Keep it Simple. [Cinnamon Raisin Pretzel Sticks]

Raisins are delicious healthy morsels that I can't get enough in my baked goods. I love the sweetness and chewiness they provide. I already have a default raisin bread recipe that my family enjoys. I don't care much for it, because it contains whole wheat. Bleech. Today I decided to make something for myself instead of catering to my family's taste buds.

Wow. This creation was right up my alley. Chewy pretzels with yummy raisins and a hint of cinnamon sugar. What more can I ask for? Actually, there is one thing. This creation certainly isn't as moist as the original recipe. I suspect it's because the raisins weren't rehydrated so it absorbed all the moisture from the dough. In the recipe below, I suggest that the raisins be given time to rehydrate.

Cinnamon Raisin Pretzel Sticks
adapted from SugarLaw

Note: These pretzels are chewy with a hint of cinnamon. It's not overwhelmingly sweet so if you have a sweet tooth, double the amount of sugar/cinnamon mixture for sprinkling. 

Ingredients
1 tsp active dry yeast
pinch of sugar
1/3 cup warm water

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 TBSP white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup of raisins, sprinkled with water and allow it to sit for 30 minutes

1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar

3 TBSP baking soda
3 cups hot water

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in water and pinch of sugar for 10 minutes.
2. Mix flour with cinnamon until evenly distributed. Add sugar, salt, canola oil, vanilla extract, and yeast. Knead until combined, a few minutes. 
3. Make a ball and flatten it into a pancake. Sprinkle half of the raisins on there and fold the dough several times to incorporate the raisins into the dough. Repeat this step one more time with the rest of the raisins. 
4. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 425°F.
6. When dough has risen, pinch into 6 portions and roll into a long strand.
7. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Stir baking soda until dissolved. Dip Pretzel in mixture for 15 seconds. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (mix 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp sugar).
8. Bake for 8 minutes or until browned.

Soft Fluffy Pretzels

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Sticks

My favorite part about baking goodies or feeding loved ones is creating something they truly enjoy. If they don't, I'll improve it and customize it to their taste. For example, I know JSB loves cinnamon and sugar topping, but only if I use granulated sugar. However, my mum and I prefer the crunch from turbinado sugar.When I make baked goods, I make sure to have some with granulated and others with turbinado to satisfy both of my favorite people. =D

Fluffy!~

Luckily, this recipe is easily customizable so that I can also make my boyfriend happy. He could careless for cinnamon & sugar, but he'll go bonkers for chocolate chips. I know he loves pretzels so I decided to make some chocolate chip ones for him too!  I didn't think chocolate chips pretzels would taste that great, but the flavor floored me. The chocolate stayed gooey even after it cooled down. Gosh darn, it was great.

This recipe is one my favorites, because you can easily add flavors and the result is a soft chewy pretzel. What more can I ask for? And if you don't want a full pretzel, cut it into 1 inch pretzel bites or 3 inch sticks. They're great for parties. You have salted or plain ones to dip in mustard or make some cinnamon-sugar coated ones for the those that have a sweet tooth. Heck, add in some chocolate chip pretzels and the guests will die from happiness or raisins for the health conscious...See, there are so many possibilities.

Soft Pretzels
adapted from SugarLaw

Ingredients
1 tsp active dry yeast
pinch of sugar
1/3 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 TBSP white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP canola oil

3 TBSP baking soda
3 cups hot water

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in water and pinch of sugar for 10 minutes.
2. Mix yeast mixture with flour, sugar, salt, and canola oil. Knead until combined, a few minutes. (TOPPING NOTE: If adding raisins or chocolate chips, add in a hand full and knead it into dough)
3. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 425°F.
5. When dough has risen, pinch into 6 portions and roll into a long strand. Twist into pretzel shape or cut into 1 or 3 inch sized pieces.
6. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Stir baking soda until dissolved. Dip Pretzel in mixture for 15 seconds. Sprinkle pretzels with sea salt or cinnamon sugar. 
7. Bake for 8 minutes until browned.

Mmm...Cinnamon Gluteus maximus (aka Cinnamon buns/rolls)

I am one of those bakers that enjoy creating tasty treats, but do not gorge on what I create. For me, the process of creating and presenting the final product is my favorite part out of the cycle. I have very little desire to eat what I make. As a result, I often need to find victims...err lovely friends to give my goodies to.

Cinnamon Rolls with cream cheese icing.

Cinnamon rolls was on my "to-make-and-give-away" list. I wanted to make small 3 to 5 bites sized rolls instead of the ginormous regular-sized buns so it would be less of a sugar overload. Because my family dislikes fat-filled diabetic causing goodies, I was forced to wait...and wait...and wait some more...until...

Some sucker requested me to make cinnamon buns. It all started, because I was teasing one of JSB's friends. She was telling me how her friend has been making banana muffins for weeks, because he always had ripe bananas at home. I told her to tell her friend to make some with cream cheese filling, because I've been craving for some banana muffins stuffed with cream cheese. Like everything else in life, nothing is free. He was reluctant to bake me muffins until I offered to make him anything in return. He excitedly choose cinnamon buns in <3 shaped. yeah....Cute, but I can't be caught flirting with high schoolers by making heart-shaped buns and sending wrong messages to teenagers. Yeesh, I'm gonna get my ass sent to jail.

