dish and throw a few small marshmallows on the top (I mostly put them on because you can’t have Thanksgiving without sweet potatoes oozing with extra sugar).  I wanted to make sure everything stayed moist so I decided to shave tiny pieces of butter off of the stick and distribute them across the potatoes. Stick in oven on broil until marshmallows are slightly browned and melty.  (Do you like that word?)

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

 

Last week I helped make dinner for our Ward Relief Society Christmas dinner (yes, we are a little early, and yes, I did encourage that).  I made a salad that I found on The Sisters Cafe.  These cinnamon almonds went on top and they were so delicious!  I will post the rest of the salad soon because it got rave reviews. You know those shops in malls, where when you walk past them, your nostrils force you to stop and taste and possibly even pay exuberant amounts of money for that delicious smelling cinnamon-y, sugary, crunchy, almond goodness?  Well, these are just like those!  Only, it's your house that smells like that!  And you aren't paying ridiculous amounts of money to eat that sugary goodness!  Aren't you happy? 


Cinnamon Roasted Almonds
1 c. white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg white
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. almonds


Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.  Grease well a 13X17 inch baking sheet.  I used actual shortening to grease mine.  In a small bowl, combine the sugar, salt and cinnamon and set it aside.  In a large bowl, slightly beat the egg white.  Add the vanilla and beat it until it is very frothy, but not quite to the stiff peak stage.  

Add the almonds to the egg white mixture and stir them well, until they are all coated.  Here is a little tip:  Don't add more almonds past this point.  The almonds have to be coated in the egg whites or the upcoming sugar won't stick to them.  I learned this the hard way.  

                                      

When you have your almonds nice and egg white-y, add the sugar mixture and stir it all together until they are evenly coated.  Pour them onto your greased pan and spread them evenly.  Bake for one hour, stirring them when they are halfway through.