Irish Crepe Cake New

Cakes, good. Crepes, better. Guinness, good. Irish Cream, better. Chocolate, good. Frosting, better. A Chocolate Guinness Crepe Cake with Irish Cream Whipped Frosting....Top of the Morning To You, You Just Found The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow, Holy Mary Mother Of God, Let Me Say A Few Hail Marys, This Is Sinful, Yes Please Pass Another Slice!!

Nothing more to say, I will get straight to the recipes because I know you want it.

Chocolate Guinness Crepes

• 2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour, Sifted
• 1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder, Sifted
• 5 Tablespoons Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 3 Cups Buttermilk
• 1 Cup Stout Guinness
• 3 Eggs
• 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1. In a large bowl sift together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. 
2. In a different bowl combine the buttermilk, beer, eggs, oil and vanilla. Keep separate until right before cooking.
3. Heat a lightly oiled pan, non stick in good condition is best, over medium low heat. 
4. Combine wet and dry mixture together. Mix until smooth but do not whisk or over beat. 
5. Place a small amount of batter on the pan and swirl around until a thin coat forms over the bottom. Around 1/3 cup for a 7 inch skillet. 
6. Cook until lightly set and then flip carefully. 
7. Remove form pan when fully cooked and place on a plate to cool.
8. Continue until all batter is gone. 

Irish Cream Whipped Frosting

• 3 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
• 6 Tablespoons Bakers Sugar
• 6 Tablespoons Irish Cream

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Whip until stiff peaks form.

(If you do not have Bakers Sugar, just measure out 6 tablespoons of granulated table sugar and run it through a clean coffee grinder real fast. ^_~)

Chocolate Guinness Crepe Cake With Irish Whipped Cream Frosting

• 1 Batch Chocolate Guinness Crepes
• 1 Batch Irish Cream Whipped Frosting

1. Place a single cooled crepe on your serving plate.
2. Place a large dollop of frosting in the center and spread around until a thin layer covers the crepe.
3. Center another crepe on top.
4. Continue with whipped topping and crepes until the cake is the height you wish. 

(For added decoration, use a large cookie cutter to cut a shape out of the top. I use a large shamrock. It is an Irish Cake after all. I am serving this one for St. Patricks Day ^_~)

Huge thanks goes out to Chef Jason Gibson of Cynical Cuisine for letting me alter his Basic Crepe recipe for this and cooking up the crepes for me. ^_^ 

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Irish Crepe Cake

Cakes, good. Crepes, better. Guinness, good. Irish Cream, better. Chocolate, good. Frosting, better. A Chocolate Guinness Crepe Cake with Irish Cream Whipped Frosting....Top of the Morning To You, You Just Found The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow, Holy Mary Mother Of God, Let Me Say A Few Hail Marys, This Is Sinful, Yes Please Pass Another Slice!!

Nothing more to say, I will get straight to the recipes because I know you want it.

Chocolate Guinness Crepes

• 2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour, Sifted
• 1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder, Sifted
• 5 Tablespoons Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 3 Cups Buttermilk
• 1 Cup Stout Guinness
• 3 Eggs
• 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1. In a large bowl sift together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. 
2. In a different bowl combine the buttermilk, beer, eggs, oil and vanilla. Keep separate until right before cooking.
3. Heat a lightly oiled pan, non stick in good condition is best, over medium low heat. 
4. Combine wet and dry mixture together. Mix until smooth but do not whisk or over beat. 
5. Place a small amount of batter on the pan and swirl around until a thin coat forms over the bottom. Around 1/3 cup for a 7 inch skillet. 
6. Cook until lightly set and then flip carefully. 
7. Remove form pan when fully cooked and place on a plate to cool.
8. Continue until all batter is gone. 

Irish Cream Whipped Frosting

• 3 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
• 6 Tablespoons Bakers Sugar
• 6 Tablespoons Irish Cream

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Whip until stiff peaks form.

(If you do not have Bakers Sugar, just measure out 6 tablespoons of granulated table sugar and run it through a clean coffee grinder real fast. ^_~)

Chocolate Guinness Crepe Cake With Irish Whipped Cream Frosting

• 1 Batch Chocolate Guinness Crepes
• 1 Batch Irish Cream Whipped Frosting

1. Place a single cooled crepe on your serving plate.
2. Place a large dollop of frosting in the center and spread around until a thin layer covers the crepe.
3. Center another crepe on top.
4. Continue with whipped topping and crepes until the cake is the height you wish. 

(For added decoration, use a large cookie cutter to cut a shape out of the top. I use a large shamrock. It is an Irish Cake after all. I am serving this one for St. Patricks Day ^_~)

Huge thanks goes out to Chef Jason Gibson of Cynical Cuisine for letting me alter his Basic Crepe recipe for this and cooking up the crepes for me. ^_^ 

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Family Valentines Day Dessert

I don't know about you but I hate going out on Valentines Day, especially for dinner. Everyone in the stores are rushing around getting last minute cards, flowers, candies, stuffed animals or even lingerie, lol. People rush after work to get ready to go out to dinner, long lines, seated after forever only to be rushed through your meal so they can push the next family or couple into the booth.

Yeah, I got sick of it years ago and probably a good thing as well. When I married a chef I gave up any and all expectations of ever going out to dinner with him on 2 holidays - Mothers Day and of course Valentines Day. It is like asking your girl who works at the local clothing store to go shopping with you on Black Friday...They're working. So even if I wanted to go out, I am not going anywhere. LOL

Each year I make dinner at home. If the kids are with me we do a family thing. If not, we do a couples meal. Why not share that? It is wonderful! So I got together with Cynical Cuisine to come up with 2 menus for this Valentines Day. One for a couple all alone and one for the family. Both simple and delicious. Tonight we tackle the family dinner.

The Menu:
Glazed Meatloaf
Garlic Whipped Potatoes
Peppers of the Heart
Strawberry Fudged Filled Cupcakes

To get the recipes and "how to"s for the main course and sides - Visit Cynical Cuisine here - Dinner With The Kids


The last one is mine. So here we are. A quick and simple recipe.
Now to start off you will need 3 things. Ready?

What You Need:
Boxed Chocolate Cake Mix with a Fudge Filling
Strawberries - FRESH!
Ready Whip

Seriously, that is it. Okay, in the picture is frozen strawberries but I ended up using fresh in the recipe. They held together much better. Now, to make it more Valentiney I would suggest some cute cupcake wrappers and sprinkles that I am sure you can pick up at your local store. I found my sprinkles at Walmart and the wrappers - The Dollar Store. >.>

Now, what to do? Omg, so simple.

What to do:

1. Cut up the strawberries into small bites. 
2. Make the fudge filling as directed on the box, using 2/3's the amount of liquid stated.
3. Fold the strawberries into the fudge filling, set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 325F.
5. Mix the cake mix.
6. Place liners into the cupcake pan.
7. Fill 1/3 the way full - About a tablespoon.
8. Add a teaspoon into the center of the fudge and strawberry mix.
9. Top the filling with another teaspoon of the cake mix.
10. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
11. Remove form oven, remove from pan right away to cool on a wire rack.
12. Once fully cooled set aside until time for dessert!
13. Once it is time to serve, place one in front of everyone, top with ready whip and sprinkles!
14. Enjoy!

Okay, few things. Reason for less water than the recipe calls for is due to the moisture in the strawberries. Less temperature than your box recipe probably calls for and more time is because if you cook at a lower and longer heat, you get more even baking, less burning and less chance of raw center. Removing it from the pan right out of the oven helps with cooling and keeps the wrappers from pulling away from the sides later on. Lastly, why wait to top? Ready whip deflates fast, lol. Trust me, serve right away or just wait until you do. Otherwise it won't be pretty. >.>  

^_^ Enjoy!

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Doughnuts - A How to

Doughnuts....Aww the very mention of them makes your mouth water doesn't it. Those, either fried or baked, little rings of golden deliciousness that so many find so tempting in the morning. You stand in line for them, buy them days ahead, use them for fund raisers and more. Cake, glazed, chocolate dipped, cream filled or sprinkles on top. It doesn't matter. You grab one, some milk or coffee and go to town. Munch, munch, munch!!!!!! Oh so good! And so freaking easy to make!!!!!!!

 As promised I am posting a how to on Doughnuts. Now, these are super easy and you may just stop buying them from the store once you try these. From start to finish, including rise time for your dough, it should only take about an hour to make a full batch and gobble it down. And thankfully you are only going to need a few things and honestly nothing special you probably don't already have in your house.

Materials:
Round Cutters: 2 of them. 3 inch & 1 inch. If you don't have, the rim of a large glass and a kids medicine cup work in a pinch.
1 large pan
Oil
Go To Dough Recipe
Paper Towels.


