~Pretzels~

Homemade buttered pretzels

~ big homemade buttered pretzels ~

These are the best big, soft pretzels I’ve ever had.  I tried to make these, and turned out yummy and decided to dress them up in one flavour and they were! YUM!

for the dough:

5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

4 and 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (not fast acting)

2 scant cups warm water

Place all ingredients in Kitchen Aid mixer bowl (or mix with hand). Beat until mixed well. The dough will be kind of hard to knead, add a tiny bit more water, if needed. Knead until soft and smooth, About 5 minutes.

Place dough in a buttered glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes. It should be noticeably puffed, but not necessarily doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Oil two large baking sheets. When the 30 minutes is up, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface and divide into 12 equal pieces.

Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. This will make the dough much easier to handle. Combine 1 cup warm water and 1/4 cup baking soda in a shallow bowl. Roll each of the 12 pieces into a 28 inch rope. Shape into a pretzel.

Dip each pretzel in the soda wash, and place 6 on each baking sheet.

Sprinkle each of the pretzels with coarse kosher salt. Allow them to rest for 10 minutes. Bake for 4 minutes. Rotate baking sheets. Bake an additional 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the pretzels from the oven and brush generously with melted butter.

We made 3 different flavors…

~ Plain ~

salted and buttered

dip – yellow mustard

~ Italian ~

salted, buttered, sprinkled with Italian seasoning, grated Parmesan cheese and garlic powder

dip – warm marinara sauce

~ Churro ~

salted, buttered, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar

dip – dark chocolate syrup

Enjoy!

~Recipe by Melissa~

~ Ice Tea ~

Cinnamon-Spiced Iced Tea

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 8 cups filtered water
• 2 (1-inch) cinnamon sticks
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 large or family sized black tea bags
• ¾ cup orange juice
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 1 orange, sliced into 6 slices (optional)
• Cinnamon sticks for garnish (optional)
• Ice for serving

Instructions

1. Place the water, cinnamon sticks, and sugar in a large saucepan and place over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes to allow the cinnamon sticks to release their flavor.
2. Remove the water from heat, add the tea bags, cover, and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and discard.
3. Pour the tea mixture into a 2-quart pitcher and stir in the orange and lemon juice.
4. Chill the tea in the refrigerator until cold, about 2 hours.
5. Pour over ice, garnish with orange slices and cinnamon sticks if desired, then serve.
6. Recipe by: Day Dream Kitchen.