US Cooking Tour Stop 26: Connecticut

 We finally got another northeastern state for my state cooking tour challenge, and I've got to say - it was one of our family favorites! I was excited about the recipes once I did my research on The Constitution State, but never dreamed it would be AS delicious as it was. 

New Haven style pizza is Connecticut's claim to fame, and I wanted to make it as authentic as I could here in my rural Oklahoma kitchen. Which was no easy feat! I ordered the special Italian flour it called for, bought a new pizza stone to try and emulate the coal fire wood burning ovens used for New Haven/Neapolitan pizzas, and acquired fresh, authentic ingredients. I rarely make homemade pizzas but when I do I never go all out with homemade dough. This dough absolutely MADE the pizza. I cannot explain just how good it turned out, but if I have anything to say about this challenge I'll say this: buy the Italian flour. Trust me!

Connecticut's official state cookie is the Snickerdoodle, and their official state dessert is the Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwich. I never would have thought to make an ice cream sandwich out of snickerdoodles, but it was fantastic. We were all pleasantly surprised at just how delicious they turned out. Yum!

So without further ado, here are all the recipes for this wonderful state!

First and foremost you're going to need to get you some of this flour. I linked it HERE because I couldn't find it locally, and I got it in 2 days. Easy breezy! 

Here are a few more links you requested!

I also had some requests for my pizza stone link, and HERE it is. I highly recommend since it was a great price and it included a pizza peel. I felt like a professional pizza girl! I only wish I had another one so I could make multiple pizzas at a time. 

I also ordered this pizza cutter because I don't like the rolly kind. They gunk up the cheese and just make a mess. This proved to be the best cutter for this style of pizza. Find it HERE.

As a participant in the Amazon Associates program, I may earn a commission from using the links. 

NEW HAVEN STYLE PIZZA

Ingredients:

4 C. 00 flour

1 package Red Star active dry yeast

1 Tbsp sea salt

2 tsp sugar

1.5 C. slightly warm water

3.5 Tbsp olive oil

Sauce:

1 can San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes

Oregano 

Garlic powder

Other ingredients:

Cornmeal

Fresh whole milk mozzarella

Basil

Pepperoni/any toppings you like

Directions:

Spray a large stainless bowl with nonstick cooking spray. 

Heat 3/4 C. water to 120 degrees. (For me that was 40 seconds in mircrowave.) Mix warm water, yeast and sugar in the cup of warm water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until a .5 inch foam top forms. 

Mix flour with olive oil and salt. Add the warm water/yeast mixture to a large bowl. Stir with a large spoon and add another 3/4 C. warm water to the mix. Roll into a ball, knead the dough, cover and let rise or at least 5 hours.

Smash the whole tomatoes with a dusting or oregano and garlic powder in a sauce pan. Place the stove on medium heat. After 10 min, adjust heat to low and cook for one hour. 

Cut dough into four equal parts. Use a wood cutting board to knead the dough. Knead and flip, pressing fingers in an outward motion. Place cornmeal on a pizza peel. Add the sauce and whole chunks of mozzarella. 

Cook at 500 for 13 minutes.

We made a couple traditional margherita pizzas and couple pepperoni ones as well. All were equally delicious!

Levi made a pepperoni lovers (pictured above). How great does that look!

Now it's time for dessert!

SNICKERDOODLES

Ingredients:

1 C butter, softened

3/4 C granulated sugar

1/2 C brown sugar

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 3/4 C flour

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Cinnamon/Sugar mixture:

1/4 C sugar

1 Tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix cinnamon/sugar mixture and set aside.

Cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar for 2-3 minutes with a mixer. Add eggs one at a time. Slowly add flour, tartar, baking soda and salt. 

Roll into balls, coat in cinnamon/sugar and bake for 8-10 minutes.

For ice cream sandwiches, let the cookies cool and toss a scoop of vanilla ice cream in between two cookies and enjoy! 

It yields about 20 nice size cookies! 

Enjoy having a taste of Connecticut! Please let me know if you make either of these recipes. They were both 5 stars in our family book!