Seriously, that is all you really need. Now you can have other stuff. Like A sugar or chocolate glaze, jams to inject or sprinkles to put on top. But this is just the basics here and honestly, the hubby loves eating these with no icing on them as well.

What to do:

1. Follow Go to Recipe through step 13
2. Roll out dough to half an inch thick.
3. Cut out large circles and place on a lightly floured surface to rest.
4. Cut out the center if you are going for standard, leave alone if you will be filling later.
5. Cover and let rise until double in size. 
6. Heat your oil to 350.
7. Place dough into the oil, careful to leave room all around. (I have a large skillet and only do 4 at a time.)
8. Let fry 1-2 minutes, just until lightly golden.
9. Flip and let cook another 1-2 minutes or until lightly golden. Don't worry, this dough cooks fast.
10. Place on paper towels to drain.
11. Let cool until you can handle them, about 5 minutes.
12. Now you can either serve as is or you can do what you want with them. Dip in a sugar glaze, a chocolate one, cover in sprinkles or fill with jams and cremes. (To fill, just use an injector you can get in the housewares section for like 3 bucks or a pastry bag and large tip)

Sugar Glaze - Thinned down with milk if you are going for the full dunk.

Chocolate Glaze

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Cake For Two

Yesterday my husband had to make a long trek via Greyhound to Seattle and back for a job interview. Being the foodie wife that I am I couldn't bear to think of him having to endure gas station fare of fast food for the day. Sorry, if I don't have to eat it, I am so not gonna. (Don't get me wrong I do enjoy eating out I am just a food snob now. LOL) So what do I do? I pack him up with a sack lunch fit for a foodie. Homemade preserves and English muffins, Peanut butter and Honey sandwiches on fresh back breads, dried meats and fresh fruits. You know, the standard fare, hehe.

Well sitting at home with 3 kids running around me and wondering how the interview went I start wanting to do something. (I was bored, lol.) Didn't exactly come up with anything other than trying to find something to do. That was until I got the call letting me know the interview went well and he was on his way back. YAY! (Still don't know if he got the job yet, we hope to find out in the next couple of days.)

Now I know it went well and he is on his way home I wanna make something. Well savory is out the window tonight, for a couple of reasons. Everything is frozen, it is the afternoon and we already have enough left overs in the fridge for 3 days worth of meals so I swore off cooking another meal until it was gone. If I keep cooking we are just going to end up throwing out the left overs and that is just such a waste. (I cook so much from scratch to cut back on food costs it seems rather counter productive to throw out what I make doesn't it.)

So sweet it is. Okay I don't need a lot, just something small but everything I have is reciped out to feed an army and right now I just need to feed a few. So I start searching around the net and see a couple of searches under "Cake for 2." Now that sounds exactly what I am looking for. Something quick just for a few. Nice! I stumble upon one website and I just fall in love!!!

http://www.dessertfortwo.com/

You have got to check out this place! All these scaled down recipes that are just too amazing for words. In fact, I picked 2 of them yesterday to make for the hubby and turned them into this.

Isn't it just too cute?!?! So, you want the recipes that I used? Of course you do! That looks just too yummy for words!!!! Well here they are and they are both "Sweetly Approved' By Surreal Confections now!

First Up - Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

Second Up - Chocolate Chip Cookies

To make this simple follow each recipe as is. To assemble, just place your 6 inch round on your cake plate, level off the top of the cake and scoop out a little from the center to create a well. Make the Ganache that comes with the cake recipe and pour into the well and over the top of the cake, pushing it to the edge to drizzle down the sides slightly. When you make the cookies, instead of a dozen regular sized ones, go for smaller, it will make 2-3 dozen mini cookies. Dough ball size about that of a shooter marble. Then just place around the cake and on top and serve up! This cake and cookies took all less than 2 hours start to finish. (And I have a small cookie jar now with the rest of the cookies, hehe.)

So stop by Cake For Two and enjoy everything over there!!!! I know I will be trying more and want to look into scaling down my own recipes. ^_~ And don't forge to check out the Pinterest Sweetly Approved Board - http://pinterest.com/jenng79/sweetly-approved/ - For all the recipes Surreal Confections has personally tested out and well, sweetly approved!

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Happy Memorial Day!

I just wanted to take a quick moment to wish everyone out there a Happy Memorial Day a little early and to send my thanks to all the soldiers (past, present and future) that do what they do so we can be free. Memorial Day is their holiday, never forget that.

Now, gonna leave you with this. Just a quick shot of 2 sets of cookies completed for Baking For Our Soldiers.

Military Branches

TomKat Memorial Day Cookies

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Super Mario Cookie World

~Insert Super Mario World Music~

Daily Deviant Given On July 14th, 2012

Oh yeah, that is much better. Welcome to Super Mario World, well the cookie edition. Forget the paper. lol. My newest geeky creations for lovers of Mario, Luigi and even that pesky Princess Peach. Yes, I know I have done Super Mario Brothers Themed Cookies before but I felt it was time for an upgrade. 

So here you have it! Super Mario Brothers taken to the next cookie level! The 4 center piece "flowers" are made from cookies that are growing from a combination of graham cracker dirt and chocolate ice cream soil. All detail work is done either in royal icing or edible food color marker ink. The little figures were something I found at Hastings a bit ago and grabbed "for the kids." The background pieces are cookie as well that are suspended with string. Thought of it at the last moment and was honestly too lazy after 3 days of work to go back out and grab some fishing line. LOL

Now, grab some dough, color it and get to making your very own - Flower Power!!!!

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St. Patrick's Day

Chocolate Mint Irish Coffee

I had planned on a huge post for today but after a weeks worth of cooking I am about beat. LOL And sadly I haven't had a drink yet and it is already past dark! Yeah, major St. Patties day foul there. Okay, well I hadn't had a drink at all until the hubby broke out the Whiskey and the Baileys and started making Irish Coffee. Different versions actually. And after all was said and done and all pictures taken I threw together a new little twist on the Baileys version and am on my 2nd cup right now with plans of many more. LOL

Irish Breakfast Essentials

But anywho, little sum up of this week. As you have seen I have been making a lot of food. In fact I am having to flip back through everything to see what I have posted about and what I have not. In looking at all this I find I have finished up a few things I did have planned...So you will probably see cookies decorated in Irish Themes over the next week that I should have posted by today but didn't...Oh well. And I just have to do them because I had some of the coolest ideas for cookies I have had yet so I am doing these comma damn it exclamation point. I'm Irish so I can post Irish stuff any day of the year. :P (Yes, I played the Irish Card. I don't use it for fights or drinking so I can throw it down now.)

A Full Irish Breakfast

Anywho, all over the place with this post. Can you follow this? I hope so. Let me see if I can stay focused enough to finish this..... Today started out the perfect way for an Irish Family on St. Patrick's Day, probably a perfect way for everyone out drinking tonight to start tomorrow. The Full Irish Breakfast, or at least as close as I could get out here in the States and trust me I tried! Oh my god this is a lot of food and really sticks with you. In fact most of the family didn't eat anything else for the day except to pick at things here and there. I can understand now why Irishmen were able to build the skyscrapers and railroads decades back. Starting out with this breakfast will enable anyone to take on the world. That or put you in a food coma. Either way it is all good.

Irish Scones & Shortbread

What all is in a Full Irish Breakfast? Well that differs from area to area in Ireland and here in the States, as well as just home to home. So, I will just go with what is in the Gibsons Full Irish Breakfast.

• Fried Eggs
• Bacon
• Beef Sausage Links
• Pork Sausage Patties
• Stewed Mushrooms and Tomatoes
• Boxty
• Traditional Irish Shortbread <--Recipe
• Traditional Irish Scones <-- Recipe
• Irish Breakfast Tea
• Irish Butter
• Red Current Jelly

Yeah, like I said, it is A LOT of food. Really wish our friends from back in Ga had been here this morning. Every time I cook like this it just isn't the same without them. Okay, traveling down memory lane and need to hop back onto the blog post turnpike. lol

Big breakfast and well it was pick at that all day and dive into the numerous left overs we have right now since there has been so much cooking here this week. One of those left over is, of course, Corned Beef and Cabbage. 

Granted there was not a lot of that left over since it is my youngest sons all time favorite meat. (As you can probably tell from the picture. Soon as he saw the platter he tried to take it and run off with it. LOL Poor thing it weighed about as much as he did so we had to set it down and let him pose with it. It was that or he was going to hold it hostage.) 

