My Dream Cake

Sometime around the age of 16, I stumbled across this picture:



Since then, I have spent every birthday trying to recreate a cake that I only have photographic evidence of. After I did more research into my dream cake, I realized that it was actually an ice cream cake. I chose to ignore this and thought of it as a fluffy white cake with thick, creamy buttercream frosting, and a sweet strawberry filling. Until this year, I never really knew what it would taste like.

Until...


I'm going to go ahead and be honest here: this is the best cake I have ever made. Not only is it the prettiest, it tasted exactly the way the original picture looked. There was just the right amount of frosting, cake, strawberries, heaven, etc. It was moist, creamy, and tangy. It was my dream cake. And it came from this Frankenstein of a recipe.



Fluffy White Cake White Chocolate Frosting and Strawberry Filling
Also known as My Dream Cake
Makes about 12 servings

18 tablespoons (2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
4 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising) plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups whole milk
9 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 cups sugar

9 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks/6 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 small carton strawberries, separated
Sugar, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together, milk, egg whites, and extracts. Into a second medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. With machine running, gradually add the sugar. Continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary.
Add one-third of the flour mixture and one-third of the milk mixture, and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Add remaining flour and milk mixtures in 2 separate batches beating between additions to fully incorporate. Scrape down sides of bowl, and stir by hand to finish.

Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Smooth surface with a rubber spatula. Bake until top of cake springs back when lightly pressed and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes. Run a small metal spatula around the sides of the pan, and invert cakes onto greased racks. Reinvert cakes onto cooling rack. Let cool completely before filling.

To make the frosting, melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Stir until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. Sift the confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Add the butter and salt and beat until smooth. Stir in the cooled white chocolate. Refrigerate until firm enough to frost the cake, about 30 minutes.

To make the filling, mash up about ¾ of the carton of strawberries. Add in sugar, just a little at a time, until desired sweetness is reached. To assemble the cake, take one layer and cover with a thin layer of frosting and then cover with strawberry filling. Take the other layer and frost one side with a thin layer of frosting; lay this second layer, frosting side down, onto the first layer (so the order is cake-frosting-filling-frosting-cake). Frost the top and sides of the cake. Cut the remaining strawberries into decorative shapes and place on top and sides of cake. Top with white chocolate shavings.

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate

My brother takes after my mom in that he doesn't really go after sweets. They both like sweets alright, but unlike my dad and me, they don't have crazy cravings and super sweet tooths. I always have to coax my brother a little every year around his birthday to let me make him a cake of some sort. This year, he actually requested a chocolate cheesecake.



I've only ever made two other cheesecakes (my birthday cheesecake and the pecan pie cheesecake), so I was a little skeptical about baking this. Luckily, my buddy Emeril was here to guide me to a recipe that looked fairly easy. The end result was pretty great; it mixed a lot better than my birthday cheesecake and had a deep chocolate flavor. My brother enjoyed it, too. The only thing I would change if I made it again would be the strawberries - after about two days on the cheesecake, they started to get slimy and the cake touching the strawberries did the same.



New York Style Chocolate Cheesecake
Makes about 12 servings

1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped from inside of pod and reserved
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
8 ounces melted semisweet chocolate, cooled slightly
Fresh strawberries, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (if using a light springform pan; or 325 degrees if using a dark nonstick springform pan).

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. In a small bowl, combine the chocolate wafer crumbs, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, and the butter and mix well. Press onto the bottom of springform pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, remaining cup of sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds; beat until light and creamy. Add the flour to the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth.

Add the melted chocolate and sour cream and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition until just blended. Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for one hour, until the center is almost set.

Run a sharp knife around the rim of the pan and allow cake to cool on a wire rack before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate at least four hours, or overnight, before serving. Cheesecake may be made up to 2 days in advance before serving and will keep for up to one week in the refrigerator. Serve the cheesecake garnished with fresh strawberries.

Another Another for Your Afternoon Tea

For St. Patrick's Day this year, I decided to make some cookies that were featured on Martha Stewart's site. My boyfriend really likes simple butter cookies, sugar cookies, and all sorts of shortbreads, so I figured I could pawn them off on him if I thought they were too boring.



However, these cookies must have met a new standard in blandness because he only ate about half of them. They were buttery and that's about it. Maybe complexity is too much to ask from butter shortbread, but I wasn't really impressed. If you want a very very basic tea cookie, though, this is pretty good.



Irish Butter Shortbread
Makes 2 dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low, slowly add flour. Continue mixing until dough comes together to form a ball.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface; roll out dough to about 1/4-inch thickness, dusting rolling pin with flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Using a 2 1/4-inch round, fluted cutter, cut out dough. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart. Gather up any scraps, gently re-roll, and repeat cutting process. Take care not to overwork dough.

Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake until shortbread just begins to turn golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Shortbread may be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Yet Another for Your Afternoon Tea

The only real experience that I have with scones was buying a Baking cookbook at Borders when I was 17; it turned out to be British, which had me confused for quite some time. What we call biscuits, they call scones; what we call cookies, they call biscuits.

If you actually read the things that I post, then you probably know that I made some Snickerdoodle scones before and that, while they weren't terrible, they also didn't really blow me away. I have had a hard time understanding what the point of a scone is when a biscuit or cookie can do the same thing.



However, these lemon scones came about as a way for me to use excess lemons and try my hand at scones one last time. I cast my net through the interweb and found a suitable recipe for me to try. Luckily, they passed the test and were the perfect combination of buttery, tart, and crumbly. I ate them with tea, I ate them plain, and I ate them warmed up with just a smidge of butter on top. They were delicious!




Lemon Scones
Makes 8 scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter or margarine
1/2 cup sour milk
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
Additional sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add milk and lemon peel, stirring just until mixed.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead gently six times. Shape into a ball. On a greased baking sheet, pat dough into a circle about 1/2 in thick and 8-1/2 in. in diameter. Using a sharp knife, cut wedges in the dough, being careful not to cut all the way through.

Sprinkle with sugar. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Pre-Christmas Dessert

The recipe for a Pecan Pie Cheesecake has been tucked in the back of my mind since before Thanksgiving; originally, I had planned to make it for that big turkey holiday meal. But I ended up making a birthday dessert for my mom because we celebrated so early, and the cheesecake was stuck there, lurking, unmade.



Luckily, my grandma held a casual dinner while my cousin's family was in town and I was asked to provide a dessert. Although it was fairly short notice, this recipe is fairly simple and quite difficult to mess up. If I had to make it again, the only thing I would likely change would be the actual cheesecake; removing the brown sugar would make the topping less sweet and improve the overall taste of the dessert.



Pecan Pie Cheesecake
Makes about 10 servings

1 3/4 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 eggs
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine wafer crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9” springform pan. Bake for six minutes. Set aside to cool.

Combine all pecan filling ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into crust and set aside.

Next, make the cheesecake filling. Reduce oven to 325°. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Stir in cream and vanilla.

Pour over pecan filling. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven with the door closed for 1 hour. Remove from oven and run a knife along the outside edges to loosen cheesecake from sides of pan. Let cool. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Running Out of Time?

In the eighth grade, a girl brought this platter of chocolate-dipped blobs to a school Christmas party and everyone was sort of apprehensive. Eventually, I tried one and discovered that they taste like awesome in your mouth. When I asked her for the recipe (a strange thing for a 13-year-old to do?), she wrote three ingredients down on a small piece of paper and explained the simple process.



Since then, Oreo Truffles have been my throwdown for parties, meetings, and other get-togethers around Christmas time. I'm sure they could be made year-round and still be good, but I just associate them with Christmas.



Oreo Truffles
Makes about 3 dozen truffles

1 (18 ounce) package of Oreos (Double-Stuf tends to affect the consistency in a weird way)
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
24 ounces of melting chocolate (18 ounces semisweet and 6 ounces milk chocolate)

Slowly melt the chocolate over low heat in a heavy pan.

Put five or six Oreos at a time into a food processor until they turn to crumbs. Pour Oreo crumbs into a large bowl. Mix in softened cream cheese. Roll this mixture into small balls.

Dip balls in melted chocolate, turning until completely coated. Place on wax paper and leave at room temperature or refrigerate until cooled. Store loosely-covered at room temperature.

Fold a Pizza in Half

While driving home from Fayetteville, I was struck by an urge to make and eat a slew of calzones. When I called my mom to suggest this, she had already planned dinner, so I pushed the folded pizzas from my mind. However, my dad and I convinced her in the end to make some Italian fare for the night, and we made these really great calzones.



I used an old pizza dough recipe that was lurking in my computer somewhere. That means I don't know where it's originally from, unfortunately. This dough worked particularly well because it didn't require too much time to proof and we didn't have a lot of time to waste. I was a little disappointed that it didn't turn golden-brown and delightful in the oven, but the taste was unaffected, so I can't really complain.



Basic Pizza Dough
Makes three large calzones or two large pizzas

1 tablespoon yeast
1 pinch sugar
1 cup hot water (105 degrees)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, etc. (optional)

Sprinkle yeast in hot water, add a pinch of sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes. Mix in vegetable oil, flour, sugar and salt. Stir to make stiff dough. Knead 8 minutes.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn, let rise to double in a warm place (I like to do this in the oven turned to the very lowest setting.) Punch down.