After much thought, I settled on a recipe by Paula Deen. I planned on making smaller buns (approx 3 inches in diameter), which yielded about 30 rolls. I decided to make 2 toppings: sugar glaze and cream cheese icing.

 Icing the buns.

Because cinnamon buns taste the best fresh out of the oven, I made the important decision to bake it in the morning for JSB to bring it to school. I made her three trays (1 cream-cheese icing and 2 sugar glazed).

Before cutting the rolls.

In order for me to have enough time in the morning to bake it, I made the dough the night before and shoved the dough in the fridge overnight.

Pre-rising.

After rising.

I woke up at 5:30 AM in the dark the next day to preheat the oven and to bring the dough to room temperature.

Fresh out of the oven.

While the buns were baking, I made the icing. As soon as JSB was ready to leave the house, I gave her three trays in a bag for her to bring to school and share with her friends.

Sugar glazed.

The verdict: her friends thought the buns were good, but not enough sugar (aka icing). Because pastry drenched in sugar puts me off, I intentionally lightly drizzled the icing on the buns. However, I forgot that highschoolers adore sugar and fat overkill. The high schoolers loved the sugar glazed rolls, but JSB and I preferred the cream cheese frosting.

Cinnamon bun side-view.

Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe from Paula Deen

Ingredients:

Dough
1/4 oz package yast
1/2 cup warm water at 110 degrees Fahreinheit
1/2 cup milk at 110 degrees Fahreinheit
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup better, melted
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour

Filling 
(I felt her filling was a bit excessive so I lowered the amount of butter and sugar)
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon (I used Saigon cinnamon)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
3. When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.
4. Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.
5. Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

Sugar Glaze
Adapted from Paula Deen

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tbsp hot water

Directions:

1. Mix butter, sugar, and vanilla.
2. Add water until glaze reaches desired consistency.

Sugar glazed bun.

Cream Cheese Icing
Adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients:
1 1/4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tbsp milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Whisk cream cheese until creamy.
2. Add milk until combined.
3. Sift in powdered sugar and mix until smooth.

Cream cheese icing.

Hot Fluffy Healthy Whole Wheat Raisin Buns

Fresh Raisin Buns.

I attempted raisin bread once before and it was a failure. I was afraid to attempt bread again until I saw this recipe, which inspired me. The buns looked so fluffy, soft, and delicious that I just had to try! I'm glad I did, because it turned out to be a hit with my family.

Additional proof that the buns were a hit: I wanted to have a bun for breakfast, but when I woke up. I discovered that all the buns were gone! Poof! No where in sight! It turns out that Miss JSB took the rest of the buns to school! I couldn't even test how long the buns would keep for.

Before Oven Time.

Whole wheat cinnamon raisin buns
From Toxo Bread

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cups raisins
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp hot water
• 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup lukewarm milk
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 egg, beaten
  

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, let the raisins soak in the hot water for 10-15 minutes until they begin to get soft. This keeps the raisins plump and less likely to burn once they’re in the oven.
2. Add the milk to lower the temperature of the water, and then mix in the remainder of the ingredients. You may need to add a bit more flour because this dough is quite sticky. Stir until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, and knead until it becomes smooth and supple, around 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and allow the dough to rise till approximately doubled, about 60 minutes.
3. *Note: If you like, you can incorporate a folding step halfway through this first rise. If you won’t be able to tend to the dough within ~an hour’s time, you can also place the dough in the refrigerator for the first rise and let the dough sit on the counter for ~15-20 minutes before proceeding to the next step.
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface (I used a wooden cutting board) and divide into 12 equal portions. I do this by gently flattening the dough into a rough circle, dividing the circle into 4 equal portions, and then dividing each of the 4 portions into 3 equal smaller portions for a total of 12 portions. Shape each small portion into a ball and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Let the buns rise until puffy, around 30 minutes.
5. Brush the beaten egg on the tops of each bun – this egg wash will give the buns a glossy shine. You can apply two egg washes (once ~15 min before baking and once right before baking) if you like, but just be careful that there isn’t so much egg it pools at the bottom of the buns = burnt bun bottoms = bird and squirrel food (!).
6. Bake the buns in a preheated 350°F oven for about 20 minutes, until they’re light golden brown. Remove the buns from the oven, and cool on a wire rack before tearing them apart and savouring their deliciousness.

Notes:

• I was surprised that I enjoyed this bread, because normally I do not like the taste of wheat. Because the bread is composed of both all purpose flour and whole wheat, it helps hide the wheat taste.
• One improvement I would make is add more raisins, maybe 1 cup of raisins instead of 2/3 of a cup. I felt that there was too much bread compared to the amount of raisins.

Check Out the Glowing Golden Crust.

The Fluffy Interior.