DoughSeeDough

a balanced plate with room for dessert


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Soft Pretzels

I find myself craving soft pretzels at times. Who can resist their soft, doughy saltiness?? I love these because you can put whatever you want on them – cinnamon sugar, garlic powder, Parmesan, or just plain salted. The best part is that they’re wayyy cheaper to make than to buy at the mall!

Making these is a ton of fun; I’ll have to keep making them so I can practice on my pretzel twisting…

Soft Pretzels
adapted from allrecipes.com
serves 12

4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water
4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
2 tablespoons butter, melted

toppings of your choice* (for the photo above, I used cinnamon sugar)

  1. Dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in a small bowl of warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until creamy.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt. Make a well in the center. Pour melted butter and yeast mixture into well and stir to combine. Slowly incorporate remaining 2 cups flour to form dough. Knead dough until smooth, about 7 – 10 minutes.
  3. Lightly oil a large bowl. Place dough into bowl, turning to coat in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
  4. Preheat oven to 415°F. In a large bowl, mix baking soda and hot water.
  5. When dough has doubled in size, divide into 12 even pieces. Roll pieces into ropes and twist into a pretzel shape.
  6. Dip pretzels into the baking soda water before placing on baking sheet.
  7. Brush pretzels with 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with topping of your choice.
  8. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until lightly browned.

*For toppings, try the following:

  • kosher salt, served with melted cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon mixed with 1/4 cup sugar
  • garlic salt, served with melted cheese
  • Parmesan cheese, served with marinara sauce


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Chocolate Truffle Cookies

These cookies are very similar to the Gooey Chocolate Cookies I posted about a few weeks ago. They aren’t as simple to make since they require a few more ingredients, but I think that they taste so much better! Give these a try when you have a few extra minutes to make cookies.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies
from allrecipes.com

4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoon butter
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

  1. In the microwave or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and the butter stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, whip eggs and sugar until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and the chocolate mixture until well mixed. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually stir into the chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining 1 cup chocolate chips. Cover dough and chill for at least an hour or overnight.
  2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll chilled dough into 1 inch balls. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets so they are 2 inches apart.
  3. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.


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Melt-In-Your-Mouth Shortbread

I have a go-to shortbread recipe, but I came across this one that claimed to “melt-in-your-mouth” and I decided to give it a try. You can never have too many shortbread recipes, right?? This was super easy to make and they  lived up to their claim – they did indeed melt-in-your-mouth. Don’t be deterred by the cornstarch in the recipe and give it a try!

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Shortbread
from allrecipes.com

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups all-purpose

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Whip butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and flour. Beat on low for one minute, then on high for 3 – 4 minutes. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls from a medium cookie scoop onto cookie sheet.
  3. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes in the oven. Make sure edges don’t brown too much. Cool slightly on cookie sheets before carefully removing to wire racks to cool completely.

I decided to drizzle my cookies with some chocolate. I melted 1 cup of chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of butter and used a pastry bag to pipe the drizzle on top.


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Butter Snow Flakes

This cookie is really light and delicious and pretty easy to make as well. I don’t own a cookie press so I improvised with a pastry bag and my largest star tip. The snowflakes were a little hard to form since the dough was pretty thick and sticky, but I think they came out pretty well! I may have to invest in a cookie press and try these again, though!

Butter Snow Flakes
from allrecipes.com

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup butter
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange zest

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Sift together flour, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and yolk and beat until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla and orange zest.  Gradually blend in dry ingredients.
  4. Fill a cookie press or pastry bag with dough, and form cookies onto lined baking sheet.
  5. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes in preheated oven, or until cookies are golden brown on the peaks and bottoms. Remove from cookie sheets at once to cool on wire racks.


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Cranberry Orange Cookies

Out of the 6 types of cookies I made for the Christmas cookie packages I distributed, this one was my favorite. They are a perfect balance of tart and sweet. It was really refreshing and pretty simple to make, too.

Cranberry Orange Cookies
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups dried cranberries

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer. Add in sugars and beat until smooth. Beat in egg until well blended. Mix in orange zest and orange juice.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir into orange mixture.
  4. Mix in cranberries until just incorporated.
  5. Scoop dough with a medium cookie scoop and place 2 inches apart onto lined baking sheet.
  6. Bake about 12 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool slightly on cookie sheet before removing to cooling rack to cool completely.


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Chunky Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie

This cookie was originally made by Erika Davis from Top Chef Just Desserts. They looked so good and Sylvia Weinstock, a renowned cake decorator, asked for the recipe! After that, I knew that these had to be good.

Chunky Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie
adapted from bravotv.com

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 pound butter
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts

  1. Preheat oven to 345°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Cream butter, sugars, and eggs together on high speed with an electric mixer. Mix in vanilla, salt and baking soda.
  3. Scrape the sides and add the baking powder and flour.
  4. Mix until just incorporated and add the walnuts and chocolate chips in.
  5. Scoop balls of cookie dough with a medium cookie scoop and place onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
  6. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned. Let cool slightly on baking sheet before transferring to a cookie rack.