Divide the dough in half (for pizza) or thirds (for calzones). Brush each crust with 1-tablespoon of oil. Cover and let rest for five more minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. If using for pizza, bake crust for 15 minutes before removing from oven to add sauce, cheese, and other toppings. Then, bake for 15 more minutes. If you're making calzones, add the desired filling right away and bake for about 25 minutes.

Informative and Delicious

I took Advanced Composition this semester, a required class with a misleading name; instead of composing essays, we composed memos, business letters, resumes, and a big informative presentation. The basis of the presentation was that it needed to focus on someone or something who/that has been extremely influential in the field you plan to go into. Thus, I chose Martha Stewart.



Part of the project included bringing in handouts for everyone in the class - a piece of paper with trivia or a pie chart on it - to supplement your presentation. After sitting through about fifteen of the presentations, I decided to make my handout into a little ray of sunshine. I baked cookies, placed them in cute, individual treat bags, and handed them out along with the recipe. Needless to say, I made an A.



These cookies are really basic and have an after-school feel to them. They are just another kitchen sink cookie recipe for your never-ending cookie-book. My never-ending cookie book.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes 2 dozen cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, tightly packed
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and mix on medium speed until combined. Sift flour and baking soda together, and add to the butter mixture, beating just to combine. Fold in chocolate chips and peanuts.

Using a large spoon, form dough, and place on a baking sheet linedwith parchment paper, pressing down slightly to flatten. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Birthday Brownies

Because we celebrate Thanksgiving early in my family, I made a birthday dessert for my mom instead of traditional Thanksgiving fare. Back in August, she pointed the recipe out in an issue of Bon Appetit and insisted that she wanted the Layered Brownies with White-Chocolate Caramel and Cacao Nib Gelato for her birthday. Obviously daunted by the long name and the endless steps involved in their creation, I grudgingly agreed.



The recipe ended up not being as scary as I first thought. The creation of these brownies spanned a weekend, and I was able to work on one small part at a time. As long as you read the recipe ahead of time, you can tell which parts should come first if you aren't assembling the dessert all at once.



To tell the truth, the most difficult part of this recipe were the candied pecans. This was a little confusing to me; I've made them a few times using my mom's loose recipe (eye the pecans, butter, and brown sugar in a pan until they are perfect) and met with success. The recipe Bon Appetit recommended simply did not want to carmelize. After my third try with the pecans, I got an acceptable result; the pecans were just too hard and sugary for me, whereas my mom's are delicate, crunchy, buttery, and perfect.



My favorite part of the finished product was the bittersweet chocolate ganache. This was actually the first time I had ever made or eaten ganache and I was very pleased with the subtle sweetness and the deep chocolate flavor.



Layered Brownies with White-Chocolate Caramel
Makes about 16 servings

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup pecan halves, toasted

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (54% to 60% cacao), chopped
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon natural unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons water, divided
3/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
4 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
4 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced, room temperature

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (54% to 60% cacao), chopped

First, make the candied pecans. Stir sugar and 1/4 cup water in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until sugar syrup is light golden, occasionally brushing down sides of skillet with wet pastry brush, about 8 minutes. Add pecans and stir until syrup coats pecans, about 1 minute. Immediately pour pecans out onto prepared baking sheet; spread in single layer with heatproof spatula. Cool completely. Coarsely chop nuts. The pecans can be prepared up to two days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

To make the brownies, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil. Butter foil. Combine 1/2 cup butter and bittersweet chocolate in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Whisk cocoa powder, flour, and salt in small bowl. Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla in medium bowl to blend. Pour butter mixture into sugar mixture; whisk until blended. Add cocoa mixture; whisk until blended.

Transfer brownie batter to prepared baking pan; smooth top (layer will be thin). Bake brownie until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 18 to 20 minutes. Allow brownie to cool slightly, then gently press down on edges to form flat, even layer. Cool completely in pan on rack.

Next, prepare the white-chocolate caramel. Spoon 1 tablespoon water into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over and stir to blend. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 tablespoons water, sugar, and pinch of salt in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until syrup is deep amber, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush, about 8 minutes.

Slowly add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Reduce heat to low. Stir to dissolve any caramel bits. Remove from heat; let cool 5 minutes. Add gelatin mixture; stir until gelatin dissolves. Add white chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in butter. Pour caramel atop cooled brownie; spread evenly to cover completely. Chill uncovered until caramel firms slightly, at least 8 hours or overnight.

For the bittersweet chocolate ganache, bring cream to simmer in small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Cool until mixture is slightly thickened but still pourable, about 15 minutes. Pour ganache atop caramel on brownie; spread just to edges. Sprinkle chopped candied pecans evenly over. Chill uncovered until ganache is firm enough to cut, about 4 hours. The ganache can be prepared up to two days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Using foil as aid, lift brownie out of pan; place on work surface. Fold foil sides down. Using sharp knife, trim off about 1/4 inch of brownie on all sides. Cut brownie into eight 3 1/2-inch-long, 13/4-inch-wide bars. Place 1 brownie bar and scoop of Cacao Nib Gelato on each of 8 plates and serve.


Cacao Nib Gelato

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup cacao nibs
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
5 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar

Combine 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, 1 cup whole milk, and 1/2 cup cacao nibs in heavy large saucepan. Scrape in seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean; add bean. Bring mixture to simmer. Remove from heat. Cover and let mixture steep 30 minutes. Uncover and return to simmer.

Whisk 5 large egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar in large heatproof bowl until mixture is pale yellow and slightly thickened. Gradually add hot cream mixture to yolk mixture, whisking until well blended. Return mixture to same saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and coats back of spoon when finger is drawn across and instant-read thermometer inserted into custard registers 170 degrees, about 5 minutes (do not boil).

Transfer custard to medium bowl. Cover and chill overnight. Whisk 5 large egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar in large heatproof bowl until mixture is pale yellow and slightly thickened. Gradually add hot cream mixture to yolk mixture, whisking until well blended. Return mixture to same saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and coats back of spoon when finger is drawn across and instant-read thermometer inserted into custard registers 170 degrees, about 5 minutes (do not boil). Transfer custard to medium bowl. Cover and chill overnight.

Pour custard through fine strainer set over bowl; discard solids in strainer. Transfer custard to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer gelato to freezer container. Cover and freeze until ice cream is firm, at least 8 hours or overnight. This can be made up to 3 days ahead; keep frozen.

Fröhliches Oktoberfest

I took three years of German in high school, and every year we celebrated Karneval and Oktoberfest (sans booze) in class. I learned how to make spaetzle and how to eat so many undercooked snickerdoodles that I felt like throwing up afterward. Plus, I discovered Nutella for the first time. Needless to say, I am pretty fond of those Germans.



When the October issues of my cooking magazines showed up, they all mentioned Oktoberfest in some way; Rachael Ray had the biggest spread - Oktoberfest in 15 Minutes or something over-simplified like that. This planted the seed in my mind; what if we celebrated Oktoberfest this year?



My mom was all for it and my Aunt Nettie was coming into town with her friend Marilyn halfway through October, so we worked them into the plan as well. My mom was in charge of the beer and sausage and I was in charge of picking recipes and making dessert (of course).



The only challenge I faced was my Aunt's gluten-free diet, which I was more than happy to accommodate. When I'm given limits, it makes it easier for me to think up new dessert inventions.



After wracking my brain, I finally invented something similar to a parfait, served in custard cups. Basically, chocolate pudding (not too sweet) with the filling found in German chocolate cakes on top, along with some freshly whipped cream. I really wanted to make homemade pudding, but it was a very busy weekend, so I ended up just buying chocolate pudding and adding a little extra cocoa powder to it to pull down the sweetness.



And, in the end, Oktoberfest was a hit! The pretzels were gone in an instant and everyone ate and felt quite German.

The dessert ended up being just alright; I prepared the cups before dinner, with the topping and whipped cream, and put them back in the refrigerator, when I should have just left them out or waited until serving to put room-temperature topping on the pudding. Because the puddings were so cold, the topping was very hard. Other than that, the flavor was perfect!



I'm not going to post the recipe for the pudding because it was so simple. Just find a filling for a German Chocolate Cake and make a third or half recipe. And then slop it on top of some pudding.



Giant Soft Pretzels
Makes 8 pretzels

1 cup water, plus
2 tablespoons water (70 to 80 degrees)
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
2 quarts water
½ cup baking soda
Kosher salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place water, flour, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix and knead this dough for 5 to 10 minutes. If needed, add 2 tablespoons of flour after a few minutes. Turn dough onto a lightly-floured surface.

Divide dough into 8 equal-sized balls; roll each ball out into a 15- to 20-inch rope and form into a pretzel shape. Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan, bring water and baking soda to a boil. Drop pretzels into water, two at a time, and boil for 10 to 15 seconds.

Remove pretzels from water with a slotted spoons and drain on paper towels. Place pretzels on a greased baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden-brown. Lightly brush with water and sprinkle with kosher salt.