But Wait, What is a Zucchini Fritter?

When I think of a fritter, my mind thinks “apple fritters“. But, in this case we are taking grated zucchini, adding it to a batter made of onion, flour, egg and herbs and deep frying to perfection.

What to Serve with Zucchini Fritters

Pair these delicious little gems with a zesty dip, sour cream or throw them into a salad. Other ideas include pairing them with a protein. Baked Salmon, Baked Chicken Legs or Grilled Flank Steak are all great options.

How to Make Zucchini Fritters

Making Zucchini Fritters is easy and takes only 15 minutes start to finish! For full recipe details, see the printable recipe card down below.

Make Fritter Batter

Grate zucchini into large bowl (I use a medium grater). Squeeze excess water out of zucchini (this should be about 1 cup). Stir in onion, egg, flour, baking powder, salt, cheese and any herbs until combined.

Fry the Fritters

Over medium to medium high heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet. Drop batter by the tablespoonful into hot pan, flattening out to be 3-4 inches in diameter, 1/4-1/8 inch thick.

Cook 1 minute until bottoms are deep brown and flip. Gently press. Cook 30 more seconds, remove to plate and sprinkle with salt. Melt more butter into hot pan and repeat until no more batter remains.

Serve fritters warm with desired toppings.

Zucchini Fritter Topping Ideas

While these are delicious the way they are, here are some common topping ideas to garnish your fritters. Feel free to use whatever sounds good to you!

• sour cream
• grated cheddar cheese
• green onions
• tzatziki sauce
• garlic yogurt sauce

Why are My Fritters Soggy?

Zucchini holds a lot of moisture. This is why zucchini is so great in baked goods! But even in baked goods, you need to soak up most of the moisture, or you’ll have a soggy end result. The easiest way to do this is to lay a few paper towels over the top of your grated zucchini and press down gently to absorb the extra water. Or wrap in a cheesecloth or tea towel and squeeeeeeze!

Storing Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini Fritters are best eaten the day they are made, but the good news is that you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Beyond that, they get mushy and basically fall apart.

Can I Freeze Zucchini Fritters?

Yes! These work great for a make ahead appetizer. After they have cooled completely, transfer to a sheet pan and line single layer with fritters. Place into the freezer for a few hours until frozen solid. After completely frozen, place them into a freezer safe airtight bag or container. Fritters will stay fresh for 2 months in the freezer. Thaw before reheating in oven or air fryer.

Love Zucchini? Give These Zucchini Recipes a Try…

• Lemon Zucchini Cookies
• Zucchini Brownies
• Fried Zucchini
• Sausage and Peppers Stuffed Zucchini Boats
• Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

So easy, right? I love a simple way to get more veggies into a meal. The printable recipe card is below. Be sure to save/print/bookmark or share this recipe. Have a fantastic day, friends!

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Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini fritters are perfect for a fast and easy snack or light lunch. Top with sour cream, cheddar cheese or even green onions and enjoy!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword zucchini fritters

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 2 minutes

Total Time 12 minutes

Servings 8 small fritters

Calories 49kcal

Author Lauren’s Latest

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini grated
• 3 tbsp onion finely grated
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2-3 tbsp butter for frying
• 1/4 c parmesan cheese grated
• 1 tbsp fresh dill or other fresh herbs, optional

desired toppings:

• cheese
• sour cream
• green onion etc.

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Grate zucchini into large bowl (I use a medium grater). Squeeze excess water out of zucchini (this should be about 1 cup). Stir in onion, egg, flour, baking powder, salt, cheese and any herbs until combined.
• Over medium to medium high heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet. Drop batter by the tablespoonful into hot pan, flattening out to be 3-4 inches in diameter, 1/4-1/8 inch thick.
• Cook 1 minute until bottoms are deep brown and flip. Gently press. Cook 30 more seconds, remove to plate and sprinkle with salt. Melt more butter into hot pan and repeat until no more batter remains. Serve fritters warm with desired toppings.

Nutrition

Calories: 49kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 71mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 166IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Zucchini Fritters appeared first on Lauren's Latest.

A Note About Flavoring Homemade Breakfast Sausage

My biggest pet peeve about ‘homemade’ versions of recipes is they taste nothing like the store bought version. I love store bought breakfast sausages because they taste so good! I wanted to base my own homemade breakfast sausage based on the ones I know and love. This means I used spices like:

• thyme
• rosemary
• sage
• marjoram
• nutmeg
• and cayenne pepper

Plus, I used my secret ingredient: smokehouse maple seasoning. This stuff gives that maple flavor that we all love about breakfast sausages.

How To Make Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Like I said before, making homemade breakfast sausage is so simple, why wouldn’t you always go this route…it’s so much more flavorful than store bought, in my opinion. For full recipe details and ingredients, see the printable recipe card down below.

Combine Ground Pork + Seasonings

In a large bowl, place ground pork in the bowl. Add nutmeg, cayenne, sage, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, brown sugar, salt and pepper to the bowl. I also added some McCormick Grill Mates Smokehouse Maple seasoning (totally optional). I love this flavor it brings to the sausage.

Combine + Mix Well

Stir all the spices into the meat and mix well. Using a cookie scoop or spoon, divide mixture into 12 even sized balls and flatten into patties.

Cook + Serve

Cook in your pan until thoroughly cooked and drain on paper towels and serve as you like!

Storing Leftover Breakfast Sausage

Place any leftover breakfast sausage in an airtight container and place in the fridge. Sausage will stay fresh for 4-5 days.

Other Breakfast Recipes to Try:

• Breakfast or Dinner Mini Skillets
• Biscuits and Gravy
• Fruit & Waffle Breakfast Pizzas
• Southwest Steak and Egg Breakfast Burritos
• Breakfast Tacos

Here’s the printable recipe card. Have a great day, friends!

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Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage

If you love breakfast sausage, try this homemade recipe. Super tasty and surprisingly easy… just a bunch of seasonings mixed together with ground pork!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword Homemade Sausage

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 12 mini patties

Calories 103kcal

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/8 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon smokehouse maple seasoning optional

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• In a large bowl, stir seasonings together with ground pork. Scoop into 12 even balls {I used a cookie scoop for this}, form into patties and fry in a nonstick skillet with a little cooking spray. Once fully cooked, remove to paper towels and serve as desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 103kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 166mg | Potassium: 108mg | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.4mg

The post Homemade Breakfast Sausage Recipe appeared first on Lauren's Latest.

Why Pan Fried Potatoes Are SO Good

When I think of potatoes, I always think of roasted, mashed, or fried. Never pan-fried. But I’m here to share the good news. PAN FRY YOUR POTATOES. Is there anything better than a soft potato with a crispy exterior that has been fried? I submit that there is not. I tried these simple pan-fried potatoes to go with our dinner the other day and fell in love!