And THAT brings us to tonight, well doesn't actually but covers enough ground to where I can get on with it. Tonight in the Gibson home was Irish Coffee, 3 different versions, and Irish Whiskey Coffee Cake. (<-- Recipe) The Hubby, over at Cynical Cuisine, took cake of 2 of the coffees and I took care of the 3rd and the cake. All were nummy nummy. If you want to try the cake, the recipe link is provided above and the hubby will be posting about the coffees shortly, so here, Cynical Cuisine, there is the link. You can shot on over there and check it out. 

So, quickly - Cake - Yummy! Hubbies two versions of Irish Coffee and then mine, yummy! (Want to make mine? Simple, standard Baileys Irish Coffee and stir in Mint Chocolate Ganache. OMG! So, having said that, time to get another glass. See you tomorrow! (And yeah, seriously, the Full Gibson Irish Breakfast to battle your hang over tomorrow!)

Irish Coffee and Whiskey Cake

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Irish Lace Cookies

 Saint Patrick's Day is right around the corner and you know what that means? Every drunken stereotype is going to be out in droves, mostly found in bars all over the world. It is a day of friends, frivolousness and frankly drinking. lol Oh how I love the Irish. More so lately since I am married to an Irishman and he is very keen on his families history and heritage. Which in turn made me want to learn more about mine and yeah,...I found out I am Irish. Mostly! Funny how that works out. LOL

That made me want to do a little something more than the usual St. Patties day themed goodies this year. Don't worry, there will be plenty of the typical as well but I do want to start out on a good note. What better way than what is probably the most delicate cookies around - Irish Lace! Yes, you can see right through them!

They are everything Ireland is sans the whiskey and Guinness, yes there is more to Ireland than that! Made from butter, brown sugar and steel cut oats, these cookies take a very basic base and turn it into something delicate, beautiful and packed with such candy like goodness you would think Willy Wonka had made them. I wonder if he was Irish, lol.

Now, this was the first time I had ever made these cookies. I simply found a recipe online and went with it. Granted I did change a couple of things. >.> It's what I do. These came out wonderful and my husband just kept tearing through them!

What I love most about these is that even though you cannot really shape them into much before or while they are cooking you can after. Let them cool for about a minute and you can roll them up, bend them and shape them! I did everything from rolling them up on the end of a wooden spoon to curving them into bowls, pushing them around to make a heart, covering them in chocolate and even bending one into a butterfly!

So let us get started!

Irish Lace Cookies:

• 1/2 Cup Salted Butter, room temp
• 3/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
• 2 Tablespoon All Purpose Flour
• 2 Tablespoon Milk
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 3/4 Cup Irish Steel Cut Oats - NO INSTANT!

1. Preheat your oven to 350
2. Place your cookiesheets in the oven now! 
3. In a mixing bowl cream your butter and sugar.
4. Add in everything else minus the oats and mix until well combined.
5. Fold in the oats.
6. Grab a teaspoon measuring spoon, fill and level off.
7. Drop onto a parchment lined HOT cookie sheet. 
8. Keep doing this until the sheet is full - keep them at least 3 inches apart. They spread a lot. I usually only get 8 on my largest cookie sheets!
9. Bake 8-11 Minutes. 
10. Remove from oven but keep on cookie sheet for 1 minute.
11. Then remove to cooling rack to cool fully. If shaping do this now and quickly!
12. Be careful! They break easy!
13. Serve and enjoy! Or wait till they are all the way cool and brush with melted chocolate.

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Hubby Home, It's Baking Time!

Well my hubby is finally home after being gone nearly 2 months. He spent all this time working at a temp position to help keep our family afloat after his position was removed from the company. Lay offs suck. Especially when you moved cross country for a position that was supposed to last at least 2 years and ended up lasting only 10 months. O.o Can't exactly blame the company on that one but still, to spend all that money to move us, train in and such. Then to put him in a temp position and he do the job above and beyond only to lay him off seems like a big waste of company funds. ~shrugs~ Anywho, kids missed him, I missed him. We spoke every day but it just isn't enough. Needless to say it sucked but you know what? Doesn't matter anymore. He is home safe and sound and in the end that is all that matters.

Him coming home marked an upswing for baking in this house, lol. Come on. This is a home for food. He's a Chef, I'm a baker. He comes home after two months being away, how else am I going to greet him? A card? Bwhahaha! Heck no! Personal cookies and goodies! I spent days cooking and baking to welcome the man home.

Special stuff! I couldn't just make some typical stuff since we missed being together for a time and in the time we even missed Valentine's Day. Granted that isn't a big day in this home but when you are apart it seems to become a little more important than usual.

So I made everything from a hand tied Trinity Knot Cookie to hand cut Chefs coats, hats and knives. It was really fun to see what all I could come up with to make for him. Granted I did so some simpler things but still good, his favorite - Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies.

Took that one a step further though and decided to make my first Cookie Cake. It was fun to make, even did a wonderful buttercream to decorate it with. Was very yummy! Think the new Buttercream is going to become my go to recipe for everything like that now. It just did so well, no separation and dried well. Very happy but that is actually another story.

Anywho, had to make up some for not being together for Valentine's Day and for us, well we are Geeks. So, how could I not go and do some very geeky cookies for him? G33K hearts, an 8 Bit 3 foot tall red mage made out of over 200 mini cookies and even the Pac family got into the mix!

And of course, being raise in Ga, I had to make him something very close to most any southerns heart. No, not red velvet, not this time. Pecan Pie!

And I promised a friend to post the recipe. This is very easy and quick! Enjoy!

• 1 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 4 Tablespoon Salt Butter, melted
• 2 Large Eggs, room temp
• 1.5 Tablespoon All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Milk
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Cups Chopped Pecans
• Pecan Halves For Decoration
• 1 Nine Inch Deep Pie Shell, uncooked, ready for baking

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl, beat your eggs until foamy.
3. Slowly add in the melted butter a little at a time.
4. Mix until combined.
5. Sift together flour and sugars before incorporating into the egg mix. 
6. Add in milk and vanilla, mix until combined.
7. Fold in the chopped pecans.
8. Pour into the ready pie crust.
9. Decorate the top with your pecan halves anyway you wish. 
10. Pop into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
11. Lower the temp to 300 and bake another 45-60 minutes or until cooked. If edges start to brown too much, just cover the edges with tinfoil. 
12. Remove and allow to cool fully on a wire rack.
13. Serve at room temp and enjoy!

• 
  

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Soft Pretzels At Home!

Yeah, been a while since I posted a recipe or much of anything but here we are. Things are still hectic but did these for the kids today and figured I would share the yummy goodness! This recipe was not originally mine but has been tweaked a little to better fit my personal tastes. It is a very simple recipe and now you can create those wonderful large soft pretzels you get at the mall or the fair at home anytime you want! I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does!

Recipe:

• 6 Teaspoon Yeast (or 3 squares. I prefer quick rising to cut down on time.)
• 15 Ounces Warm Water (110-120 F)
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon Granulated Sugar
• 6-8 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon Oil
• Crisco
• 1/2 Cup Baking Soda
• 4 Cups Hot Water
• Kosher Salt

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine your yeast, 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar and water. Mix until everything is dissolved and let stand 10 minutes or until bubbly and creamy. 
2. In a large mixing bowl sift together the remaining sugar, the salt and 4 cups of the flour. 
3. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the yeast mix and oil. 
4. Mix until well combined, adding more flour as needed until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
5. Turn out onto a lightly floured counter and kneed until smooth and "elasticy". This will take 7-10 minutes. If you are using a dough hook on your mixer it will take probably 5. Form into a ball. 
6. Take a large bowl and grease down with crisco.
7. Place dough ball in the bowl, flip over and make sure it is fully coated.
8. Cover and let rise until double in size. 
9. Preheat over to 450F.
10. Dissolve the baking soda into the hot water and set aside. 
11. Divide up dough into 24 equal pieces and roll out into long "strings" around 2-3 feet long. 
12. Twist into a pretzel shape.
13. Dip into the baking soda wash. (This is a step NOT to skip, it is a must!)
14. Place on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment. 
15. Sprinkle with Kosher Salt.
16. Bake for 7-8 Minutes.
17. Remove and cool for a few minutes.
18. Serve and Enjoy!!!!!!

Cinnamon Bites

Chocolate Chip With Icing

Now, if you would like a twist here are a couple!

1. Instead of spending all the time making pretzel shapes just cut up the dough and make pretzel sticks or pretzel bites. 

2. Omit the salt and sprinkle with a cinnamon-sugar mix before tossing into the oven for a sweet treat.

3. After the dough has risen, fold into chocolate chips. After baking drizzle with icing!

4. Wrap precooked hot dogs in the dough and bake! Awesome on the go meal!

5. This dough works great for Deep Dish Pizza or even making Calzones!

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