Cocoa Bagels with Sweet Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread!

Well, between this week and last, I guess I'm back to feeding my addiction for bagels and soft pretzels. For those of you who don't share my penchant for these delicious boiled breads, I promise that next week I will feature something "unboiled". But really, I just COULDN'T resist trying these chocolate-y chewy bagels. A wonderful thing about them is that there is no sugar in the dough, so you can easily justify slathering them with a good helping of the slightly sweet cream cheese spread! I tried them fresh out of the oven (totally yummy!) and then the next morning, I tried them toasted (also totally yummy!). As far as the peanut butter chip topping goes, I will say that it does add that sweet touch but the plain ones were just as good when they were topped with the cream cheese. I had a thought to perhaps top them with chopped peanuts, but I couldn't justify making them again so soon!  Maybe you can try that and report to me how they are.......I anticipate a good report!! 

Depending on the size you choose, this recipe will make 8-10 bagels. The dough is heavenly to work with, so have fun baking these tasty treats! 

Cocoa Bagels with Sweet Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread!

Dough:

1 ½ Cups warm water

1 Tbsp/packet Red Star Platinum yeast

½  tsp. vanilla

3 Cups unbleached bread flour

¼ unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½  tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. instant coffee granules

Topping:

2 Tbsp. coarse sugar

1 Tbsp. mini peanut butter chips, frozen then crushed (if desired)

You can mix the two, or just use the sugar……

Cream Cheese Spread:

4 oz. whipped cream cheese

1 Tbsp. peanut butter

2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Place warm water and yeast in EZ DOH bucket and stir to dissolve yeast. Let rest 1 minute. Add one cup of flour, then additional dough ingredients. EZ DOH-it for 2-3 minutes, or until dough is smooth and soft and all ingredients are incorporated (add up to ¼ Cup of extra flour if needed if dough is too sticky). Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” dough and replace in bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Divide the dough into 8-10 equal portions. Roll into balls. Place your thumb in the center of each ball and tug gently to form a  larger-than-desired hole (it will get smaller as it rises and bakes). Cover the bagels with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 and  heat 10 cups of water in a large pot to boiling. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with baking parchment paper. Place 3-4 bagels in the water and boil 35 seconds on each side . Remove boiled bagels with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain. Move bagels to prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle them with coarse sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Mix cream cheese spread ingredients. Cut bagels and toast, if desired. Spread with cream cheese. ENJOY!! 

Recipe adapted from Red Star Yeast recipe

Cocoa Bagels with Sweet Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread!

Fresh Blueberry Soft Pretzels!

I'm one blessed woman! I have the best helpers around! My

grandgirls came over this week and helped me bake up these delicious soft pretzels with the last (sigh.....) of my blueberries. This recipe was a bit of an experiment (though that is nothing new at this house!).....the biggest issue was that I wasn't sure how the blueberries would handle the "abuse" of being in a dough that is hand-rolled into long ropes. Fortunately, all things worked out! The girls were my "sprinklers" - the pretzels were topped with PLENTY of coarse sugar! After we enjoyed a few pretzels, we packed up the extras and off they went to friends - one to the girls' "mama" (my daughter);  a plate to folks who are unfortunately having to close their store uptown; a couple to my firecracker, 90-year-old friend Opal; and the last remaining pretzels to another 90-year old friend who is in the hospital. The tastiness was spread around all over town! I'm hoping my hubby won't feel too badly that he didn't get to taste them! They're easy enough to make, though, so perhaps I'll see if I can't scavenge a few mores berries from our bushes and bake up another batch!  

Enjoy the tastes of summer with these tart and tasty soft pretzels! 

Fresh Blueberry Soft Pretzels!

Dough:

1 1/2 cups warm water

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

3 ½ - 4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp/packet Red Star Platinum instant yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. grated lemon rind

¾  cup fresh blueberries

Water bath: 

10 cups water

1/2 cup baking soda

Topping:

1/4 cup water whisked together with 2 tbl cornstarch

¼ cup coarse sugar (I mixed some “lemon sugar” into the coarse sugar)

Place warm water and yeast in EZ DOH bucket and stir to dissolve yeast. Let rest 1 minute. Add one cup of flour, then additional dough ingredients. EZ DOH-it for 2-3 minutes, or until dough is smooth and soft and all ingredients are incorporated, adding flour, if necessary, to create a smooth, not-too-sticky dough.  Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” dough and replace in bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Lightly flour your counter top. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll out each piece into a long rope about 16 inches long and shape into a traditional pretzel shape. Place on a waxed-paper-lined baking sheet, cover with a piece of waxed paper  and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400.

In a large, wide pot, bring the water to a boil. SLOWLY add the baking soda.
Add the pretzels, 3-4 at a time, to your pot without crowding. Boil for 30 seconds; flip, then boil for an additional 30 seconds.  Remove pretzels from the water with a slotted spoon and place on a greased baking sheet. Once all of the pretzels have been boiled, brush with the cornstarch mixture. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, turning the pan around after 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Enjoy! 

Fresh Blueberry Soft Pretzels!

Sweet Cocoa Rolls!

There's a saying that I'm sure most of you have heard: "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Well, I've found that good cooking can also win the hearts of MANY! As you know, my hubby became the pastor of a small church about eight months ago. It is an older congregation, with many of the members being related in some way or another. That can make an intimidating circle to try to break in to. After each Sunday service, the congregation meets in the back of the church and fellowships over coffee and baked goods. Conversation is usually about family matters of some sort, which leaves the "outsider"...... well.....outside of the fun! Early on into this adventure, I decided I would find a way to make inroads into this tight-knit group.......and baked goods helped me find that path! Now I usually spend a few moments Saturday night mixing up and shaping something tasty for Sunday morning. When I get up on Sunday, I grab the pan of rolls out of the frig and bake them up......so when they get to church they're warm and fresh! This, of course, makes for GREAT conversation - recipe exchanges, ideas, memories, etc. Fresh baked goods have been a life-saver! 

I made these cocoa rolls a couple of weeks ago for the gang and they were a huge hit! In addition to their tastiness, the dough is heavenly - it's silky to the touch and so tender when it's baked up. And the aroma!!!!!!! There are all sorts of reasons to love this recipe........So, the only question left now is: Who do YOU want to share the love with? ! 

Sweet Cocoa Rolls

Dough:

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 pkg/Tbsp Red Star Platinum yeast

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

 Filling:

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Vanilla Drizzle:

¾ Cup powdered sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

½ Tbsp. butter, softened

1-3 Tbsp. milk 

1 Cup mini chocolate chips, if desired –

Can be sprinkled over the filling, before rolling up OR can be sprinkled on top of warm rolls (this is what I did)

Place warm water and yeast in EZ DOH bucket and stir to dissolve yeast. Let rest 1 minute. Add one cup of flour, then additional dough ingredients. EZ DOH-it for 2-3 minutes, or until dough is smooth and soft and all ingredients are incorporated, adding additional flour, if necessary for a dough that is not sticky. Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” dough and replace in bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Remove dough from bucket and roll out onto a floured surface into an approximately 9 x 12 rectangle. Brush rectangle with melted butter. Combine sugar and cocoa powder (filling ingredients). Sprinkle onto dough, spreading evenly . Roll dough tightly from the long side, cinnamon-roll style. Seal seams.  Cut the log into 12-15 evenly-sized rolls. Place the rolls in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for approximately 20-30 minutes, till done. If sprinkling with chocolate chips, do so right out of the oven. Cool slightly. Combine icing ingredients until smooth and drizzle over rolls. ENJOY!! 


Recipe adapted from chickenintheroad.com 

Sweet Cocoa Rolls!