Chewy Soft Pretzels

I made these for the Super Bowl Party with my family. They were a definite hit! I never did get around to taking a picture though. Recipe is from My Kitchen Cafe.

Dough:

2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup (7 to 8 ounces) warm water*

Topping:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Coarse salt (optional)
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat until well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth, and quite slack. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes (see pictures below).

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn't, it will make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown. I only bake one baking sheet at a time and let the other rest while the first is in the oven.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

Makes 8 pretzels.

My suggestions: I had an EXTREMELY difficult time getting the baking soda to dissolve completely in the water, and I was never successful. Yes, the pretzels did turn out slightly splotchy, but despite their splotchy appearance, they were still delicious! If anyone decides to try this recipe, drop me a line and let me know how your baking soda wash turned out. If you have any tricks, I'd love to finally get it right!

Chicken Crescent Wreath

(recipe from Mountain View 8th Ward Relief Society cookbook)

2 (8 oz) tubes refrigerated crescent rolls

1 c. shredded Co-Jack cheese

2/3 c. condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1/2 c. fresh broccoli

1/2 c. chopped sweet red pepper

1/4 c. water chestnuts, chopped

1 (5 oz) can white chicken, drained or 3/4 c. chicken, cooked and cubed

2 T. onion, chopped

Arrange the crescent rolls on a 12-inch pizza pan, forming a ring with pointed ends facing the outer edge of pan and wide ends overlapping. Combine the remaining ingredients; spoon over wide ends of rolls. Fold points over filling and tuck under wide ends (filling will be visible). Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 6-8 servings.

My suggestions:

• I would use a can of Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup, instead of just the regular kind. The Healthy Request soup has 45% less sodium than the regular product, which is just what this recipe needs- less salt.
• Use the entire can of soup- for a couple of reasons: 1) it makes the dish creamier and less dry and 2) what else are you going to do with the leftover soup? It's better to use it in the recipe than just let it go to waste. :-)

Overall, this dish was so so SO tasty (minus the salt)! Two thumbs WAY up!