Perfect Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

5 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

2 cups milk

1/3 cup oil

Directions

Whisk ingredients together and pour onto hot greased griddle. Cook until batter is bubbling on top then flip.

Recipe by Cherie Rencher

Bagels

Ingredients:

1 Medium Yukon Gold Potato (about 5 oz), scrubbed & boiled
(and save the water you boil it in)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the bowl
2 tablespoons honey
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
kosher salt
1 - 1/4 oz. packet active dry yeast
1 TBS unsalted butter
1 large egg

Directions:

1. Mash The Potato
Bring 2 1/2 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Add the potato and cook until tender, 20-25 minutes. Remove the potato, reserving the cooking water. When cool enough to handle, peel the potato and mash in a medium bowl until smooth, adding a few drops of the cooking water if needed.

2. Make the dough.
Stir the olive oil and honey into the mashed potato. Mix the flour, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Add the potato mixture and 1 cup reserved cooking water to the mixer; beat on medium speed until stiff but malleable, 10 minutes. Beat in a few more tablespoons cooking water, if necessary. (Reserve the remaining cooking water).

3. Knead the dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead by hand until the dough is smooth and bounces back when pressed, about 5 minutes.

4. Drizzle a little olive oil into a large bowl. Add the dough and turn to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a damp dishcloth and set aside in a warm spot until the dough is doubled in size (about 2 hours).

5. Form the bagels.
Punch down the dough. Form into a log, then cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a tight ball and set on a parchment-lined baking sheet; cover with a damp cloth and let rise 30 minutes. Make a hole in the center of each ball with your thumbs. Stretch and turn the ring until the hole is about 2 inches wide. Return to the baking sheet, cover with a damp cloth and let rise 20 more minutes. Preheat the oven to 450.

6. Boil the bagels.
Bring the remaining reserved potato cooking water to a boil. Carefully drop the bagels into the water, a few at a time and cook 30 seconds.
Flip the bagel with a slotted spoon and cook 30 more seconds
Set the bagels on a rack to drain then return to the parchment lined baking sheet.

7. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven; bake until the bagels start to brown, about 10 minutes. Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water, brush the mixture on the bagels and continue baking until golden, 10-15 more minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Banana Muffins

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp cinnemon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
2-3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp hot water

Directions
Bake in muffin tin at 350 for 12-18 minutes.

Cinnamon Rolls

DOUGH INGREDIENTS
(makes about 65 rolls)

2 squares margarine (1 cup)

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups warm water or milk

2 yeast packages in 1/2 cup warm water

1 TBS sugar in yeast water

1 tsp salt

3 eggs beaten

6 to 7 cups flour (more or less depending on the texture of dough)

CINNAMON / SUGAR MIXTURE

1 cup white sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 TBS cinnamon

1/2 cup butter (for spreading on the dough)

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, put 2 packages of yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp) into 1/2 cup warm water with 1 TBS sugar. Allow yeast to sit in warm water and sugar until it become foamy (about 5-10 minutes).

In your mixer, beat margarine and sugar until sticky and pour warm milk over. Add eggs and yeast. Add salt and flour. Beat together and kneed. The dough should be sticky, but workable - it shouldn't stick to your fingers if you touch it, but it should be very soft. Put the dough in a greased bowl and allow it to rise 1-2 hours. (until it doubles in size)

Punch down the dough and let rise 45 more minutes. (a little trick I use is to heat the oven to 200 degrees while I am mixing the dough. As soon as the oven reaches 200 degrees, turn it off and continue mixing the dough. That speeds up the rising process - it just needs to double in size)

Split dough into 4 balls. On a greased surface, roll one ball at a time out in a rectangle. Make the rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Spread softened margarine or butter on the rolled out dough and generously put the cinnamon/sugar mixture on. Roll the dough along the long side of the rectangle, so that it is one big long roll.

Use string or dental floss to cut the dough into individual cinnamon rolls (about 1 inch thick). Like this.

*Set rolls out on greased cookie sheet and let them rise until they have doubled in size (about 30 - 45 minutes). Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. (This dough also makes good dinner rolls!) Once the rolls have cooled a bit, spread frosting generously on top and serve.

**If you want to pre-make the dough and bake them fresh in the morning, you can roll out the cinnamon rolls and put them on the pan, cover them with plastic wrap and immediately put them in the fridge overnight. Once they are removed from the fridge, allow them to rise about 1 hour. Then bake and frost them as instructed above. 

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 oz container cool whip

8 oz package cream cheese

1 cup powder sugar

Beat sugar and cream cheese together until creamy. Fold in the cool whip. refrigerate until ready to frost.

Dough Recipe given to Haley Rencher by Rosemarie Deppe, 
Frosting recipe from Laura Johnson.
Photo by Haley Rencher