Brazilian Cheese Puffs

These cheese puffs are deceptive--they're light and fluffy, but as soon as you bite into one you realize that they are deliciously gooey on the inside. Make these right before serving as they do not keep well and should be eaten within a few hours of baking.

Brazilian Cheese Puffs

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup milk

1 1/4 cups tapioca flour

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450 and grease a mini muffin tin.

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. The batter will be liquid. Pour batter into mini muffin tin, filling each one about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the breads puff up and become very lightly brown on the edges.

Cool slightly (the tops may cave in a bit, that's okay) and then serve.

Pizza Dough

I've made at least 8 pizzas in the last month, but each time they are eaten so fast that I don't have time for a picture. This pizza dough and the sauce (post below) have become family favorites.

Pizza Dough

*makes enough for four 14" pizzas

4 1/2 cups bread flour

1 3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup olive oil

1 3/4 cups cold water

Measure water into large measuring cup and then place in freezer to chill until needed.

Combine flour, salt, and yeast. Add olive oil and water. Stir until all flour is incorporated. Knead by hand (5-7 minutes) or with dough hook (3-5 minutes) until dough is smooth and elastic.

Divide dough into 4 equal portions.

Spray the inside of 4 sandwich-sized plastic baggies with cooking spray. Place 1 portion of dough into each bag. Refrigerate overnight or up to three days. This dough also works well if frozen and then moved from the freezer to the refrigerator one to two days before baking.

Two hours before you want to cook the pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Lightly flour your counter top. Shape the dough into a small disc, about 4-5" in diameter, and place on top of floured counter. Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with olive oil. Every 30 minutes or so, come back to the dough and stretch it out a bit further. The dough is very supple and will stretch easily. The goal is to have a pizza dough that is about 14" in diameter.

The way you cook the pizza will vary depending on what equipment you have. Here is how I do it...

Approximately 30-45 minutes before baking, turn oven to the highest baking temperature it can handle (mine does 550). Place cast iron pizza stone on lowest oven rack while preheating oven.

Once oven is heated, remove pizza stone and quickly place pizza dough on top. Cover lightly with sauce, cheese, and desired toppings. Return pizza to oven on lowest rack and cook for 6-8 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. When pizza is done, remove from cast iron stone immediately. Lightly brush edges with olive oil and serve.

What are your favorite pizza toppings? Please leave a comment and let me know--I'm always looking for new ideas. Our favorite pizza currently is fresh mozzarella with bacon and prosciutto.

Banana Pecan Pancakes

I'm not normally a pancake fan, but these could definitely change that! They're a cross between banana bread and pancakes. My rating: 4 out of 5.

Banana Pecan Pancakes

2 bananas
1 egg
1 pint buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped

Mash bananas with a fork. Mix together bananas, buttermilk, vanilla, and egg in a medium bowl.

Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Stir well.

Add flour. Stir until it is all incorporated.

Fold in pecans.

Pour 1/3 cup at a time into a hot pan and cook like pancakes. Makes 8 pancakes.

Soft Pretzels

These pretzels are absolutely delicious! When you bake them your whole house will smell like the pretzel shops you walk past at the mall. Kosher salt is sold at most grocery stores and has bigger grains than table salt. My rating: 5 out of 5.

Soft Pretzels

1 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup warm milk
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp kosher salt
1 pkg active dry yeast
2 3/4 cups bread flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp butter, softened

10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda

1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp water
kosher salt

Combine water, milk, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Sprinkle yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Add flour and butter. Stir until well-combined.

Knead for 5-10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.

Spray a large bowl with non-stick cooking spray. Put dough into bowl and cover with plastic wrap that has also been sprayed.

Let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about one hour.

Put water and baking soda in a large pot and bring to a rolling boil.

While water is heating up, divide dough into eight sections.

Roll each section into a "snake" that is about 12" long. Let dough sit for five minutes.

Now roll the dough into a longer "snake" of about 18". Form the dough into a pretzel shape.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or grease them).

Put each pretzel individually into the pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spatula and place on a baking sheet. Put four pretzels per sheet.

Beat egg yolk with 2 Tbsp water. Brush over the top of the prezels. Add salt.

