Texas Sheet Cake

 it's a sin I don't have this blog posted.  From Aunt Shell custom cookbook for me.

Enjoy - A quick fast easy fam fav.  I've frozen and pulled out for easy no fuss dessert later on.

Mexican crinkle cookies

 

Came from A Taste of Home, in peachie and blogged here:

Robert Matthew Cowan my son loves these - easy, soft, chewy, and the hint of cinnamon are bomb.

Gingersnap Cookies - chewy dad's fav

 

3 cups sugar

2 1/4 cups shortening

3/4 cup molasses (dark color)

CREAM above 3 ingredients

add 3 eggs

add 6 cups of flour gradually

1 teaspoon salt (I always use kosher salt)

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

1 Tablespoon Cloves

1 Tablespoon Ginger

2 Tablespoons baking soda

Roll in a ball (or medium cookie scoop) roll in sugar

Makes a lot (medium scoop 6 dozen)

Do Not grease pan

bake 350 for 8-10 min.  You take out when they get lines in them

something extra add a Hersey's kiss on top when out of the oven.  My dad's fav and his 40th birthday treat! 

ENJOY

Lion House Bakery Challah Braid

 Awesome - My kids favorite of late.  Made RS Christmas dinner 12.2.25

Recipe makes 2 loaves

I double the recipe in my Bosch and make 4 loaves on 2 sheet pans. One loaf gives me aprox. 15-17 slices, but I prefer just to rip hunks of this amazing bread with softened butter.  Comfort and deliciousness at it's finest.

1 Tablespoon dry yeast

1.5 cups water (110-115 degrees)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten well

Pinch of saffron (optional)

  (Saffron maybe more for looks than taste unless you go to Turkey and buy fresh if so bring me some!)

4.5-5 cups flour

1 egg yolk, beaten well

1/4 teaspoon water

Sesame seeds / Poppy seeds / or Everything but the Bagel seasoning

sea salt fancy touch

corn meal optional

Place yeast and water in a large bowl.  Stir slightly to dissolve.  Add sugar, oil, salt, beaten eggs, saffron, and 2.5 cups flour.  Beat well.  Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough and knead until smooth.(Remember slightly sticky dough makes very awesome bread but you don't want super sticky as that is too hard to shape post rising)  Place in a greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until double in bulk (1-2 hours).  Punch down dough and divide into 6 pieces.  Roll each piece into a long rope 18-20'' long x 1'' diameter.  Braid three of the ropes together. (Online other great braiding / knot ideas).  Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of dough. Place on a greased cookie sheet sprinkled with some corn meal (think it gives it a fancy elevated easy touch).  .  Mix egg yolk with 1/4 teaspoon water and brush over braids. (Heather uses an entire egg with 1 Tablespoon of water)  Sprinkle with seasame seeds/poppy seeds & sea salt or fav salt. (or Trader Joe's everything but the bagel seasoning for a punch of flavor)

Cover (with a towel or spray plastic wrap with Pam) and let rise 45+ min. (usually doubles in size) You'll get a feel for the rise depending on the season / your warmth in your room etc.

(unique to have eggs / with yeast in a bread more of a "roll" thing to do, so this bread is extra fluffy and yum)

Bake 350 for around 20 min.

some braid techniques

Spring Mix fruit salad and balsamic

 

2 cups candied walnuts (I buy the candied walnuts from Trader Joe's or candy above but no one has time for this I love Trader Joe's the most!)

12 oz. crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese

20 oz. Spring Mix

2 cups seedless red grapes

2 stalks of celery

2 granny smith apples

Clean and cut grapes in half, core and cut apples into bite size pieces.  Dice celery and combine with spring mix.  Before serving toss with grapes, walnuts, and Gorgonzola cheese.  Top with Sweet Balsamic Dressing to taste.

Sweet Balsamic:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup. balsamic vinegar

1/3 medium red onion (dice in food processor)

3 cloves garlic

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

2 Tablespoons sour cream (love the touch of sour cream with oil and vinegar, makes this dressing one of my fav's)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix together in a blender and chill in a glass shaker jar (I use old washed spaghetti sauce/jam jars etc.)

Pretzel Bites with Sourdough Discard

Crispy, chewy and delicious pretzel bites made with sourdough discard. Perfect for a crowd or a snack. Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Prep Time15minutes mins

Cook Time8minutes mins

Rise Time1hour hr 30minutes mins

Total Time1hour hr 53minutes mins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

 

Servings: 32 pretzel bites

 

Author: Amy Coyne

Equipment

• Mixer
• baking sheet
• parchment paper

Ingredients

Sourdough Pretzel Dough

• 145 grams sourdough discard heaping 1/2 cup, or bubbly sourdough starter
• 175 grams lukewarm water 3/4 cup
• 5 grams granulated sugar 1 teaspoon
• 8 grams instant yeast 2 teaspoons
• 6 grams salt 1 teaspoon
• 285 grams all purpose flour about 2 cups, see recipe notes - plus more for rolling

Baking Soda Wash

• 120 grams hot water 1/2 cup
• 15 grams baking soda 1 Tablespoon

Toppings

• 55 grams unsalted butter, melted 4 Tablespoons
• 12 grams flaky salt 2 teaspoons, for topping
• 20 grams parmesan cheese, shredded 1/4 cup, if desired
• 60 grams cinnamon sugar 1/4 cup, if desired

Instructions

• To a large bowl or to bowl in a stand mixer, mix together the sourdough discard, water, sugar, instant yeast, salt and flour.
• Knead by hand about 5-8 minutes or knead in a stand mixer for about 5 minutes until it comes together and forms a smooth ball. Add a little more flour as needed. The dough will still be sticky, but not overly sticky. Pinch off a piece of dough and roll it into a ball in your fingers. If it forms a ball with minimal sticky residue left on your fingers, you can stop adding flour. Check out a few other tips for kneading dough here.
• Lightly oil a bowl or container (affiliate link) and turn the dough around in the bowl to cover it lightly with the oil. Drape a kitchen towel or some plastic wrap over the bowl and let dough rise for 1-1 ½ hours.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Once dough has doubled in size, flour a counter with 1-2 Tablespoons flour and punch down the dough. Turn it out onto the floured surface and separate into 4 sections.
• Roll each section into a long strand and cut each strand into 6-8 pretzel pieces. Place each pretzel bite on the parchment paper.
• Heat 120 grams (1/2 cup) of water in the microwave until almost boiling. Add 15 grams (1 Tablespoon) of baking soda (it will bubble up a little) and mix together. Make sure the baking soda is completely dissolved before proceeding.
• Use a pastry brush to brush each pretzel bite with the baking soda/water mixture. Alternatively you can dunk each pretzel bites into the baking soda/water mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 500ºF. Let the pretzel bites rise for about 10-15 minutes (usually the amount of time it takes for the oven to preheat) before baking.
• Bake the pretzel bites for about 8-10 minutes until crisp and lightly brown on the outside.
• While the pretzel bites are baking, melt the unsalted butter and prepare any toppings (salt, parmesan cheese, cinnamon sugar).
• As soon as the pretzel bites are baked through, remove them from the oven and brush with melted butter. Continue adding butter until all of the butter is on the pretzel bites. It may seem like a lot of butter, but keep adding it for the best taste and flavor.
• Top with salt, cinnamon sugar or parmesan cheese and enjoy immediately.

Notes

Flour: You may need more or less flour than called for in this recipe depending on the percentage of flour and water your sourdough discard has. Check for readiness of the dough by rolling the dough into a ball in your fingertips. If it forms a ball with just a little sticky residue on your fingers, you can stop adding flour. If it is very sticky, add a little more flour about a Tablespoon at a time.

Substitutions: Bubbly sourdough starter can be substituted for sourdough discard. Alternatively, if you don't have sourdough discard on hand, the discard can be omitted and you can increase the flour to 2 1/3 cups the water to 1 cup of water in the recipe. Keep the other ingredients the same.

Nutrition

Calories: 50kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 347mg | Potassium: 12mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 43IU | Vitamin C: 0.001mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Thank You! https://amybakesbread.com/pretzel-bites-with-sourdough-discard/

Jeni's Salted Carmel Ice cream recipe

 Hailey and I watched masterclass tonight 6.10.25 and watched Jeni create icecream. I couldn't believe the boil stage, and cornstarch etc. no wonder her ice cream so wonderful it is pure goodness and less ice crysal-y ...Loved her journey of never giving up and the opportunities her 22 year old self started with Scream and now to Jeni's.  With that personal touch she had to do everything right.

We will make this week for Father's day and add cashews.

LYK the review: