who knew fried food could be so good?

so i begged my mother for the kitchenaid cookbook because it had these yummy pillow looking things on the cover. i was so amused. with the cookbook purchased, i discovered that these delicious items were beignets, a french doughnut thing. they are dusted in powdered sugar.

ingredients

1 package of yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cream
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
Vegetable oil for frying
powdered sugar

recipe
dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup water, set aside
combine butter, boiling water, sugar, and salt until the sugar has been completely dissolved and the butter is completely melted. let cool till lukewarm. add cream and 3 cups of flour until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. add the remaining cup of flour and knead until soft. roll out until the dough is 1/4 inch tall. cut into two inch squares. heat oil up to 350 degrees F. drop the dough pieces in a couple at a time, and fry until golden brown on both sides. when all are fried, let cool. once cool fill a ziploc bag with 3/4 cup powdered sugar and fill the bag with beignets. shake until each beignet is completely covered with powdered sugar. they can be filled with cream or maple syrup. i'm contemplating covering my current batch in cinnamon. should be delightful.

could it possibly true? a delicious meringue?

so, for those who do not know, i love meringues more than anything else in the world. they are simple, especially with a stand mixer, delicious, and you can get lots of things done while they are baking. most often meringues are made with a superfine sugar, which dissolves quickly in the eggwhites. they can be flavored with pretty much any extract, and still taste fantastic. they lighten as they bake, so when food color is added, they turn light and pastel and beautiful. they are crisp on the outside and crack when you bite into them but soft and gooey on the inside, absolutely delightful. they are the basis of the australian/new zealand dessert pavlova, which is the greatest creation on this earth. i probably love them more than i love you, you tragic person who has stumbled upon this unfortunate collection of recipes, but i do love you, for you are reading this and in some way validating my writing it.

now for the recipe

ingredients

3 egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or any other extract you so choose)

1. beat egg whites until stiff.

2. add cream of tartar

3. add sugar

4. add extract

5. beat until the meringue has stiff peaks (it will not want to move at all, thoroughly stuck in the mixer and will hold its shape)

6. place on a baking sheet (you can pipe it if you so choose, i prefer to just use spoons. it's not a beautiful final product but for now, i'm lazy and piping simply means more dishes to wash)

7. bake at 200 degrees for an hour and a half

8. turn off oven and leave the meringue in the oven overnight (note, if you need them that day, it is not a problem, you merely let them cool. they are not quite as fantastic as if you leave them be for the evening, but they will still be a smash)

the recipe makes about 10 - 12 large meringue cookies. decrease the baking time only by a little if you make the meringues smaller than 2-1/2 to 3 inches in diameter.

note. do not use a plastic bowl for mixing. plastic tends to hold the fat of things that you've mixed previously. so if you've ever made anything with butter your meringue will not come out. that's the problem with egg whites, they're terribly temperamental.

but look at these! how could you possibly resist!

also, i made some today with brown sugar instead. they are just as delightful. they are slightly more chewy, perhaps in need of a greater sugar to egg white ratio, but i shall continue to try to improve them.

my favorite treat in the whole world

Soft Pretzels! these can make any day better and put a smile on any face. they are delicious and if you put them out at a party, they go like hotcakes (although i feel like hotcakes wouldn't go very quickly)

1 package of yeast (1/4 ounce)

1 cup warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees, it has to be within this range, any colder and it won't activate the yeast, any warmer and you'll kill it)

2 tablespoons of soft butter

1 tablespoon of sugar (it's for the yeast, it doesn't make the pretzels sweet)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2-3/4 cups flour

4 cups water

2 tablespoons baking soda

coarse salt

1. dissolve yeast in the water in a large mixing bowl. add butter sugar salt and 2 cups flour, beat until smooth. stir in the rest of the flour to form a soft dough.

2. Cover the dough and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes

3. my favorite part, punch dough down. somehow it's just really entertaining to punch dough.

4. Put the 4 cups of water in a nonaluminum sauce pan and bring it to boil.

5. divide dough into 12 equal pieces, roll into a long strip and twist into a pretzel shape

6. add the baking soda to the water, drop two pretzels into the water and boil for a minute. remove with a slotted spoon, drain, plase on a greased baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. repeat with the rest of the pretzels

7. Bake at 475 degrees for 10-12 minutes

8. Wait a few minutes before removing the pretzels from the pan to let them cool, that way the whole of the pretzels will come off.

they will be delicious and you will enjoy!