How to Make Spider Pretzels

This is a fun, easy and quick snack to make. Great for lunch to bring to your child's school or your child's party, or a nice after school snack.

Ingredients

• Sticky peanut butter (creamy) or Hershey's Chocolate Bars or Ice cream or whipped cream.
• Pretzels in traditional shape
• Pretzel sticks
• Sprinkles (optional)
• M&Ms (optional)

Steps

Peanut Butter

1. Put 3-5 tablespoons of peanut butter in a bowl, depending on how much pretzels you have.
2. Take 8 pretzel sticks.
3. Coat the pretzel sticks in the peanut butter by dipping the whole thing in the bowl. Let it rest on a cookie sheet.
4. Take one regular sized pretzel, and coat the whole thing in peanut butter.
5. Take the legs and put it on each side of the regular pretzel, leaving space in the front.
6. Put M&Ms, sprinkles and other candy on the thing
   • You could use a few m and ms for eyes.
7. Freeze for 10-20 minutes, depending on what you think is best, or until frozen but slightly creamy.

Hershey Chocolate

1. Heat the chocolate or proceed to the next step if it is melted.
2. Pour the melted chocolate into a bowl.
3. Dip the eight pretzel legs in the chocolate and place on the cookie sheet.
4. Take the original shape and then dip it in the chocolate.
5. Connect it together the same way you did in the peanut butter version. Freeze for 20-30 minutes or until frozen.
6. When ready to serve heat in the microwave for 5 to 7 seconds, so it is frozen but still hot.

Ice Cream

1. Melt the ice cream.
2. Pour the melted ice cream into the bowl.
3. Dip eight stick pretzels and one in the original shape in the ice cream.
4. Put it together in a shape of a spider.
5. Freeze for 1 hour.
6. When ready to serve place in microwave for 5 seconds.

Whipped cream

1. Spray a bunch of whipped cream in a bowl.
2. Dip 8 legs and one that is in the original shape in the whipped cream.
3. Put it together to make it in a shape of a spider.
4. Freeze for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. When ready to serve heat in microwave for 5 to 10 seconds.

How to Make Soft Pretzels

Ingredients

• 1 package yeas
• 11/2 cups warm water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4-5 cups flour
• Pretzel salt
• 1 TBSP baking soda
• 1 QT pan of simmering water on stove
• Slotted Wide Spoon
  

Steps

1. Combine water and yeast in a large bowl.
2. Add sugar and salt.
3. Add flour until you have a stiff, pliable dough.
4. Place on floured surface. Knead the dough for about 5 to 8 minutes, this will let the gluten develop and the dough more flexible to work with.
5. Shape the dough in whatever form you want.See the tips to learn how to make a pretzel shape. Have fun with it! When your shape is complete, Let it rest on a greased sheet until the pretzels look raised a bit.
6. Take pan of simmering hot water and mix in baking soda. Stir & Bring to a gentle boil. This mixture makes the distinctive shine and taste of Pennsylvania Dutch pretzels and is the SECRET to great pretzel taste!
7. Place pretzel on slotted spoon. Quickly dip your formed pretzel into the saucepan and lift up after 10 seconds. Do not let it sit there too long. Then place back on the greased sheet. Sprinkle with pretzel salt.
8. Bake at 425ºF for 6-7 minutes, or until golden. Cool on wire racks. May be frozen for future use.

Tips

• Pretzel history is that the shape was created by monks as a token for children who learned their prayers. To make this make a loop , double twist and flip over, press the "arms" into the dough.
• Pretzels are fun to use to teach children how to learn the alphabet and also spell. Some children learn best by touching.

Warnings

• SUPERVISION NEEDED FOR BOILING WATER AND HOT STOVE.
• While soft pretzels are best eaten when warm, be careful while handling the pretzels that come straight out of the oven! Let the pretzels cool first for a couple of minutes. Cooled pretzels may be frozen and reheated.

How to Make Rock Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 4 oz. butter/margarine
• 2 tsps. baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla essence
• 2 oz. dried fruit

Steps

1. Pour 1 3/4 cups flour and 4 oz butter into mixing bowl
2. Rub butter into flour until it looks like fine bread crumbs.
3. Add sugar, baking powder, and fruit. Mix well.
4. Beat egg and vanilla in seperate bowl and add to flour mixture. Mix to a stiff dough
5. Place dough in little heaps onto greased baking tray.
6. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes at 350F

Things You'll Need

• mixing bowl
• baking tray
• small bowl
• fork
• pastry blender
• measuring spoon
• measuring cup

How to Make Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• 7 tablespoons ice-cold water
• Softened stick of butter (slightly unwrapped at top)

Steps

1. In large bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening with pastry cutter, or by crisscrossing two knives. Cut and blend until dough is little pea-sized balls.
2. Special tip: Place approximately 6 tablespoons of the dough in small bowl. Mix in ice-cold water into contents of small bowl with fork until all is well-blended.
3. Add contents of small bowl back into large bowl and cut with pastry cutter. Using hands, form dough into ball. Split ball in two (one for bottom crust and one for top).
4. Tape waxed paper to counter with masking tape, or cover with pastry cloth. Roll one ball out on paper or cloth, rolling from the center out so dough is about 1/8 inch thick.
5. Carefully untape paper if using waxed paper. Lift one corner of paper or cloth and use it to support dough as you fold it in half. Peel back paper or cloth.
6. Lift bottom of paper of cloth to fold dough again so it forms a triangle. With paper or cloth still on bottom, flip dough triangle into pie plate so the paper or cloth is on top.
7. Carefully peel away cloth or paper. Gently unfold dough and lightly press into plate. Using sharp knife, trim edges.
8. Fill your pie. You can add a few pats of butter on top.
9. Roll out second ball of dough and form triangle again. Place on top of filling. Using fork, crimp top and bottom crusts together. Trim off excess with sharp knife. Cut slits in top, or a design of your liking. Butter the top with the softened stick of butter.
10. Bake as your pie recipe requires.

Tips

• If your crust
  
  
  • bakes too smooth, it was handled too much.
  • bottom is soggy, use a dull pan next time or increase oven temperature.
  • is tough, used too much water, or flour, or was handled too much
  • is too tender and crumbly, used too little water or too much shortening
  • is dry and not flaky, the shortening was cut too much, or too little water.

Warnings

• The dough, when you roll it out, should be a little crumbly at the edges. If your dough is too crumbly to shape, add more water, and if it is really wet (not crumbling at the edges at all), add a little more flour.
• When baking pie, place plate on larger cookie sheet or pizza pan to catch any overflowing filling.

Things You'll Need

• pastry cutter
• fork
• rolling pin
• waxed paper and masking tape or pastry cloth
• large bowl
• small bowl
• 9-inch pie plate
• sharp knife