Snacks & Appetizers: Risotto Rolls

I make risotto a lot, mostly because my kids adore it. I make it in large batches so they can take it to school the next day, but sometimes there's a bit left even after that. I've taken to making rolls with whatever I have left. These rolls can be cooked immediately, or you can freeze them and cook them later.


This recipe works with any risotto you have left. Try Parmesan Risotto, Cheddar Risotto, Spanish Risotto, Mushroom Risotto, Hot Pepper Risotto, or any other type of risotto you're fond of.


Ingredients


1 package rice paper
leftover risotto


Directions


Making these rolls is a simple process. First, your risotto must be cold. If it's still warm, it becomes more difficult to shape your rolls. When it's cold, open your package of rice paper. Rice paper is stiff right out of the package. So stiff you won't be able to work with it immediately. You'll need to soak it.


Fill a shallow dish with cool water. Make sure this dish is large enough to fit a single piece of rice paper without bending. If you bend dry rice paper, it will crack on you. Place one piece of rice paper in the water. Let it soak until it is slightly pliable. This can take up to 20 or 30 seconds, but if you leave the rice paper too much longer than that, it will practically disappear on you.


Remove the rice paper from the water and lay it out on a cutting board. Take some risotto and place it in the center of the rice paper. Shape the risotto into a log using your fingers. Fold the rice paper around the risotto on 3 sides, then roll up on the remaining side. Pat the damp rice paper in place the seal the roll.


Place the roll on a fresh cutting board or pan to dry a little. Repeat the process with remaining rice paper and risotto. Line up the rolls beside each other, but don't let them touch or they'll stick together.


At this point, you can either cook them or freeze them. If you freeze them, freeze them individually. Once they're completely frozen, you can put them in a bag or container together, but don't let them touch while freezing or you'll never be able to get them apart.


Whether you freeze them or not, cooking them is the same. Warm 3 tbsp of oil in a pan over medium heat. Place the rolls in the pan, not touching each other, and cook until golden brown on each side. The risotto is already cooked, so you only need to crisp up the rice paper.


Drain on paper towels, drizzle with soy sauce or honey garlic sauce, then serve warm.

Drop Cookies: Chocolate Bonbons

Get ready to fall in love with these Chocolate BonBon Cookies—sweet, soft, and dusted in sugar while still warm from the oven! In this video, we walk you through our easy step-by-step recipe and directions for making these delicious homemade cookies from scratch. Perfect for any home baker, these cookies come together quickly with simple ingredients like milk chocolate chips, vanilla, and all-purpose flour. They’re the ideal treat for holiday baking, weekend snacks, or anytime you’re craving something chocolatey and comforting.

This cookie recipe is part of our ongoing Andersen Acres kitchen series where we focus on cooking at home with farm-style simplicity. Whether you're into homesteading, hobby farming, or just love trying out new baking recipes, these Chocolate BonBon Cookies are sure to become a family favorite.

Watch to learn how to mix, shape, bake, and sugar-coat each bite-sized cookie for the perfect finish. With easy directions and no fancy equipment needed, this recipe is accessible for beginners and rewarding for seasoned bakers alike.

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share with your fellow food lovers!

#homemadecookies #chocolatecookies #bonboncookies #bakingathome #homesteadingkitchen #hobbyfarmbaking #easycookierecipe #farmtotable #andersenacres #cookingtutorial

Yeast Breads: Chocolate Chip Bagels

Everyone loves chocolate chips. so putting them in bagels is bound to be popular. They're certainly one of my favorites. It's no more difficult to make these than it is to make plain bagels, so have some fun and indulge your sweet tooth.


You can use any type of chocolate chips you like. I use milk chocolate, but you can use semi-sweet, dark, or even white chocolate.


Ingredients


1¼ tsp bread machine or quick rise yeast
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup water
½ cup chocolate chips
 2 tbsp honey
1 egg, lightly beaten


Preparation


There's no need to dissolve the yeast, so place yeast, flour, salt, brown sugar, and water in a large bowl and mix until you have a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Add chocolate chips and knead the dough until it is soft and elastic. The chocolate chips should be evenly distributed throughout the dough. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover loosely. Set in a warm location to rise until doubled in size. This will take about an hour.


Punch down the dough to remove all air bubbles. Shape the dough into bagels either by rolling out the dough and using a bagel cutter or dividing the dough into 12 pieces and shaping those pieces into bagels by hand. Either method works. Place your shaped bagels on a prepared baking sheet and cover. Set aside.


Heat oven to 375°F. Fill a small pot with water and add honey. Bring to a boil. Uncover bagels and boil them, one at a time, for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. The longer you boil them the chewier the finished bagels will be. Place the boiled bagels back on the baking sheet. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the bagels with the beaten egg.


Bake for 22 minutes, until bagels are golden brown. Remove immediately from baking tray and cool on wire racks. These bagels can be kept for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

Yeast Breads: Blueberry Swirl Bagels

Bagels are delicious, especially when combined with the tart flavor of blueberries. The swirl pattern is created by gently kneading the blueberries into the dough after the first rising. If you add the blueberries at the beginning, you could end up with a bit of a mess on your hands. Make sure your blueberries are frozen or they'll be crushed during the kneading process.


Ingredients


1¼ tsp bread machine or quick rise yeast
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup water
½ cup frozen blueberries
 2 tbsp honey
1 egg, lightly beaten


Preparation


Place yeast and flour in a large bowl. Toss to mix. Add salt and brown sugar. Toss again. Add water and mix until you have a loose dough. Turn this dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until you have a soft and elastic dough, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Set aside in a warm location to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.


Punch down the dough to remove air bubbles. Press dough into a rough circle on a lightly floured surface. Place blueberries in the center of the circle. Gently knead the dough, folding the dough over the blueberries. Don't press too hard. Even frozen blueberries will crush if you aren't gentle. Allow the juice to swirl through the dough as you distribute the blueberries as evenly as possible.


When you're finished, shape your bagels. You can do this either by using a bagel cutter or dividing the dough into 12 equal pieces and shaping them by hand. To do this, roll the pieces of dough into balls. Pick up one ball and press your fingers through the center of it. Stretch the hole you just made until you have something resembling a standard bagel. Place these on a prepared baking sheet and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes.


Heat oven to 375°F. Fill a small pot with water and add honey to it. Place the pot on the stove and bring to a boil. One at a time, boil your unbaked bagels for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. The longer you boil them, the chewier they will be. Once they're boiled, place them back on the prepared baking sheet. Brush bagels with the beaten egg, then bake for 22 minutes,


Remove baked bagels from baking sheet immediately and cool on wire racks. These bagels will keep for up to 5 days if stored in an airtight container. Do not store in the fridge.

Yeast breads: Everything Bagels

Everything bagels are a common bagel that many people seem to enjoy. The secret to these is in the topping. You have to have a little of everything, which is why they're called everything bagels. If you're making them for yourself, and there's an ingredient you don't like, you can leave it out. For example, I don't like dried onion. When I make these for myself, I leave it out of the topping.


Ingredients


For the Bagels
1¼ tsp bread machine or quick rise yeast
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup water
2 tbsp honey


For the Topping
1 egg
2 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp dried onion flakes
1 tbsp dried garlic flakes
1 tbsp coarse sea salt


Preparation


First, you must make the bagels. The actual bagel is the same as a plain bagel. Since we're using bread machine or quick rise yeast, there's no need to dissolve it. You can start making your dough right away. All of the bagel ingredients except for the honey should be placed in a large bowl. Mix them together with your hands until you have a loose dough. Turn this loose dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until you have a soft and elastic dough, about 5 to 10 minutes.


Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Set aside in a warm location to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down dough to remove air bubbles. Shape your bagels, either by rolling out the dough and using a bagel cutter or dividing the dough into 12 pieces and shaping those pieces into bagels. Either shaping method is acceptable.


Place the shaped bagels on a prepared baking sheet. Cover and set aside for 20 minutes. Fill a small pot with water and add honey. Bring to a boil on the stovetop. Boil bagels, one at a time, for at least 30 seconds, but not more than 2 minutes. The longer you boil them, the chewier they will be. Place boiled bagels back on the prepared baking sheet.


Preheat oven to 375°F. Now it's time to top the bagels. Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat it lightly. In a shallow dish, combine the rest of the topping ingredients so you have a poppy seed mixture. Make sure they are well mixed, and that the dish is large enough to dip the tops of the bagels into.


Using a pastry brush, brush egg over the top of one bagel. Immediately place the bagel, top down, into the poppy seed mixture. Move the bagel around a bit to make sure the top of it will be fully covered. Place covered bagel back on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining bagels.


Bake bagels for 20 minutes, until they are nicely browned. Remove from baking sheet immediately and cool on wire racks.


This recipe makes approximately 12 bagels. They will keep for up to 5 days if stored in an airtight container.

Drop Cookies: Butterballs

As the name suggests, butter is the defining ingredient in this shortbread-type cookie. Don't substitute margarine. Margarine doesn't give the same flavor, which makes a butterball made with margarine no butterball at all.


Ingredients


½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup almonds, finely chopped
pinch of salt
powdered sugar


Preparation


Heat oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and blend well. Add flour, almonds, and salt. Combine until you have a soft cookie dough.


Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Place these on a prepared cookie sheet. Do not flatten. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until cookies are set and the bottoms are golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute. Place extra powdered sugar in a shallow dish and roll warm cookies in the sugar before placing the cookies on a wire rack to cool completely.


This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Yeast Breads: Variety Bagels

There's a lot you can do with an excellent bagel dough. You can leave them plain or top them with sesame or poppy seeds. They're not difficult, but they do take a little work. But if you have a free afternoon, you'll be enjoying fresh bagels in no time.


Ingredients


1¼ tsp bread machine or quick rise yeast
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup water
2 tbsp honey
1 egg
sesame seeds (optional)
poppy seeds (optional)


Preparation


Place flour and yeast in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add salt, brown sugar, and water. Combine until you have a loose dough, then turn this dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until you have a dough that is soft and elastic, about 5 minutes.


Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in size. This will take at least an hour. When the dough has sufficiently rise, punch down to remove all air bubbles. Roll out dough on a floured surface until dough is no thinner than ¼-inch. Closer to ½-inch is better. Use a bagel or doughnut cutter to cut out your bagels.


Alternatively, you can divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and shape each into a bagel by hand. Do this by forming a ball with one piece of dough, then press your fingers through the center of the ball and stretch until you have a bagel-shape. It doesn't matter which shaping method you use.


Place your shaped bagels on a prepared baking tray. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes. In the meantime, fill a small pot with water and add the honey. Bring to a boil. Heat oven to 375°F. Place bagels, one at a time, in the pot and allow to boil for at least 30 second, but no more than 2 minutes. The longer they boil, the chewier they will be.


Remove bagels from the water with a slotted spoon and place them back on the baking tray. When all bagels have been boiled, crack the egg into a small bowl and lightly beat it. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the egg over the bagels. If desired, sprinkle bagels with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. I typically do a few of each.


Bake bagels for 20 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove from the pan immediately and cool on wire racks.


This recipe makes 10 to 12 bagels.