Snack Time

Mr. h and I were out and about shopping and spending the day together and I was craving a snack. I couldn't decide if I wanted salty or sweet though. After thinking about it for a while I declared that I wanted cinnamon tortilla crisps. My hubby looked at me like I was crazy, which happens more often than one might think :-)

So the next day while I was lounging in my jammies at home and he was out and about, I made the cinnamon sugar tortilla chips. They're crispy, crunchy, lightly salted (if you use salted butter) buttery and addicting. And the good news is they last for weeks in an airtight container.

You could easily adapt this sweet chip into something savory, by using olive oil and kosher salt or ranch dressing powder or taco seasoning. Maybe even switching it up and using a flavored tortilla and rubbing it with garlic. Would be excellent with a bowl of guac if that's your thing. Really the possibilities are endless. Have fun with this and serve for a crowd- this makes a ton!

Cinnamon Sugar Chips adapted from Martha Stewart

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 flour tortillas, (10 inches in diameter)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl*(see note). Brush tortillas with cinnamon sugar/butter mixture, and cut each into 8 wedges (A pizza cutter works nicely here).

Arrange wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Let chips cool on a wire rack before serving.

NOTE: I so didn't follow the directions! I cut the tortillas into wedges, placed them on my baking sheet, brushed them with butter then sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar. I obviously didn't read the recipe before I started these. ha ha! but it actually worked out fine. I think I had cinnamon toast on my mind. It's your choice to follow the directions or be a rebel and do it my way :-)

Super Bowl Eats- Take 2!

Last year around Super Bowl time I posted baked corn dogs. I thought they were neat and clever and they served a crowd. But I didn't really like the corn bread all that much and by the time it baked all the way through it was a little dry. Now I've tried MANY different recipes for cornbread and I still think Jiffy Cornbread is still the best. You can argue with me and swear by your recipe (and I've tried a few of those too) but I still like Jiffy. And at 35 cents a box, I'm okay with that :-)

So I originally thought I would take that pan of baked corn dogs and use Jiffy instead but then I saw that Coleen of Coleen's Recipes made corn bread muffins and I thought "duh!". Why didn't I think of that? Actually it was her genius daughter that came up with them first so ever since seeing them last summer I have made them. I made them every few weeks when I actually have hot dogs in the house- which is not that often. I like to buy Hebrew National.

So anyway, we love these and they are so simple to make. I like them with some mustard and ketchup and a spoonful of dill pickle relish. Mr. H likes to top his with chili. Each box of muffins mix makes about 7 muffins but it's easy to double or triple this recipe. They would be awesome this weekend at your Super Bowl party. Go Cowboys! Oh wait, who's playing?

Baked Corn Dog Muffins inspired by Coleen

• 1 box Jiffy Corn Bread Mix (plus milk and egg as directed on box)
• Hot Dogs (2-3) or Kielbasa Sausage
• Grated Cheddar Cheese

Make corn bread mix according to the package instructions and set aside. Spray 7 openings of a muffin tin with nonstick spray and set aside. Chop hot dogs into 3rd (about 1 1/2-2 inch pieces).

Place a tablespoon or two of the cornbread mix into greased muffin tins. Add a piece of the hot dog and a sprinkling of cheese. Top with more corn bread mix filling each tin about 2/3 of the way full. Sprinkle with a little more cheese.

Bake in a preheated 400F oven for 15-20minutes or until lightly golden on the edges. Let cool for a few minutes before removing from tin. Serve with condiments of your choice such as ketchup, mustard, chili, cheese or relish.

Use whatever toppings you like on your corn dogs or hot dogs and let the kids have fun!

I hope your team wins!

Das Ist Gut

Pretzels! Soft pretzels to be exact, or "pretzen" if you're the little boy I nanny for. He loves "pretzen" and he's always asking me if I have any in my purse. Along with cookies or chocolate, sprinkles or marshmallows. ha ha! I did not share these with him but I'm sure he would have loved them.

I got together with the lovely Ingrid of 3 B's- Baseball, Baking Books and Michelle of One Ordinary Day to make these pretzels. Michelle chose this soft pretzel recipe from Alton Brown and they were a winner! Mr. H took his first bite into his cinnamon sugar pretzel and said "to hell with Auntie Anne's". He loved them!

It was helpful to use 2 spatulas to remove them from the water.

They were soft and chewy, yeasty and just so good. They couldn't be simpler either. You whip up the dough in your stand mixer in about 5 minutes then you let it rest and rise for an hour. You shape them, boil them in a solution of water and baking soda for 30 seconds then bake them. In about an hour and a half you can have fresh out of the oven pretzels. Do it.

This is the salt box Mr. H got me for Christmas. I love it! He got it for me since I would keep a pinch bowl on the counter full of kosher salt. This is so much prettier and it keeps my salt clean :-)

I had no problems with these at all and the dough was so buttery soft and a breeze to work with. The recipe makes 8 pretzels so I made half salted with kosher salt and the others were brushed with melted butter and coated in cinnamon sugar. bliss. The only thing I would change next time is to only make half a batch at a time because the next day they were a little tough and a couple made their way to the trash :-( If you plan on eating all 8 in one day then by all means make them all at once.

Salted, Cinnamon Sugar, and Buttered Plain

Homemade Soft Pretzels

from Alton Brown

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel or kosher salt

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper DO NOT USE WAX PAPER- it will smoke! and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Don't worry, they will sink to the bottom then float back to the top. If they fall apart in the water, just quickly reshape them when you place them back on the parchment. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels: Make and assemble the pretzels as directed above but don't brush them with the egg wash. Leave them plain. When they come out of the oven and are still hot, brush both sides with half a stick of melted butter (for 8 pretzels) and coat in cinnamon sugar.

Be sure to stop by and visit Michelle and Ingrid to see how their pretzels turned out! It was fun baking with you ladies!

Wanna bite?