Bake at 450 for 13-14 minutes. Check on the pretzels after 9 minutes and top with a sheet of aluminum foil if they are getting overly browned.

Cinnamon Rolls (Biscuit Style)

There are two basic forms of cinnamon rolls--light biscuit style, and chewy roll style. This recipe falls into the first category. It is really easy to make and does not require rising time, so you can have homemade cinnamon rolls rather quickly. Yum! My rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Cinnamon Rolls

2 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup butter
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut 1/4 cup butter into dry ingredients and mix until crumbly. Add milk and stir well.

Knead dough for 3-5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

On a floured surface, roll dough out into a rectangle.

Put remaining 1/2 cup butter in the microwave and cook until very soft but not melted (stick it in the freezer for a minute if it gets melted). Spread butter over top of dough rectangle. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts.

Starting with one of the long sides of your rectangle, roll dough into a jelly roll. Be sure to tuck the dough tightly as you roll--don't leave it loose!

Use a piece of dental floss or string to cut the dough into 12 pieces. Wrap the floss around the dough roll, cross the ends of the floss over each other, and then pull the ends down and to the sides to cut through the dough.

Place six rolls in a greased 9x13 pan and cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining six rolls.

Stir together powdered sugar and milk with a fork. Spoon over the top of warm cinnamon rolls.

Lemon Muffins

Last week I received 25 fresh lemons so I've been on a bit of a lemon binge. Here's a recipe I found that makes slightly tangy and very moist muffins. I chose to make mini muffins, but they are great regular-sized muffins as well. I dislike how poppy seeds randomly show up inbetween your front teeth two hours later, so I chose to leave them out. My rating: 4 out of 5.

Lemon Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar, divided
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (NOT Fat Free)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
2/3 cup lemon juice, divided
2 Tbsp poppy seeds (optional)

Combine flour, 3/4 cup sugar, lemon peel, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg and then add yogurt, butter, and 1/3 cup lemon juice. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in poppy seeds, if desired.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes (mini muffins) or 16 minutes (regular muffins).

Combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves.

Allow muffins to cool for a few minutes and then use a toothpick to poke 10 holes in each one. Spoon lemon sugar glaze over muffins while still in pan.

Potato Rolls

Potato rolls are great for both dinner and sandwiches the next day. Here's a recipe I made yesterday. The recipe is geared towards someone with a stand mixer that has both a beater and a hook attachment. If you don't have those, you can still do it by hand. It makes 16 rolls, so you may want to cut the recipe in half. My rating: 4 out of 5.

Potato Rolls

1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup butter
1 large Russet potato
1 1/2 cups water
2 pkg (5 tsp) yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 cups flour

Combine milk and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside on the counter for later use. Get butter out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter so that it can be warming up.

Peel the potato and cut into small cubes. Put potato and water into a small saucepan. Cover. Heat until the water boils. Then cook for an additional 10 minutes or until potato pieces are soft.

Pour the potato and water (don't drain!) into the bowl of your stand mixer. Use the beater attachment to beat it until the potato is essentially mashed. It's okay if there are still little pieces of potato in there, but you don't want any big chunks.

Add the milk/lemon mixture to the bowl and mix. Feel the mixture (yes, with your hand) to test the temperature. It should be fairly warm, neither hot nor cold. If it is hot, keep stirring until it cools down.

Add yeast to the warm liquid and stir again. Then let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.

Add sugar and salt. Stir. Slowly add 3 cups of flour while mixing. Now take off the beater attachment and put on the hook one.

Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the bowl. Mix. Slowly add remaining 3 cups of flour.

Knead with the hook for 5-7 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. This dough should be slightly sticky but if it is too sticky add additional flour while kneading.

Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray and put the dough into it. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap that has also been sprayed with non-stick spray. Let rise for 1 hour or until dough doubles in size.

Cut dough into 16 pieces (a pizza cutter works well for this). Let dough rest for 5 minutes. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with non-stick spray. Roll dough into balls and place 8 balls on each baking sheet. Let rise for an additional 30 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with flour.

Cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for a few minutes and then enjoy!