I love the holidays

They often put me on my feet for most of the day in the kitchen, but that’s perfectly great to me. I started some of my holiday/gift giving baking today and have boxes packed full of goodies on my counter, ready to be shipped tomorrow. I’ve also got a huge turkey thawing in the fridge, getting ready for Thursday. I still have to chop all my vegetables for things like stock and dressing (or stuffing, whatever you want to call it), and I need to make my pie crusts but I am more than ready for a break right now. I’ve made the most of my time being stuck indoors (thanks snow, love you too), I think…

Today I baked:
10 dozen salted double chocolate peanut butter cookies (for the cookie exchange)

and 5 batches of pumpkin bagels (for gift giving, to be packed up with small jars of strawberry jam I made a couple months ago). I think these bagels are super ugly to look at, but they’re pretty delicious. I know because I kept and ate the uglier ones. This kind of ruins the surprise for a small handful of people who read the blog who shall be receiving said bagels (you guys know who you are) but that’s okay. Other readers: if you find yourself at a loss for a Christmas gift, like to bake, and think it would be better to give a homemade gift versus something impersonal like a gift card, consider making a batch of these. Stick ’em in a holiday themed cellophane bag and instant Christmas gift.

Pumpkin Bagels
recipe from Pink Parsley Catering

You Need:
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons warm water (100 to 115 degrees, no more)
3 1/4 teaspoons of instant yeast (for the first couple of batches I used instant yeast. For the next few batches, I just dissolved regular active dry yeast into the water and let it activate)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon allspice
bread flour (original recipe calls for 3 cups – I found that my dough was the perfect texture with 2 cups. Add your flour in a cup at a time and judge for yourself)

If you’re using instant yeast, in a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the water, yeast, salt, brown sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix until combined. Switch to the dough hook and add in your bread flour. Mix until all the flour is incorporated and the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Dump the dough into a greased bowl, turn to grease the other side of the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise, for 1 1/2 hours (or until doubled in size).

Punch down the dough, then divide into 8 equal sized pieces. To shape, some people like to form the pieces into ropes, then make a circle. I find that these often break apart during the boiling process. So I roll the pieces with my hands into a uniform ball, then poke a hole in the center with my finger and kind of twirl the dough until I have a good sized hole in the middle. Set these on a baking sheet and let them rise, another hour or so. Fill a large pot with 3 quarts of water and mix in 1 Tablespoon sugar. Bring to a boil. Using a large slotted spoon or a skimmer, set in a couple bagels at a time into the boiling water and boil for 1 – 2 minutes per side. Set the boiled bagels onto a cooling rack to dry. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper sprinkled with a bit of cornmeal. Set the bagels onto the sheets. Heat the oven to 400. If you’d like, brush some egg wash onto the bagels and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the bagels are golden brown.

And if anyone is interested, my Thanksgiving menu for this year consists of:
Herb Butter Rubbed Roasted Turkey
Mashed Potatoes (which my mother in law will be bringing)
Traditional, marshmallow topped sweet potatoes (my father in law loves these)
Dressing (a new recipe I’m making with sourdough, roasted squash, onions, celery, etc. We’ll see if it makes me actually like dressing)
Cranberry Sauce (fresh, of course, not canned)
Mom’s recipe for Homemade Noodles
Brussels Sprouts, shaved and sauteed with bacon, garlic, and red onion slices
Parkerhouse Rolls
Martha’s Maple Pumpkin Pie
Buttermilk Sweet Potato Pie (for Erik, our resident pumpkin hater)
Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Pie Crust