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Beignets
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 1/2 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 cup evaporated milk 7 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup shortening 1 quart vegetable oil for frying 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Ingredients

Directions In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, eggs, evaporated milk, and blend well. Mix in 4 cups of the flour and beat until smooth. Add the shortening, and then the remaining 3 cups of flour. Cover and chill for up to 24 hours.

Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 2 1/2 inch squares. Fry in 360 degree F (180 degrees C) hot oil. If beignets do not pop up, oil is not hot enough. Drain onto paper towels. Shake confectioners' sugar on hot beignets. Serve warm.

Lady Fingers

-3 eggs at room temperature separated -80 g powdered vanilla sugar -60 g flour

-a tablespoon of confectioner' sugar for dusting Preheat oven to 180 C Line a baking tray with baking paper and butter it well. In a bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar till light and creamy. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and add in the sugar till soft peaks form. Fold the flour into the yolk mix with a spatula. Fold this into the egg white mix. Fill a piping big (with a 1/2 inch snip) with the mix and pipe out finger like shapes onto the lined tray (depending on the serving glass you will be using, pipe out the shapes. I pied mine 3 inches long ). Leave enough space in between each piped shape, giving room to expand when baking. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and pop into the oven and bake for twelve to thirteen minutes. (Keep checking on them to ensure they do not burn). Bake till golden in colour. Keep aside to cool.

Lemon Curd
Fine Cooking

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 2 large egg yolks 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 min. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 min. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks. In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. (The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts.) Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. (Once it was completely melted, mine thickened and reached 170 in just a few minutes, so watch it closely.) It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170F on a thermometer. Dont let the mixture boil. Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

Pumpkin Spice Hummus

15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 cup pumpkin puree 1/4 cup tahini (or raw cashew butter) 1 Tbsp sunflower oil (or canola) 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground ginger 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp ground cloves 1/2 tsp salt Directions: Combine all ingredients in your food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust spices if needed. Yield: 12 servings (1/4 cup each). Nutrition Information (per 1/4 cup): 93 calories; 4.3 g. fat; 0 mg. cholesterol; 146 mg. sodium; 11.6 g. carbohydrate; 4.6 g. fiber; 3.1 g. protein Result: Sweet, but hummuspumpkin hummus. This was unique and very, very good! I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it! I also love the nutrition stats low-calorie, healthy fats, and lots of fiber. Definitely a healthfriendly snack option

Baked Spiced Chickpeas

2 cups (or one can) cooked chickpeas 1 1/2 Tbl olive oil 3 Tbl spice mixture (below)

Spice Mixture: 2 tsp dark brown sugar 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp Kosher salt To make the spice mixture: Mix all spice mixture ingredients well and place in an airtight container. To make the chickpeas: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Rinse the chickpeas. Place the chickpeas on two layers of paper towels and then top with a third. Rub the top layer of paper towels over the chickpeas gently to dry. Remove the paper towel and discard any skins that have become loose. Let air dry for a few minutes. Place the chickpeas in a bowl and add the oil. Mix until the chickpeas are well coated. Add three tablespoons of the spice mixture and mix well. Place the chickpeas on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer. Place in the oven and bake 40-60 minutes until the chickpeas are golden brown and crispy all the way through. Eat immediately once they've cooled. These do not remain crispy if stored in a container.

tasty pretzel dogs

Prep Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes Cook Time: 12 minutes Total Time: 1 hour, 22 minutes

Yield: 16 whole dogs or about 30 halves Ingredients: For the Dough: 1 package active dry yeast 1/4 cup white granulated sugar 1 cup warm water 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed 1 t. salt For the Rolls: 16 hot dogs or soy dogs, cut into halves 1/4 cup soy milk or another dairy-free milk alternative , for brushing Coarse sea salt (optional) Preparation: 1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast, warm water and sugar, agitating until the yeast is dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbly. In another bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture gradually to the yeast mixture until forming a soft dough that is neither sticky nor dry, adding extra flour if necessary. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead until elastic and smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. 2. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Lightly oil a large baking sheet and set aside. 3. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle about 1/8" thick (the longer and thinner the rectangle, the better). Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into triangles each about 3 inches wide at the base and 4 inches long. (To get a visual image of how this will look, look here at how I cut dough to make croissants; it's the same concept, you just don't need to make a notch in the dough this time!) Place a hot dog or soy dog half at the base of one of the triangles perpendicularly, and then roll the dough up to the tip. Press the tip gently into the dough to secure the roll and place the roll on the prepared baking sheet. Continue until all of the dough or all of the dogs have been used. 4. Lightly brush the rolls with soy milk (you probably won't need the entire 1/4 cup) and sprinkle with coarse sea salt if desired. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the rolls are puffed up and golden brown. Transfer dogs to a wire cooling rack to cool slightly before serving. Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold.

Pepperoni Garlic Knots

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups warm water (105F) * 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast * 3 1/2 cups bread flour * 2 Tbsp olive oil * 2 teaspoons salt * 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 cup mini pepperoni slices Garlic coating: 1 tbsp olive oil 1 1/2 tbsp butter 1 tsp garlic powder 1 clove fresh garlic, chopped into small pieces 2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
1. Pour warm water into mixing bowl of stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast on top and let rest for about 5 minutes. Add in flour, 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and sugar. Mix with dough hook attachment on medium speed for about 10 minutes until dough is elastic and can be removed from bowl easily. 2. Pour a small amount of oil into a glass bowl and place dough ball inside. Place plastic wrap on top to cover glass bowl. Let dough rise for about 1 hour until doubled in size. 3. Divide dough into 14 pieces. Take one piece of dough. Remove a small chunk, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Take the rest of that piece of dough and roll out into a rope about 9 inches long. Place about 5-6 pieces of mini pepperoni slices onto the dough chunk. Then take the rope and wrap around the chunk about three times, leaving some space between each spiral. 4. Preheat oven to 425 F. Place knots on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart. Bake about 15 minutes until they turn golden brown on top. 5. While the knots are baking, mix all the garlic coating ingredients into a bowl (except parsley) and microwave for about 1 minute. Stir ingredients together. 6. When knots are done, toss them into the garlic mixture to coat. Then sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley