This was probably the quickest, easiest pretzel recipe I have ever tried! These pretzels are soft and delicious although slightly more like a dinner roll than a pretzel since they are not dipped in a baking soda solution before cooking. Go ahead give them a try for a quick appetizer!
Click here for the recipe!
When you have three small kiddos and two big dogs….the carpet gets dirty. I use a steam cleaner monthly on my carpets, but there are times when the kids spill something brightly colored like a blue icee or the dog is kind enough to throw up whatever treasure he gulped down when he was outside. In either of those cases, the carpet steam cleaner isn’t enough. I’ve tried several different store bought solutions and none is as effective as what I am about to tell you! I read online (probably via Pinterest) that you can mix ammonia with water in a squirt bottle to use as a carpet cleaner. It WORKS! Let me show you how:
Here are a few pictures of a blue icee stain before and after!
Below are the steps to follow!
When I was a kid, we spent a week with my Grandparents each summer. This week was such a special treat filled with fun. I remember the beach towels she had for each of us only to use when we were there. We spent a ton of time sliding and diving at her country club pool. She would always buy new toys for us to play with….we were never allowed to take them home so that the toys would always be at her house for us to play with! These cheese straws are made by my sweet Grandmother, and I assure you they are a treat too and were a part of this week each summer! I always looked forward to going to visit my Grandparents and tasting the cheese straws. Since I only make it over there once a year, I have had to learn to make my own cheese straws. So here’s to my amazing Grandmother and her cheese straws!
Ingredients:
Directions:
*The cheese in this photo is grated too thick….this was before I knew better!
3. Use the dough hook to combine the cheese and butter. Make sure you let it mix completely.
4. Add the salt and red pepper and mix well.
5. Sift together the flour and baking powder.
6. Add the flour mixture to the cheese mixture.
7. The dough should come together and start to form a ball. This may take a few minutes, but it will happen. Scrape the sides of the bowl down a few times during mixing. *The dough will look crumbly and like it will never come together but be patient and let the mixer mix until it does!
*The dough should be a smooth ball. This is a terrible photo that shows what happens when the cheese isn’t grated finely enough and doesn’t mix in as well as it should. I need to take some recent pictures for this post!
8. Grab your cookie press and load it full of dough. Use the star disk to get the straw like shape.
9. Bake cheese straws at 350 for 15 to 18 minutes. To see if they are ready, lift one cheese straw and look at the bottom. It should be slightly browned and they should be slightly crisp. Don’t cook too long or they will burn, but you also don’t want to under cook as then they will be soft not crunchy. To me getting the cooking time adjusted perfectly is the hardest part! Just keep an eye on them! I also like to cook two trays at once. Halfway through baking I switch the positions and move the top one to the bottom and the bottom sheet to the top. Just to make sure they cook evenly.
I sure hope your enjoy my Grandmother’s cheese straws as much as we do!
If messes scare you….this might not be an activity for you. Although if you did this outside cleanup would be a breeze! I originally saw this idea on Pinterest and then did some more research on how to make fluffy stuff. This stuff is super easy to make and even more fun to play with. The texture is unlike any other. The closest thing that comes to mind is cloud dough (flour and baby oil mixed). So you will need a box of cornstarch and a can of shaving cream. All you do is pour the cornstarch into a good size bucket and then cover it in shaving cream. Mix with hands until you get a “dough” that sticks together and is somewhat moldable. I let my kids do the mixing! Have fun!
We did this inside on the wood floors. It was a bit messy; however, cleanup was easy. The “fluffy stuff” that is spilled onto the floor dries like powder and is swept up easily!