Snow Cream

Snow. Beautiful North Idaho Snow! And what’s the first thing the kids want to do after going out to play in it? Make Snow Cream of course! And why not, with this super simple recipe!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of sugar

1 cup of milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

6-8 cups of clean snow

Sprinkles (optional)

Mix together the sugar, salt, milk and vanilla until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add in the snow cup by cup until mixture becomes smooth and scoopable. Top with sprinkles and serve immediately!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Simple and Quick Chocolate Chip Cookies

My kids (and husband) love eating raw cookie dough…So each time I make a batch I feel like I’m on some kind of a secret mission to whip these up and stick them in the oven before anyone notices.

These literally take minutes to prep, then 10 minutes to Bake.

Simple and Quick!

 

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, melted

½ cup of sugar

¼ cup of packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 egg

1 ½ cups of flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup of chocolate chips

 

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Lightly melt the butter.
  3. Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, mix the butter and sugars until creamy.
  4. Add the vanilla and egg. Beat on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix your egg!
  5. Next add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gently mix together. The dough should be easy to handle and hold a nice shape (add a little flour if too sticky).
  6. Stir in chocolate chips.
  7. Pinch off and roll into 2 inch balls. Place on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
  8. Bake for 10 minutes. Be Careful, Do Not Overbake!
  9. Let them cool slightly and Enjoy!

Challah Bread

Challah Bread

Hey guys! Just wanted to share a quick recipe with you. A traditional Challah Bread often baked during our Hanukkah celebration.

It’s delicious and looks great on the table!

Ingredients:

1 cup warm

2 teaspoons yeast

4-4 ½ cups flour

¼ cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk (save the white for the wash)

¼ cup oil or butter

 

Instructions:

  1. Proof the yeast. Place the warm water in a bowl with a teaspoon of sugar and the yeast, mix to combine. Allow to sit until you can see a frothy layer across the top, should happen within 10 minutes. If no froth try again with fresh yeast.
  2. Mix together the dry ingredients. Flour, sugar, and salt. I use my stand mixer to knead and mix but this could easily be done by hand.
  3. To the flour mixture, add the eggs, egg yolk, and oil. Whisk.
  4. Mix the egg white with 2 tbsp. of water and set aside until time to use.
  5. Pour the yeast mixture in. Add flour a tbsp at a time until a nice dough forms.
  6. Knead on low for 10 minutes. The dough is finished kneading when it becomes soft, smooth, and can be shape into a ball.
  7. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel and place in a warm area. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
  8. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a long rope about 16 inches long.
  9. Separate into 3 rolls each, doing a simple braid with each set. I like to do 2 sets of 3 but you could also do a 6 stranded bread.
  10. Place braids in a warm area and allow to rise again for 1 hour.
  11. Brush the braids with the egg wash while the oven is preheating to 350.
  12. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
  13. At last, allow the challah to cool. Slice and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Doughnuts

So, my daughter’s been reading a book called Doughnut Day, where a mother and daughter take the day to make doughnuts together. Needless to say, upon finishing the story, she had a craving for some ‘momma time’ in the kitchen.

Here’s our recipe:

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups of flour

¼ cup of sugar

3 tbsp of softened butter

1 tsp salt

½ cup of kefir or milk

1 egg

1 pk yeast

½ cup of mixed flour and water (1/3 cup of flour and 1 cup of water)

Olive oil for frying

Glaze:

3 cups of Powdered sugar

½ cup of water

4 tsp vanilla

  1. First, make the mixture of flour and water to act as a dough enhancer by heating 1 cup of water, then adding in 1/3 cup of flour until thick. Set aside to cool.
  2. Mix all ingredients together and knead for 15 minutes. I used my kitchen aide mixer with a dough hook attachment.
  3. Set aside and let rise 45 minutes.
  4. Punch down and let rise another 45 minutes.
  5. Next, place the dough on a floured surface and roll out to 1/2” thick. (tip: don’t over handle the dough at this stage or it’ll get tough)
  6. Cut into doughnuts.
  7. Final rise! 1 hour.
  8. Heat oil. I used a deep fryer, but a deep skillet would also work.
  9. While the oil is heating, make the glaze. Just whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla, and water.
  10. Fry the donuts in the oil about 30-45 seconds on each side, until golden brown.
  11. Scoop out onto a towel and allow to dry.
  12. Once slightly cooled, dip in glaze and set aside.
  13. For powered sugar doughnuts, you could also place doughnuts in a large Ziploc baggie filled with 1-2 cups of powered sugar, shake well.

We made half our batch glazed and the other half powdered sugar.

Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

 

Bagels

My kids love Bagels! Unfortunately, they take a few extra steps to make and time is never on my side.

So I enlisted the help of a few extra hands and we had ‘cooking class’.

Here’s the Recipe:

Ingredients:

4 – 4 ½ cups of flour

1 pk yeast

1 ½ cups of warm water

3 tbsp of sugar

1 tbsp of honey

1 tsp salt

 

  1. Mix together flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
  2. Add warm water.
  3. Knead for 5 minutes.
  4. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
  5. Cut evenly into 12 rolls.
  6. Roll into a ball, put your finger through the middle to form a 2 inch hole. Shape and place on a baking sheet.
  7. Let rise for 20 minutes.
  8. Next, broil in the oven for 2 minutes on each side.
  9. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil, adding in 1 tbsp of honey.
  10. Once broiled, place bagels in the pot to boil (I did 3 at a time). 4 minutes on each side, turning only once.
  11. Do the same with the remaining.
  12. Once removed from boiling water, let them drain on a towel.
  13. Next, you’re gonna Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
  14. These Bagels slice well, taste great with butter, and even better with cream cheese! Enjoy!

Flat Bread

4 cups of flour

1 packet of yeast

¼ cup of sugar

2 tsp salt

3 tbsp butter

1 ½ cup warm water

 

1.In a small bowl mix together yeast, 1 tsp sugar, warm water and let stand for 5 minutes until foamy.

2.Meanwhile in the bowl of the stand mixer add dry ingredients, starting with 3 cups of flour.

3.Next add the butter.

4.Then add yeast mixture.

5.Mix until well combined adding a little flour at a time until dough pulls away from the sides.

6.Knead on low for 5 minutes.

7.Slightly oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.

8.Punch down dough and form into balls, then roll flat.

9.Let rise for another 20 minutes.

10.Preheat oiled skillet. Fry each flatbread until browned on both sides. 1 – 2 minutes per side.

11.Store in covered dish to keep warm while frying the others.

Serve warm with butter. Enjoy!