Pumpkin season? Usually I say it’s more like Apple season. Honestly, the pumpkin flavors never quite intrigued me, but last night I was feeling like a warm spicy pumpkin something or other with a hint of maple. I recently made an Apple Cider Bundt Cake, and that’s how thisMaple Pumpkin Donut Bundt Cake entered the chat.
She’s a perfect balance of pumpkin spice, maple, a donut like sugar crumb coat, and that slight hint of salt to round out the sweet.
Dare I say, pumpkin may have redeemed itself for me.
Super into sandwich cookies lately. I’ve made a few, but the classics like Oatmeal Cream Pies just can’t be beat.
Slow Sundays, for me, are best spent in the kitchen making all the yummy things. It’s my favorite way to center myself, while simultaneously filling the bellies of others with some goodies. Cheers!
Making Bavarian Pretzels has become my entire personality this winter. I cannot get enough. My love for pretzels paired with a rich stone ground mustard runs real deep. And my soul is lit on fire with that doughy interior, crispy exterior, version of a dopamine hit.
The pretzels are best straight out of the oven. If not serving right away, be sure to let cool on a wire rack so moisture doesn’t get trapped.
Be sure to play around with the toppings. Rosemary, japapeno and cheddar, pepperoni and mozzarella, cinnamon sugar… options are endless!
Bavarian Pretzel Recipe
Ingredients
1 ½ c. warm water
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp kosher sea salt
2 ½ tsp active dry yeast
4 ½ c. all-purpose flour
¼ c. salted butter, melted
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
3 quarts water
⅔ c. baking soda
1 egg york + 1 Tbsp water
Pretzel salt
Directions
In mixer, pour warm water over brown sugar and sea salt. Sprinkle yeast over top and let it sit until bubbly (approx 10 minutes)
Add flour and butter. With dough hook mix until dough comes away from bowl (approx 4 minutes)
Form dough into ball and place back in bowl, lightly coated with oil. Cover and let rise in warm spot for an hour or dbl’d in size.
After dough has risen, preheat oven to 450, and bring water & baking soda to a boil in a pot on stove.
Turn dough onto lightly oiled surface and divide into 8-12 portions. Roll one portion into long snake, bring ends up, twist twice, bring down toward bottom and secure under. Repeat.
Place pretzels in boiling water for 30 seconds, place on parchment covered pan, brush with egg/water mix.
Sprinkle with salt, or any other fun ingredients.
Bake for 12-14 minutes.
Enjoy!
I am learning a few tricks as I go, so I will be sure to add those tips to this post as my skills continue to develop:
Eat fresh day of.
If storing, be sure to cool completely on wire rack and store in air-tight container for one day.
If storing more than one day, put them in freezer bag and pop in freezer.
Whether eating next day, or multiple days out from freezer, always reheat in oven for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. Brush with a little water on top then pop in oven.
If making for later, hold off on adding salt until your reheat. The salt dissolves with added moisture from freezer.
A couple of years ago I posted this Swig Sugar Cookie recipe, and to this day it remains my favorite sugar cookie.
Had to pull the recipe out of the archives again, this time we just added colorful sprinkles to channel summer fun. Enjoy!
Swig Sugar Cookies
Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 8 minutes Total Time 18 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup Butter room temperature
3/4 cups Vegetable Oil
1 1/4 cups Sugar
3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
2 Tablespoons Water
2 Eggs
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tarter
1 teaspoon Salt
5 1/2 cups Flour
Sour Cream Frosting (Original)
1/2 cup room temperature butter
3/4 cup Sour Cream
Pinch of salt
2 cup Powdered Sugar
Instructions
Cream together Butter, Vegetable Oil, Sugars, Water, and Eggs.
Combine dry ingredients and slowly add to butter mixture.
Mix until everything is combined. Your dough should be a little crumbly and not sticky.
Use a cookie scoop or roll a golf ball sized ball of dough and place it on your cookie sheet
To give the cookies the signature rough edge, press a glass bottom (dipped in sugar) into the center of the dough ball.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. They should just barely be browning on the bottom. Move cookies to a cooling rack. Once they are cool put them in the fridge.
For the ORIGINAL frosting: Cream together butter and sour cream and salt. Slowly add powdered sugar. When it gets so thick its not frosting like add a splash of milk. Alternate this process until your frosting is the desired consistency. Add 1 drop of red food coloring and whip on high for 1 minute.
Keep cookies in a sealed container until they are ready to serve. The magic of a Swig Sugar Cookie (apparently) is that the cookies are cold and the frosting is room temperature. Frost right before serving.
I can attest to the refrigeration technique of the cookie.
SO GOOD CHILLED!
I used a traditional buttercream frosting for this batch which includes 2/3 cup butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp almond extract, 2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream. Mix together until desired consistency, adding more powdered sugar and whipping cream as needed.