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Gooey Chocolate Cookies

Making Christmas cookies has become a tradition of mine. This year, I opted to make an entirely new set of cookies. Ever single recipe used was something new. A lucky few got packages of cookies, and my sister has been insisting that I post the recipe for the gooey chocolate cookies ASAP.

These cookies were delicious. The best part? They were so easy to make!

Gooey Chocolate Cookies
adapted from foodtv.com

1 8-oz block of cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 18-oz box Pillsbury Moist Supreme Dark Chocolate cake mix (or any other moist cake mix)
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in butter until creamy.
  3. Beat in egg and vanilla extract until incorporated.
  4. Beat in cake mix.
  5. Cover and refrigerate dough for 2 hours or overnight to firm up. Using a medium cookie scoop, form uniform balls.
  6. Roll the balls in confectioners’ sugar.
  7. Place balls 2 inches apart on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
  8. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and gooey and appear under-done.
  9. Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners’ sugar if desired.


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S’More Bars

It’s funny how something that I love so much can just slip to the back of my head. I apologize, once again, for not keeping up with my blog. After a whirlwind wedding, I fell into the routine of work, prepare for work, eat, sleep, and sometimes workout. I also hate to admit this, but I was making the same old food over and over again. I wasn’t exploring anymore.

I recently recovered from a horrifying 5 days of being sick. The one plus? I got to lay in bed and watch old seasons of Top Chef. It hit me one morning – I love cooking, I love watching other people cook, I love trying new things… why in the world am I not keeping up with my blog?!

I decided to start making more new dishes and challenged myself to not make anything I’ve made before, no matter how good it was. I chose 5 new types of cookies to make for my Christmas packages this year and I’m bringing new foods to work potlucks.

So here it goes. I offer you these S’More Cookie Bars. They are a perfect winter treat if you ever find yourself missing campfires in the summer.

S’More Bars
serves 16
from bakingbites.com

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about  8 full size sheets)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 king sized Hershey’s chocolate bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of the dough into an even layer on the bottom of the pan.
  4. Place chocolate bars over dough in a single layer. The 2 king sized bars should fit perfectly side by side. Break the chocolate  if necessary to fit it into the pan.
  5. Spread marshmallow creme over chocolate with a spatula.
  6. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This is most easily done by flattening the dough into small “pancakes” and laying them on top of the marshmallow creme.
  7. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, until lightly browned.
  8. Cool completely before cutting into bars.


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Pelmeni

One of the saddest days of my college life happened when Pelmeni closed. Pelmeni was a tiny little restaurant in Madison that served just that – pelmeni, or Russian dumplings. They had meat or potato or mixed and you could get it spicy or plain. There were piles of sour cream in the cooler and a few sodas, too. Not spicy enough? They had bottles of some sort of magical spicy sauce that you could dump onto the pelmeni.

So. Dang. Good.

I was devastated when they closed. Where else was I going to be able to get such a filling meal for only $5? I searched everywhere for pelmeni – in grocery stores, other restaurants, everywhere. I finally gave up and tried making my own version. The verdict? I think it came out pretty close to the original State Street restaurant.

Pelmeni

To make the dough:
2 cups flour, sifted
7 fluid ounces of cold water
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt

 

To make the filling:
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

To make the topping:
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon Sriracha chili sauce
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Sour cream, to taste

  1. Place flour in a large bowl. Make a dimple in the top of the mound and crack the egg into it. Add salt. Gradually add cold water and knead.
  2. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 15 – 20 minutes.
  3. Combine all filling ingredients and mix until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Set aside.
  4. Roll the dough into a rope 1 inch in diameter. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
  5. Roll the pieces into circles 1/16 of an inch thick.
  6. Place a teaspoon of filling into the center of the dough and pinch the edges to seal the pelmeni. The pelmeni will be in the shape of a semi circle. Bring the two pointed ends together to form the final shape.
  7. Mix the butter and vinegar together and set aside.
  8. Boil the pelmeni in salted water for 3 – 5 minutes.
  9. Toss pelmeni with the topping ingredients
  10. Toss the cooked pelmeni with the butter and vinegar and garnish with a dollop of sour cream, a dash of curry powder, a sprinkle of cilantro and a drizzle of Sriracha!

 


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Tater Tot Casserole

I had the privilege of trying this delicacy for the first time last year. As much as I hate to say this, I actually kind of like it. A lot. And I have a few little secrets that make it even better.

1. Red pepper flakes, and lots of ’em.
2. Baking the casserole without cheese to get the tots crispy

I apologize in advance for the photo. I think it’s dang near impossible to take an appetizing photograph of this monstrosity of a meal.

Tater Tot Casserole
serves 8

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound frozen green beans
1 pound frozen corn
2 10.75 ounce cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 32 ounce package tater tots (I like the mini tots)
1.5 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Sauté the onion in a large pot until cooked. Add ground beef and cook until browned.
  3. Mix in green beans, corn, and soup. Stir in red pepper flakes until well-distributed.
  4. Spread mixture into a casserole dish and top with tater tots.
  5. Bake 30 – 45 minutes, or until tots are golden brown and casserole is heated through.
  6. Top with cheese and broil until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly.