Olga's Bread, Snackers and Cheese Dip

I <3 Olga's. And if you don't know what Olga's is, then you live in the wrong part of the country. They make the most delicious pita bread. It's sweet, but not too sweet. It's soft and chewy. It's delightful. We've been really cutting back on our restaurant trips (if you couldn't already tell by the surge of blog posts), and so I wanted to attempt to curb my Olga's craving by making their bread. I found a copycat recipe, but I'm not sure if the creator has ever been to Olga's.

I attempted making the snackers as directed and I also tried it as the pita bread. It's not that it was bad, but you know when you are expecting one thing and you get another- it tastes awful? It was kind of like that. Granted, after I got the whole disappointment that it simply wasn't a copycat recipe, the bread tasted delicious with my BLT. The snackers, however, were nothing to write home about. And the cheese dip wasn't on the top of my list either. Carl said it was good, I think I was just overwhelmed that it really not what I was expecting. There is another copycat Olga's bread that I want to try, so I'm hoping that will taste more like the real deal. Otherwise, this bread is perfectly suitable for our BLT nights!

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 pkg. dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups Borden's eggnog, canned
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided use

Combine water, sugar and dry yeast in measuring cup and stir to combine. Let stand to proof until doubled (about 5 minutes).

Meanwhile, beat all of the eggnog with only 3 cups of the flour. Set the remaining 1/2 cup flour aside to use when kneading bread later.

After adding about a cup of the flour, work in the yeast mixture beating well. Work in the rest of the flour until completely mixed. Turn into a large, greased bowl and invert another bowl, same size if you can, over dough so you can see it rising.

After it begins to rise (15-25 minutes) work in the last 1/2 cup flour, kneading well into the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Return to greased bowl and cover again to let rise until doubled (about 90 minutes).

Separate instructions for the snackers and bread below.

For the Snackers:

When doubled, turn out onto floured surface and cut into 8 equal portions; roll each into ball and then flatten each with rolling pin to make a very thin circle. Cut each circle into 6 inch triangles. Place these 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet.

Spray tops with garlic-flavored Pam or use plain Pam and dust with a little garlic powder. Then dust well with paprika and seasoned salt.

Bake at 350˚ about 20-25 minutes until firm to the touch.

For the bread:

When doubled, turn out onto floured surface and cut into 8 equal portions; roll each into ball and then flatten each with rolling pin to make a very thin circle. Heat a skillet on medium-high. Do not spray or coat the pan with anything. Heat each dough round for approximately 1 minute on each side, but keep an eye on it and allow to cook until mottled brown spots appear.

Cheese Dip:

INGREDIENTS

* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
* 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted, divided
* 1/3 cup mayonnaise
* 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg


DIRECTIONS

1. In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the Swiss cheese, 1/3 cup almonds, mayonnaise, onions, pepper and nutmeg. Spoon onto a lightly greased pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees F for 14-15 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining almonds. Serve warm with crackers.