These Pan Fried Potatoes are oh so good for so many reasons. To name a few:

• They are fried in a pan!! Easy to make because we’re not having to deep fry anything.
• Frying potatoes in a pan means you can use butter AND oil. Sweet glorious butter.
• It’s a very low fuss meal with a handful of ingredients. Simplicity at its finest, folks.

LOVE Potatoes? Try these reader favorites: Funeral Potatoes, Scalloped Potatoes, Fail-Proof Baked Potatoes, Buttery Mashed Potatoes, Grandma’s Potato Salad, Twice Baked Potatoes.

Best Potatoes to Use

Back when I was first testing this pan fried potatoes recipe, I used tri-colored baby potatoes which worked really well. However, my tried and true go-to potato are the Idaho Russet Potatoes. While you can have success with almost any potato variety, Russets will give you the most consistent results (plus they’re cheap and easy to find).

This recipe also works great with golden potatoes or red potatoes. Just make sure you cut them all the same size for even cooking.

Olive Oil vs Butter

My friends, it’s not olive oil VERSUS butter, it’s olive oil AND butter. The combination of these two ensures crispy flavorful potatoes. The oil has a slightly higher smoke point than the butter, so that will help you keep your pan at a higher temperature. And, I know a lot of recipes call for unsalted butter (especially in baking) but I go completely against the grain and always use salted.

Flavoring Ingredients

Besides the butter for flavor I keep things simple and just use salt, pepper and onion powder for this recipe. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use other ingredients to flavor these pan fried potatoes. Be sure to add spices near the end of cooking so they don’t burn. Or if you are using heartier herbs or spices, add them near the beginning. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:

• scallions
• garlic powder
• cajun seasoning
• taco seasoning
• chili powder
• paprika
• rosemary
• thyme

How to Pan Fry Potatoes

For full details on how to pan fry potatoes, see the recipe card down below

1. Prep the Potatoes

Peel potatoes, then rinse and lightly dry in a clean kitchen towel. Slice each potato into small 1/2 inch cubes.

Do I Have To Peel The Potatoes?

This is definitely an optional step. For the prettiest looking pan fried potatoes, I’d take the extra time to peel them, however, if the skin doesn’t bother you, feel free to scrub the potatoes well, then using as is.

Do I Need To Boil Or Soak My Potatoes Before Frying?

Nope! These potatoes cook from start to finish in a pan so no need to boil or soak them before.

Can I Cut My Potatoes in Slices or Wedges?

I would stray away from wedges, however if you’re looking to cook bigger pieces of potatoes I’d recommend using my Roasted Potatoes recipe for more success.

As for slices, you can absolutely slice these into 1/3-inch rounds, but keep in mind they will take longer to cook through! I highly recommend cutting them into a 1/2 inch small dice because it means more surface area to get golden and crispy, plus a quicker overall cook time.

2. Cook Potatoes in Olive Oil and Butter

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add in butter and olive oil and stir together to melt and sizzle. Add in potatoes and stir to coat each potato in the butter-oil mixture. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and onion powder over top and stir again.

What’s The Best Pan To Use?

It’s really really hard to burn things in a nonstick skillet, so be sure to either use a nonstick skillet OR watch your potatoes intensely! I love my Calphalon set of nonstick pans. They work phenomenally well. A cast-iron skillet would also work really well for getting those potatoes nice and brown, too. A Lodge cast iron skillet would be perfect.

3. Keep Cooking Until Golden and Crisp

Reduce heat to medium and let potatoes cook for 5 minutes before stirring and flipping. Cook another 5 minutes, then flip again. If you’re NOT using nonstick, you will have to flip your potatoes every 2-3 minutes.

Continue the cook-5-minutes-then-flip pattern for 30 minutes or until potatoes are brown and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Main Dishes to Serve with Pan Fried Potatoes

These could be a good hash brown hybrid breakfast potato, a good brunch item, or a lovely side dish to serve with dinner. I’d eat these for lunch too. I’m not picky. Here are some main dishes to try out with these fried potatoes:

• Biscuits and Gravy
• Breakfast Nachos
• Slow Cooker Pot Roast
• Prime Rib
• Garlic and Herb Baked Cod

So come join me on the pan-fried potato train and we can enjoy our buttery crispy carbs together. Life is so much better with carbs.

The printable recipe card is down below, have a great day, friends!!

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Pan Fried Potatoes

Pan Fried Potatoes are simple, easy, crispy, golden bites of heaven! Seared in buttery goodness it’s one of the best potato side dishes.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword fried potatoes, how to fry potatoes, how to make fried potatoes, pan fried potatoes

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4 side servings

Calories 248kcal

Author Lauren Brennan

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds Russet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon onion powder or garlic powder

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Peel and rinse potatoes and dry gently in a kitchen towel. Slice each potato into 1/2 inch cubes.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet* over medium-high heat. Add in butter and olive oil and stir together to melt and sizzle. Add in potatoes and stir to coat each potato in the butter-oil mixture. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and onion powder over top and stir again. Reduce heat to medium and let potatoes cook for 5 minutes before stirring and flipping. Cook another 5 minutes, then flip again.
• Continue the cook-5-minutes-then-flip pattern for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are brown and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
• Taste and adjust the salt as necessary. Serve hot.

Notes

*If you’re NOT using nonstick, you will have to flip your potatoes every 2-3 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 248kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 59mg | Potassium: 716mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 177IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Pan Fried Potatoes appeared first on Lauren's Latest.

Homemade English Muffins | Breakfast Perfection

But first what are English Muffins? If you’ve never had one before you are in for a treat! English muffins are a yeasted breakfast bread that is commonly toasted then eaten with either sweet (jam, honey, butter) or savory (eggs, bacon, sausage) toppings.

So this homemade breakfast perfection comes from when I experimented with the English Muffin recipe from King Arthur Flour. Oh, mama were they good fresh out of the pan! Yes, I said pan! You cook English muffins in a dry skillet on your stovetop! Pretty cool, right? After the first batch of mine were all finished, I was surprised at how much better they tasted than the store-bought version! I mean, usually, I would expect anything you make at home would be better than anything premade at your local grocer, but these were 1000 times better! Surprisingly wonderfully better–especially with lots of butter!

Main Ingredients Needed

Since I don’t have a bread maker, my dough was made with a trusty stand mixer. I added in extra flour and made a few more modifications. Here is what you’ll need to make Homemade English Muffins:

• Milk– warmed, helps combine and moisten the dry ingredients to form the dough.
• Butter– very soft. For moisture and flavor.
• Salt- for balancing the flavors.
• Granulated Sugar- to slightly sweeten the dough and to help activate the yeast.
• Egg– lightly beaten. For structure and texture.
• Bread Flour– for volume that fills out the English Muffins. I needed about 1-1 1/2 cups more flour than what was stated on the website.
• Instant Yeast– this is used to form carbon dioxide bubbles in the dough which gives the finished product volume and texture.
• Cornmeal- used to give the outside texture!

How to Make English Muffins | Directions

For full details on how to make English Muffins, see the recipe card down below

Step 1: Combine Ingredients

Combine warm milk, butter, salt, sugar and egg together in the bottom of a stand mixer. In a different bowl, mix half the flour and yeast.

Step 2: Mix + Knead with Stand Mixer

Using the dough hook with the stand mixer on low, slowly incorporate the dry mixture into the wet until everything is mixed equally. Sprinkle in remaining measured flour until dough forms and looks and feels like dough- if it looks and feels very sticky and the dough sticks to your hands, then add more flour. You want the dough to be slightly sticky–so it will stick to your hand but hardly leave any trace of dough when you pull away quickly. Knead the dough for 7-8 minutes.

Step 3: Rise + Roll

Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let sit 1 hour or until dough puffs up to be twice the size it was originally. Remove dough gently from bowl onto a cornmeal covered workspace. No need to punch dough down. Roll out to be 1/2-3/4 inch thick and cut into 3-inch circles. Place dough circles onto cornmeal dusted baking sheet. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let sit for 15-30 minutes.

Step 4: Dry-Fry Muffins

Heat a frying pan or griddle to low heat. Do not grease, but sprinkle with cornmeal. Cook four muffins at a time, cornmeal side down first, for about 7 minutes a side. Check after about 3 to 4 minutes to see that the muffins are browning gently and are neither too dark nor too light; if they seem to be cooking either too fast or too slowly, adjust the temperature of your pan or griddle. If your pan is too hot, the edges will burn and the inside will stay raw, so it’s important to find that ‘golden temperature’ that works for you.

Step 5: Cool + Cut + Serve

When the muffins are brown on both sides, transfer them to a wire rack to cool, and proceed with the rest. If you have two frying pans (or a large griddle), you’ll be better able to keep up with your rising muffins.

Once English Muffins are cool, break open with a fork and toast. Slather with butter and enjoy!

Storing English Muffins

Store any extra English Muffins in an airtight container for up to 5 days. No need to store in the fridge as that tends to dry these out faster.

Freezing Instructions

You can also freeze these little babies for up to three months! Be sure to store in an airtight container then thaw in the fridge or counter when you’re ready to use them. Here’s a handy tip, slice your English Muffins in half before freezing them, that way they can go straight from freezer to toaster!

Love Homemade English Muffins? Try These Bread Recipes…

• EASY Homemade Bread Recipe
• Homemade Bagel Recipe
• How to Make Pizza Dough
• Whole Wheat Rolls

If you have some extra time today or this week, give this recipe a try! It’s time consuming, but so worth the wait! Enjoy, friends!

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Homemade English Muffin Recipe

This homemade English Muffin Recipe is wonderfully better than store-bought! They require a bit of time but are soft and so worth it!

Course Breads

Cuisine English

Keyword english muffin recipe, english muffins

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 14 minutes

Rising Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 54 minutes

Servings 16 english muffins

Calories 170kcal

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups milk warmed
• 3 tablespoons butter very soft
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 4 1/4 cups bread flour*
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• cornmeal

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Combine warm milk, butter, salt, sugar and egg together in the bottom of a stand mixer. In a different bowl, mix half the flour and yeast.
• Using the dough hook with the stand mixer on low, slowly incorporate dry mixture into the wet until everything is mixed equally. Sprinkle in remaining measured flour until dough forms.

  Look and feel dough- if it looks and feels very sticky and the dough sticks to your hands, then add more flour. You want the dough to be slightly sticky–so it will stick to your hand but hardly leave any trace of dough when you pull away quickly. Knead dough for 7-8 minutes.
• Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let sit 1 hour or until dough puffs up to be twice the size it was originally. Remove dough gently from bowl onto a cornmeal covered workspace. No need to punch dough down. Roll out to be 1/2-3/4 inch thick and cut into 3-inch circles. Place dough circles onto cornmeal dusted baking sheet. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let sit for 15-30 minutes.
• Heat a frying pan or griddle to low heat. Do not grease, but sprinkle with cornmeal. Cook four muffins at a time, cornmeal side down first, for about 7 minutes a side.

  Check after about 3 to 4 minutes to see that the muffins are browning gently and are neither too dark nor too light; if they seem to be cooking either too fast or too slowly, adjust the temperature of your pan or griddle.

  If your pan is too hot, the edges will burn and the inside will stay raw, so it's important to find that 'golden temperature' that works for you.
• When the muffins are brown on both sides, transfer them to a wire rack to cool, and proceed with the rest. If you have two frying pans (or a large griddle), you'll be better able to keep up with your rising muffins.
• Once English Muffins are cool, break open with a fork and toast. Slather with butter and enjoy! Store extras in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Notes

*I had to use 1-1 1/2 cups more flour (this varies based on the climate you live in)

Nutrition

Calories: 170kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 217mg | Potassium: 87mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 124IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg

The post English Muffin Recipe appeared first on Lauren's Latest.

Homemade Bagels | Fresh + Soft

This bagel recipe comes from Peter Reinhart via Smitten Kitchen. If you’ve never been over to Deb’s site, I would highly recommend it. I love love love it. Anyways, onto these bagels! They are made using traditional methods (a yeasted dough boiled then baked), using some pantry staples and some less common ingredients. Don’t worry though, I have substitutions if you can’t find a certain ingredient. They come out fresh and soft plus they are way cheaper (and yummier) to make than store-bought bagels. Did I mention you can freeze these babies too? Yeah, you can. Overall, these were really delicious lightly toasted with butter, and tasted like a bagel. Shocking, I know.

Main Ingredients Needed + Substitutions

The ingredients for these bagels are divided into 3 sections- sponge, dough and finishing ingredients. Here is everything you’ll need:

For the Sponge Method aka Yeast Starter

• Instant Yeast – make sure you use fresh yeast for this recipe. That way you are guaranteed big soft poofy bagels.
• Unbleached High Gluten Flour – If you can’t find unbleached high-gluten flour in your grocery store, then bread flour will work as a substitute.
• Water – room temperature water works best. Just be sure that it isn’t cold.

For the Bagel Dough

• Instant Yeast – yes, more of this wonderful stuff.
• Unbleached High Gluten Flour – or bread flour like mentioned above.
• Salt– for flavor balancing.
• Malt Powder – for this particular recipe, I found and used Barley Malt Powder or ‘malt extract’. If you can’t find that, then malt or barley syrup, brown sugar, or honey are acceptable alternatives.

To Finish

• Baking Soda – this is added to the water when boiling the dough and creates that signature crunchy outside with a soft interior.
• Semolina Flour – this is used for dusting and helps prevent bagels from sticking to the pan. Use cornmeal if you can’t find semolina flour.
• Sesame Seeds +Poppy Seeds + Kosher Salt – to add on top of the bagels. Adds a slightly salty and nutty flavor and makes it pretty. You could also just go with the Everything Bagel Seasoning here.
• Rehydrated Dried Minced Garlic or Onions – to rehydrate simply let the dried ingredient soak in water for 15 minutes. (A note from Deb: this was what I chose, and found the taste very authentic, or chopped onions that have been tossed in oil – optional)f

Before You Start, Read These Tips!

Here are a few notes I wanted to share as I made these bagels.

How To Make Bagels | Directions

For all of the nitty-gritty details on how to make these amazing homemade bagels, see the recipe card down below

Step 1: Make Yeast Starter (Sponge)

Stir yeast into the flour. Stir in the water until it forms a sticky thick batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm spot in your kitchen until the mixture is foamy, bubbly, and almost double in size.

Step 2: Make the Dough

Stir in the rest of the yeast to the sponge using a stand mixer {use the dough hook}. Stir in 3 cups of flour, salt and malt powder or syrup. After a minute or two, the dough will come together into a ball. Continue to sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup flour into the dough with the machine on low. {At this point, I had to remove the dough and knead the rest of the flour in by hand.}

Step 3: Continue Kneading

If you keep your dough in the mixer, continue kneading for 6 minutes. If you transfer the dough to the counter to knead by hand, knead for 10 minutes. At this point, all the flour should be incorporated into the dough and the dough should be soft, smooth, and firm. If the dough is too dry {it rips} add in a little water. If the dough is tacky {sticky} then add in a little more flour.

Step 4: Divide Dough + Let Rest

Divide dough into 4 1/2 ounce pieces for normal ‘standard size’ bagels and 2 1/4 ounce pieces for mini bagels. Roll dough into smooth balls and place on lightly greased parchment paper. Cover rolls with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let them rest for 20 minutes or so.

Step 5: Pinch a Hole In Each Roll Forming a Bagel

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly spray with non stick cooking spray. Take each roll in your hand and carefully pinch a hole into the center forming a bagel. Try to keep the bagel as even as possible doing your best to avoid thick and thin spots. {You can also roll the dough into a rope and form bagels that way–I just thought it was easier to poke the hole in the center.}

Step 6: Place On Baking Sheets, Cover + Let Pans Rest

Place each bagel 1-2 inches apart on the prepared pans. Mist the bagels with non-stick cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Step 7: Test Bagels for Over-Proofing

After 20 minutes, check to see if you’re ready to finish the bagels. Drop a bagel into room temperature water. If it floats within 10 seconds, then they are ready to be boiled and baked. If the bagel doesn’t float, pat it dry lightly and return it to the pan to continue to proof. Check back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. Once a tester floats, place bagels into the fridge until you are ready to cook them OR get ready to boil and bake!

Step 8: Prep Water To Boil Bagels

When you are ready to bake the bagels, preheat the oven with the two racks set in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add the baking soda and optionally, a few tablespoons of barley syrup.

Step 9: Boil + Add Sesame or Poppy Seeds

Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit. After 1 minute flip them over and boil for another minute. If you like very chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling to 2 minutes per side. While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-lined sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour. If you want to top the bagels with sesame or poppy seeds, do so as soon as they come out of the water so they stick!

Step 10: Bake + Cool

When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the 2 middle shelves in the oven. Bake for approximately 5 minutes, then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180-degree rotation. If you are baking only 1 pan, keep it on the center shelf but still rotate 180 degrees.

After the rotation, lower the oven setting and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown. You may bake them darker if you prefer. I ended up baking mine for 15 minutes to get the golden color I like, turning my pans 3 times, once every 5 minutes.

Remove the pans from the oven and cool the bagels 5-10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Storing Homemade Bagels

Bagels are best eaten fresh, honestly. They tend to dry out quickly in a manner of days. However, once completely cools, you can leave them in a rolled-up paper bag on the counter at room temperature for a couple of days. I’ve heard of refrigerating bagels to keep them fresher for longer, but refrigerating bagels actually makes them dry out faster.

Freezing Instructions

You can also freeze them in an airtight bag for up to 3 months. Here’s a helpful tip, slice your bagels before you freeze them that way they can go straight into the toaster for a couple more minutes for a fast defrost and toast time!

Love Homemade Bagels? Give These Other Breakfast Breads a Try…

• Angel Biscuits
• EASY Homemade Bread
• How to Make Croissants
• English Muffin Recipe

Anyways, if you have some time on your hands, I would recommend making these homemade bagels. They make your kitchen smell wonderful and working with dough seems to be therapeutic. At least for me, it was. So, without further ado, the printable recipe card is below. Enjoy, friends!

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Homemade Bagels

These Homemade Bagels are a delicious treat. Try them lightly toasted with butter for breakfast, lunch or a snack!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword bagel recipe, homemade bagels

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Rise Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes

Servings 16 large bagels

Calories 233kcal

Author Lauren’s Latest

Ingredients

Sponge:

• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 4 cups unbleached high-gluten flour or bread flour, see note below
• 2 1/2 cups water room temperature

Dough

• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 3 3/4 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour, see note below
• 2 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons malt powder or 1 tablespoon dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar *see note below

To Finish

• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting
• sesame seeds
• poppy seeds
• kosher salt
• rehydrated dried minced garlic or onions (*Deb note: this was what I chose, and found the taste very authentic, or chopped onions that have been tossed in oil – optional

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• First, make the sponge for the bagels. Stir yeast into the flour. Stir in the water until it forms a sticky thick batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm spot in your kitchen for about 2 hours or until the mixture is foamy, bubbly and almost double in size.
• To make the dough, stir in the rest of the yeast to the sponge using a stand mixer {use the dough hook}. Stir in 3 cups of flour, salt and malt powder or syrup. After a minute or two, the dough will come together into a ball. Continue to sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup flour into the dough with the machine on low. {At this point, I had to remove the dough and knead the rest of the flour in by hand.}
• If you keep your dough in the mixer, continue kneading for 6 minutes. If you transfer the dough to the counter to knead by hand, knead for 10 minutes. At this point, all the flour should be incorporated into the dough and the dough should be soft, smooth and firm. If the dough is too dry {rips} add in a little water. If the dough is tacky {sticky} then add in a little more flour.
• Divide dough into 4 1/2 ounce pieces for normal ‘standard size’ bagels and 2 1/4 ounce pieces for mini bagels. Roll dough into smooth balls and place on lightly greased parchment paper. Cover rolls with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let them rest for 20 minutes or so.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly spray with non stick cooking spray. Take each roll in your hand and carefully pinch a hole into the center forming a bagel. Try to keep the bagel as even as possible doing your best to avoid thick and thin spots. {You can also roll the dough into a rope and form bagels that way–I just thought it was easier to poke the hole in the center.}
• Place each bagel 1-2 inches apart on the prepared pans. Mist the bagels with non-stick cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, check to see if you’re ready to finish the bagels. Drop a bagel into room temperature water. If it floats within 10 seconds, then they are ready to be boiled and baked or retarded in the fridge. If the bagel doesn’t float, pat it dry lightly and return in to the pan to continue to proof. Check back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. Once a tester floats, place bagels into the fridge until you are ready to cook them OR get ready to boil and bake!
• When you are ready to bake the bagels, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F with the two racks set in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add the baking soda and optionally, a few tablespoons of barley syrup.
• Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit. After 1 minutes flip them over and boil for another minute. If you like very chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling to 2 minutes per side. While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-lined sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour. {I didn’t have any semolina so I just kept the same parchment covered baking sheets and sprayed a little more non stick cooking spray on them and it worked just fine!} If you want to top the bagels with sesame or poppy seeds, do so as soon as they come out of the water so they stick!
• When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the 2 middle shelves in the oven. Bake for approximately 5 minutes, then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180-degree rotation. If you are baking only 1 pan, keep it on the center shelf but still rotate 180 degrees. After the rotation, lower the oven setting to 450 degrees F and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown. You may bake them darker if you prefer. I ended up baking mine 15 minutes to get the golden color I like, turning my pans 3 times, once every 5 minutes.
• Remove the pans from the oven and cool the bagels 5-10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Notes

• I didn’t have semolina flour to dust on the bottom of the pan before baking, so I just left them on the lightly greased parchment paper and they were fine. I had no problems with them sticking.
• Right after you boil the bagels, top them with your desired toppings right away so they stick! Don’t wait. Do that pronto.
• I baked my bagels closer to 15 minutes to get a golden brown. Every oven is different, so keep close watch!

Nutrition

Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 619mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 6IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Homemade Bagel Recipe appeared first on Lauren's Latest.

Les Croissants!

Today, I am so excited to be sharing this Croissant recipe! I have had this particular recipe in my recipe box ever since I got home from Paris nearly five years ago! Why it took me 5 years to find the time to make these croissants, I’ll never know. But I’m so thrilled to be sharing this recipe with you today.

I’ve been testing and re-testing this recipe to ensure nothing was lost in translation. Ingredients are not considered equal when you’re comparing France to America. I tried to do my best to get these homemade croissants as close to the ones I had in Paris with the ingredients found here in the States. If you’re willing to go through the trouble to make these start to finish, do yourself a favor and get the recommended ingredients.

European Butter vs American Butter

In my recipe, I recommend using European Butter. Why? Because European Butter has a higher fat content (82% or higher). European butter melts faster and looks more yellow because it’s ‘cultured’. You get more of that typical butter flavor from cultured butter. This means flakier, richer, more buttery-tasting croissants.

American butter (with sweet cream, salted or unsalted variations) is 80% fat and is ‘uncultured’. This means it offers more of a neutral flavor. While this butter is great for just about every kind of dessert, for croissants in particular, I recommend European Butter.

Yes, you still can use American Butter in this recipe and have no problems. Just know they could be even more buttery (in taste and texture) using European butter.

Bread Flour vs. All Purpose

My recipe from Paris called for bread flour in making the detrempe (dough portion of this recipe). Problem is France’s bread flour and America’s bread flour are not considered equal. Also, it didn’t make sense to me to use bread flour for a pastry like croissants. You want it to be tender, buttery and flakey, not chewy or bread like. We’re making croissants, not pizza dough.

So, I did test this recipe twice with American bread flour and while it yielded great croissants, the dough was harder to work with. So, all purpose flour is the recommended flour. You can even use pastry flour if you’re worried about protein content, but as long as you’re not kneading the dough too much, you should be fine using unbleached all purpose.

Yes, You Should Weigh Your Ingredients

Now, as you will quickly realize, this recipe is in grams! Ah, the metric system. I grew up in Canada and speak both metric and imperial, but for the purpose of this recipe, I’m keeping it as authentic as possible and sticking with grams. Most kitchen scales sold in the states have the option of switching between ounces and grams, so no need to worry.

Yes, you will need to use a kitchen scale for this recipe. I only say that because I care. If you want amazing homemade croissants that taste like they came straight from Paris, you need to measure your ingredients by weight. There is trust and accuracy in the scale. I know its annoying but you won’t be sorry! (This is the scale I own and used for testing this recipe.)

I did put imperial measurements in the recipe card, but keep in mind these are estimations. Since everyone measures everything differently (especially flour), I can’t really guarantee success if you’re using those measurements, but they should get you really close!

How to Make Croissants

This recipe is extensive and takes some time. You can expect two days. This is a reason why lots of people don’t make any kind of croissant recipe at home. It takes time! But the results are BOMB. Here is the basic run-down and what you can expect. There are LOTS of step by step photos and details in the recipe card below.

Make the Detrempe

First thing to do is make the dough that you will use to laminate with the butter. This is a simple yeasted dough made with flour, water, yeast, salt, sugar and melted butter. Rise 30 minutes on the counter and then refrigerate.

Make the Butter Block

Using cold butter, sandwich the needed amount between two sheets of parchment paper and press (or bang) it out into a 30 cm x 15 cm rectangle. I find using a bench scraper works great to even out the edges within the parchment paper without getting it dirty. Refrigerate.

Starting the Tourage (laminating process)

Once your dough and butter block are cold, you’ll roll the dough out to a rectangle approximately 50 cm x 17 cm. A little larger is fine! You just want to make sure the butter block will fit onto the dough and have one side be able to fold overtop of the butter block. Fold into three so you have five total layers: dough, butter, dough, butter, dough. Roll out to be a large rectangle and then create a double fold or book fold: fold the two edges in towards the center and then fold those edges in again. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

Roll and Fold

To create more layers, roll rested dough out to a rectangle and fold another double fold or book fold. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

Shape Croissants

Roll dough out to be a 4 mm thick rectangle, approximately 50 cm x 25 cm. Trim any extra dough to make the rectangle as accurate as possible. Cut triangles that are 10 cm wide and 25 cm long. You should get 10 full size with a few smaller ones made with scraps of dough. Roll triangles into croissants and place onto baking sheets.

Rising

Brush croissants with beaten egg and rise 2 to 3 hours or until croissants look and feel puffy and have doubled in size.

Baking the Croissants

Brush Croissants with more egg wash and bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown in color, including the creases. Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Can you Freeze Croissants?

Yes, you absolutely can freeze this croissant recipe. If you’re going to go through the trouble to make these from scratch, storing extra dough in the freezer is an important step. This allows you to pull them out and bake at your leisure to enjoy a fresh croissant whenever you want. There are two main spots you can stop and freeze your dough.

The first spot you can stop and freeze your croissant dough would be after you’re done all the folds and right before you’re about to pull it out to roll and form croissants. Instead of doing that, wrap it well and freeze for up to two months. Transfer to the fridge for 24-48 hours to defrost, then roll, form into croissants and bake.

The second spot (and recommended spot) to stop and freeze your croissants would be after you’ve formed them into their classic shape and before you’ve let them rise. Don’t give them an egg wash, but instead carefully place them into the freezer on their baking sheets. After 1-2 hours, they should be solidly frozen and you can transfer them to an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to two months. To bake, simply place frozen croissants onto baking sheet to defrost and rise. Once they’ve doubled in size, you can bake and enjoy.

Other French Recipes You Will Love

• Better than Paris Crepes
• French Crullers
• Pommes Frites
• Quiche

I hope you all enjoy this Croissant recipe as much as me and my family did! Be sure to pin/print/save/bookmark this one because it’s certainly a good one. Have a great day, friends!

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Authentic Parisian Croissant Recipe

Flakey, delicate, and oh so buttery, this authentic Parisian Croissant recipe is quite the special treat. Whether you’re making a batch for the holidays or just feel like indulging, this is the ultimate croissant recipe.

Course Breads, Breakfast

Cuisine French

Keyword Croissant Recipe

Prep Time 2 days

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 2 days 15 minutes

Servings 10 croissants

Calories 237kcal

Ingredients

For the Detrempe (dough)

• 500 grams all purpose flour scant 4 cups
• 10 grams salt approximately 2 teaspoons
• 70 grams granulated sugar approximately 6 tablespoons
• 10 grams instant dry yeast approximately 4 teaspoons
• 230 grams warm water approximately 1 cup
• 50 grams melted butter cooled, approximately 2 tablespoons

For the Butter Block

• 250 grams European butter unsalted, approximately 1 cup + 2 tablespoons

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Using a rolling pin and parchment paper, pound the butter into a thin rectangle 30 cm x 15 cm. )I find using a bench scraper works great to even out the edges within the parchment paper without getting it dirty.) Refrigerate.
  
• Proof yeast in warm water. In a separate large bowl, add flour, salt, sugar and melted butter. Stir in proofed yeast and water. Knead gently to create dough. Cover with plastic wrap and rise 30 minutes on the counter and then refrigerate for a minimun of 2 hours (but up to 6 hours.)
  
• Once dough and butter block are cold, roll the dough out to a rectangle approximately 50 cm x 17 cm. (A little larger is fine and normal.) Place butter block onto one side of the dough. Fold extra dough overtop of the butter block to cover half of the butter.
  
• Fold other side with butter and dough overtop the first fold. You should have five total layers: dough, butter, dough, butter, dough.
  
• Roll out to be a large rectangle and then create a double fold or book fold: fold the two edges in towards the center and then fold those edges in again. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
  
• To create more layers, roll rested dough out to a rectangle and fold another double fold or book fold. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
  
• Roll dough out to be a 4 mm thick rectangle, approximately 50 cm x 25 cm. Trim any extra dough to make the rectangle as accurate as possible. Cut triangles that are 10 cm wide and 25 cm long.
  
• You should get 10 full size with a few smaller ones made with scraps of dough. Roll triangles into croissants and place onto baking sheets.
  
• Brush croissants with beaten egg and rise 2 to 3 hours or until croissants look and feel puffy and have doubled in size.
  
• Brush Croissants with more egg wash and bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown in color, including the creases. Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 237kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 238mg | Potassium: 33mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 417IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg

The post How to Make Croissants appeared first on Lauren's Latest.

Crescent Rolls Made Easy

You guys, this might be the laziest bread recipe I’ve ever made. All you need is a large bowl, a wooden spoon and a little bit of elbow grease. Aaaand lots of butter. Crescent rolls are only as good as the dough you’re using and this is a good one: it’s an enriched dough filled with milk, egg, sugar and butter. After you make your dough in your bowl (with no kneading required!) you let it rise, form it into crescents, rise and bake.  

It’s a perfect recipe for all you bread making virgins, anyone who likes carbs, or anyone who’s tired who doesn’t want to put in the effort. Not that I’m currently tired…ha!

Basic Ingredients Needed

 Just like any bread recipe, this list of ingredients is pretty darn basic. Lots of pantry staples here! The biggest key is using fresh yeast. Double check your expiration dates before getting started.

• water, yeast + honey– I like proofing my yeast in a little warm water and honey before I add it in with the rest of my ingredients. This allows you to give it a head start but more importantly it lets you know whether or not your yeast is still good.
• sugar– I love a good sweet roll and these would probably qualify as that. If you just want a normal crescent that is more savory, cut the sugar in half.
• egg– adding eggs to bread recipes makes the dough taste richer, gives color and creates a finer crumb. The more you know.
• melted butter– I add melted butter to the dough and even more butter to the dough before I roll them up into crescents. These are very tasty.
• all purpose flour + salt– flour is needed for the gluten and salt adds flavor. Please oh please don’t forget the salt! You won’t notice when salt is added in but you will absolutely notice when salt was forgotten.

How to Make Homemade Crescent Rolls

Ok, prepare yourselves for the easiest (most buttery!) Crescent Roll recipe ever. For full recipe details and increments, scroll down to the printable recipe card below.

1. Stir warm water, honey, and yeast together in a large bowl. Set aside to proof.
2. Melt butter. Pour in some cold milk to make it a lukewarm mixture. Pour into the yeast mixture.
3. Add in an egg, sugar, and salt. Stir well.
4. Add flour in 1/2 cup increments stirring well after each. Add flour until the sides of the bowl become clean and the dough is sticky but not sticky enough to stick to your hands.
5. Grease your bowl and dough, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise.
6. Punch down dough and cut into two.
7. Working with one of the halves, flour a board and the dough ball. Roll it out into a rectangle. Brush dough generously with butter. (Let’s pretend I remembered to brush these with butter before I cut them into triangles, m’kay?)
8. Cut into even triangular pieces. If you’re using a ruler, I measured 2 1/2 inches for each base.
9. Starting at the larger end, roll each piece into a crescent. Place onto baking sheet.
10. Set aside for a second rise. Optional step: brush rolls with a simple egg wash to help with browning.
11. Bake until golden brown. 
12. Optional step: spread more butter onto the hot baked rolls. Enjoy!

Making Ahead for the Holidays

The beauty of this Crescent Roll recipe is you can make these in advance so they are ready to go for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any weeknight. Simply make the dough according to the recipe and follow the directions below.

Freezing Unbaked Crescent Rolls

Once rolls are formed and right before the second rise, stop! Place your baking sheet into the freezer for about two hours to freeze the crescent rolls. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 6 months. When ready to bake, thaw and let rise on a baking pan at room temperature. This should take about 2-3 hours in a warm kitchen. Once rolls are puffed and risen, bake as normal.

Freezing Baked Crescent Rolls

Follow the directions all the way through and let your rolls cool completely. Once cooled, transfer to a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, simply place on baking sheet frozen and warm in a 250 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

Any leftover crescent rolls can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days OR in the fridge for up to one week. Be sure to store in an airtight container to preserve freshness.

Crescent Roll Recipes to Try!

• Cheesy-Stuffed Garlic Butter Crescent Rolls
• Pepperoni Pizza Rolls Recipe
• Peach Dumplings
• Cheese Danish Recipe  (Or really any of my Danish Recipes!)

You need these crescent rolls in your life. With the butter too. They’re lovely sweet little pillows of warm carby heaven that will make your love handles sing. Mine sure did after having 7. Yes, that figure is accurate.  SEVEN.

The printable recipe card is below! Enjoy and happy baking

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Homemade Crescent Rolls (No Knead Recipe)

These Crescent Rolls are simple enough to make any weekday but fancy enough for any holiday. They are the easiest recipe and require ZERO KNEADING! It's a perfect, buttery roll that tastes simply amazing!

Course Breads

Cuisine American

Keyword crescent roll recipe, crescent rolls

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Rise Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 2 minutes

Servings 16 rolls

Calories 185kcal

Author Lauren's Latest

Ingredients

for the crescent rolls:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 1/4 teaspoons quick rise yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 cup cold milk
• 1/4 cup butter melted
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour give or take 1/4 cup
• + 3 extra tablespoons butter melted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a liquid measuring cup, stir warm water, yeast, and honey together. Set aside to proof.
  
• Melt butter in a small bowl and stir in cold milk to make the mixture lukewarm. Pour foamy yeast and water mixture into a large bowl with milk, butter, egg sugar, and salt.
  
• Stir together to break apart the egg. Using a wooden spoon, stir flour into mixture in 1/2 cup increments.
  
• After it is incorporated, the bottom of the bowl should be pretty clean, and the mixture should be pretty sticky but be able to hold a loose ball shape.
  
• Grease bowl and dough, cover with plastic wrap and dish towel. Set aside to rise 1-2 hours.
  
• Punch down dough and divide into two equal pieces. Flour a clean work surface and one of the halves. Roll out to be a 12'' x 8'' rectangle. Brush with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
  
• Cut into 6-8 triangles, depending how large you'd like your rolls. (Mine had 2-2 1/2 inch bases.) Roll into crescents. Place onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
  
• Repeat with the other half of dough. Brush tops of rolls with remaining tablespoon of melted butter. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and rise 30 minutes or until almost double in size. Optional step: brush with egg wash to brown tops.
  
• Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until tops have browned. Remove from oven to cool and immediately brush with more butter {if desired}. Serve warm.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 199mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 181IU | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Homemade Crescent Rolls (No-Knead Recipe) appeared first on Lauren's Latest.

I love cooking bacon in the oven. Whether you’re cooking it up for a crowd, meal prepping for the week or just wanting a few slices for a salad recipe, baking bacon in the oven is the simplest technique, resulting in perfectly cooked bacon every time! Whenever I make this, my kids go bananas over it. It never ceases to impress. Whether you’re looking for chewy, crispy, or somewhere-in-the-middle bacon, this is the method for you! We are big fans of ‘somewhere in the middle’ and love the buttery, crispy texture this recipe yields.

Bacon in the Oven

You can cook bacon in the oven using one of two methods:

Elevated on a Rack – Baking bacon on a rack will take a little more time to cook because it’s elevated and not frying directly in the grease, but it is easier to get a crispy and chewy texture.

Directly on the Baking Sheet – Placing your bacon directly on the baking sheet will be a quicker cooking time, but it will be harder to get that chewy and crispy, middle of the road texture.

I prefer baking bacon on racks, even though it results in more dishes. Be sure to get my tip for easy clean up below!

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

1. Start out by lining a baking sheet with foil and place it in a cooling rack or two. Lightly spray the rack with cooking spray (for easy clean up) and set aside. Be sure to use a baking sheet with sides! This bacon gives off a lot of greases that you don’t want on your oven floor. Yuck!
2. Next, grab your bacon of choice, open and line onto your prepared racks. Regular sliced bacon is all about the same thickness, so the cooking times should only vary slightly, based on your oven. Of course, thick-cut bacon will take more baking time.

3. Once your bacon is lined up and ready to go, pop into a 425-degree oven and bake 15-18 minutes or until it’s to your desired texture. Like I mentioned above, every oven varies slightly, so start checking at 15 minutes and keep a watchful eye.
4. Pull your bacon out of the oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Maybe 2 minutes or so. If you placed your bacon directly onto the baking sheet, you’ll want to drain the bacon on paper towels before serving. If you used a rack for baking bacon, the paper towel trick isn’t necessary.

Pro tip: If you’re wanting to amp up your breakfast, brunch or this simple bacon in the oven situation, brush some maple syrup onto your bacon slices in the last two minutes of cooking. Makes for a sweet and savory treat! If you don’t have any maple syrup, you can try a light sprinkling of brown sugar as well.

How long do you cook bacon in the oven?

• 15 to 18 minutes at 425 degrees for slightly chewy and slightly crispy bacon.
• 18 to 2o minutes at 425 degrees for mostly crispy bacon.

Easy Clean-Up

If you have followed me online for any amount of time, you know I hate dishes with a passion. So, any time I can take a few short cuts to make my life easier, I take them! Here are a few tips for making your life easier when cleaning up after baking bacon in the oven.

1. Line your baking sheets with foil.
2. Spray your baking racks with nonstick spray.
3. After your bacon is finished cooking, let everything cool completely; all the grease will solidify.
4. Transfer the baking racks to the dishwasher.
5. Remove the foil and throw away.
6. Using paper towels, wipe away any excess grease from the pan and throw away.
7. Wash the baking sheet with hot soapy water.

If you are one wanting to save the bacon grease, I would recommend pouring the warm (not hot!) grease into a glass jar. Store with the lid on in the refrigerator.

Delicious Bacon Recipes you will love:

• Strawberry Spinach Salad with Bacon
• Bacon Mushroom Risotto
• Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders
• Apple Pecan Salad with Bacon
• Honey Mustard Chicken Bake with Bacon

Have you ever cooked bacon in the oven before? Do you want to try this? If you end up making this in the near future, be sure to leave a comment! Was it better than the regular stovetop bacon? I’d love to get your feedback! Have a great day, friends!!

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How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Baking bacon in the oven has never been more easy or delicious. This simple 'cooking bacon in the oven' technique gives you light, crispy, buttery slices of bacon without all the mess. 

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword bacon, bacon in the oven, how to cook bacon in the oven

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 10 slices bacon

Calories 91kcal

Author Lauren's Latest

Ingredients

• 10 slices bacon

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sided baking sheet with foil and place cooling racks into the pan. Lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Line bacon slices onto rack and bake 15-20 minutes, depending on the desired texture. Remove from oven, cool 2 minutes and serve warm.

Nutrition

Calories: 91kcal | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 145mg | Potassium: 43mg | Vitamin A: 10IU | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.1mg

The post How to Cook Bacon in the Oven appeared first on Lauren's Latest.

Breakfast Pigs in a Blanket

I love Pigs in regular blankets, but french toast blankets are even better Just like you would assume, I wrap each “pig” {breakfast sausage} up in some crustless white bread, dip it in a french toast egg and milk mixture and fry them up in lots of butter. SO GOOD. It’s a fun and easy breakfast that is delicious any day of the week, but perfect for the weekend.

Main Ingredients Needed

Weekday mornings are not my forte. If they are your forte, then congratulations and we can’t be friends. But weekend mornings….watch the magic happen. The waffles are steaming! The eggs are scrambling! The green juice is flowing! And this girl got the idea for a brilliant beyond brilliant breakfast idea: Pigs in a French Toast Blanket. Here’s everything you’ll need to make Pigs in a Blanket for Breakfast!

• White Bread – soft white bread is going to be used to make the french toast part of this recipe.
• Maple Breakfast Sausage – savory and sweet is the best combination! Cook these breakfast sausages before wrapping and frying again. Use store-bought sausages or homemade.
• Eggs, Milk, Vanilla, and Cinnamon – this is the french toast egg mixture. YUM!
• Butter – used to fry up the french toast blankets.
• Maple Syrup and Powdered Sugar – optional garnishes but highly recommended!

How to Make Pigs in a Blanket for Breakfast

1. Remove sixteen middle slices of white bread from the loaf. Cut crusts off and discard {or use as breadcrumbs for later!} Wrap one cooked breakfast sausage up in one piece of bread, pressing the bottom edge of the bread on the board to seal tightly around the sausage. Repeat with remaining sausages.
2. In a shallow dish, whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon together to combine. Preheat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Melt in 1 tablespoon butter in the bottom of the pan. Dip eight bread wrapped breakfast sausages into the egg mixture and place it into the hot butter. Cook and rotate the pigs to create golden blankets on every side.
3. Remove from pan and repeat with remaining Breakfast Pigs in a Blanket. Serve warm with powdered sugar and maple syrup.

Freezing

The best part about this breakfast pigs in a blanket recipe is that you can make it ahead of time, freeze and enjoy later! Talk about a quick breakfast!

To freeze, make the recipe as directed however don’t garnish. Let the pigs in a blanket cool then place in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. To reheat, warm in the oven at 350 degrees until heated through, flipping halfway through.

Love French Toast? Try these other delicious variations:

• Perfect Brioche French Toast
• Lemon Cream French Toast
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch Encrusted French Toast
• Brioche French Toast
• Caramelized Banana & Cream Cheese Filled French Toast
• How to Make French Toast

If you loved these Breakfast Pigs in a Blanket be sure to check out my other breakfast recipes. Be sure to grab the printable recipe below! Have a great day, friends!!

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Breakfast Pigs in a Blanket Recipe

This Breakfast Pigs in a Blanket Recipe are the best of both worlds: a simple, savory-sweet breakfast that is perfect any day of the week.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword breakfast sausage, french toast, pigs in a blanket breakfast

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 16 pieces

Calories 202kcal

Author Lauren Brennan

Ingredients

• 1 loaf soft white bread
• 16 links maple breakfast sausages cooked, 1 package
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter divided
• maple syrup for serving, optional
• powdered sugar for serving, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Remove sixteen middle slices of white bread from the loaf. Cut crusts off and discard {or use as breadcrumbs for later!} Wrap one breakfast sausage up in one piece of bread, pressing the bottom edge of the bread on the board to seal tightly around the sausage. Repeat with remaining sausages.
• In a shallow dish, whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon together to combine. Preheat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Melt in 1 tablespoon butter in the bottom of the pan. Dip eight bread wrapped breakfast sausages into the egg mixture and place it into the hot butter. Cook and rotate the pigs to create golden blankets on every side.
• Remove from pan and repeat with remaining. Serve warm with powdered sugar and maple syrup.

Nutrition

Calories: 202kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 363mg | Potassium: 119mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 1.9mg

The post Breakfast Pigs in a Blanket Recipe appeared first on Lauren's Latest.

Texas Toast | With Garlic + Cheese

Texas Toast is thick-sliced white bread, buttered on both sides, and then broiled or grilled rather than toasted in a toaster. Then topped with garlic and cheese on top. I love to have this as a sidekick to my Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe or my classic Lasagna recipe. Some like to have Texas Toast with breakfast too- so if you are going to serve this for breakfast serve it alongside eggs, breakfast sausage, bacon, fresh fruit, or anything else you see fit. Texas toast is an easy, homemade {and super tasty} appetizer recipe perfect for any occasion!

Main Ingredients Needed

Now let’s take a closer look into this amazingly simple Texas Toast recipe. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Bread – this bread needs to be thick-cut white bread for maximum deliciousness. If you want to be healthier I guess you can use whatever bread you think is best.
• Four Cheese Blend – this will top the entire piece of bread and get melty and bubbly. The more cheese (and kinds of cheese) the better.
• Butter, Garlic, Garlic Powder + Parsley Flakes – toast isn’t toast without butter, right? Well, this butter spread includes butter, garlic, and parsley flakes. However, both regular garlic and garlic powder are used in this recipe. So don’t forget to add both.

How to Make Texas Toast | Directions

This easy texas toast recipe consists of slathering delicious garlic butter over each side of bread, broiling until toasted, and then topping it all off with melty cheese. For full recipe details, check out the recipe card below.

Step 1: Preheat + Prep

Set your oven to broil. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and lay 6 slices of bread over top.

Step 2: Make Spread

In a small bowl, stir together butter, garlic, garlic powder, and dried parsley flakes. Spread evenly over each slice of bread.

Step 3: Broil

Broil until golden brown and lightly crisp. Flip over and spread more butter mixture over each slice of bread.

Step 4: Melt Cheese + Cool

Top with grated cheese and broil until cheese is bubbly and melty and the edges are golden and crisp.

Cool then slice and serve.

Love Texas Toast? More Carby Recipes to Try!

• Avocado Toasts 3-Ways
• EASY Homemade Bread Recipe
• Goat Cheese + Grapefruit Toasts
• Bread Bowl Recipe

Printable recipe card is below! Make sure to save it because it’s a good one. Enjoy your day!

Print

Texas Toast

Thick-sliced bread, garlic, and cheese, this is Texas Toast! A homemade, easy {and super tasty} recipe perfect for any occasion!

Course Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Texas Toast, Texas Toast Bread, Texas Toast Garlic Bread, Texas Toast Recipe

Prep Time 8 minutes

Cook Time 2 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 6 slices

Calories 369kcal

Author Lauren Brennan

Ingredients

• 6 slices thick cut white bread
• 1/3 cup salted butter softened
• 1 clove garlic grated
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes + more for garnish
• 1 1/2 cups four cheese blend cheese grated

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Set your oven to broil. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and lay 6 slices of bread over top. 
• In a small bowl, stir together butter, garlic, garlic powder, and dried parsley flakes until well combined. Spread about half a tablespoon evenly over each slice of bread. 
• Broil until golden brown and lightly crisp. Flip over and spread another half tablespoon over each slice of bread. 
• Top with 1/4 cup grated cheese per slice and broil until cheese is bubbly and melty and the edges are golden and crisp. Cool 2 minutes, then slice and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 369kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 624mg | Potassium: 79mg | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 705IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 458mg | Iron: 1.2mg

The post Texas Toast Recipe appeared first on Lauren's Latest.