Let's Twist Again...

Whenever I see a recipe that calls for yeast I usually run like hell.  The stress of pouring that little packet in warm water and waiting makes me crazy. I'm terrible at waiting. Is the water too cold? Is the water too hot?? Is it foaming up yet?? Did I just kill all those little boogers??!! Gah! Basically, it takes pretty tasty looking pictures to convince me to risk it. Enter Alton Brown's recipe for Soft Pretzels and a little of this....

Ms. Liquid Encouragement says, "You got this girrlll!" <finger snap>

I find that everything gets better with a good glass of wine (or mediocre $10 wine from TJ's). So, with that, the Ms. and I got our BAKE ON.

Sometimes you just gotta punch dough in the face...

I followed Alton's recipe but substituted with gluten free flour (Bob's Red Mill), Earth Balance (instead of butter), and Olive Oil (instead of egg). I imagine they would be great made with whole wheat flour as well. If you've never seen Alton Brown on TV before, he's a little mad scientist meets chef.  Just the kind of kookiness I find endearing.

I thoroughly enjoyed dropping these babies in boiling, baking soda water before popping them in the oven. Fifteen minutes later I had these...

The Ms. and I do good work.

Whether paired with a yummy dip or just eaten plain, these were delicious!

On a more serious note, it's been a crazy couple of weeks. Scott's mom has been through a couple surgeries and my uncle passed away Tuesday night. If you pray, meditate or send out the good juju daily, would you add our families to your list? It would be much appreciated. I hope you all get in some good family and friend time this weekend...maybe even some extra X's and O's. 
-M