Cinnamon Swirl Bagels w/ Honey Walnut Cream Cheese

Ingredients

For the cream cheese:

1 (8 oz) block of cream cheese, softened to room temperature

¼ cup walnuts, crushed - used rolling pin to crush them

2 T honey

2 T brown

½ teaspoon vanilla

scant ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

a pinch of salt, or more to taste (balances out the sweetness)

For the bagels:

1¼ cups water

4 cups bread flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 packet instant yeast

For the cinnamon swirl:

⅓ cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

For the water bath:

4 cups water

¼ cup honey

Preparation

For the cream cheese:

Put softened cream cheese, crushed walnuts, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt into your stand mixer and mix until all the ingredients are fully incorporated and creamy! I like to add a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness of all the other ingredients! Store this in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use!

For the bagels:

Start by making the dough. Place bread flour, brown sugar, salt, vegetable oil, and instant yeast into a mixing bowl. Set this aside while you warm your water. You use warm water to active your yeast. Look on your yeast packet for the temperature they suggest to activate it. Mine said 110 degrees F, but different brands may suggest a different temperature.

Once your water is the appropriate temperature, mix this into the dry ingredients.

Attach a bread hook to your standing mixer and mix for 8 - 10 minutes on low. When ready, the dough will be completely engulfing the hook and nothing will be sticking to the sides of the bowl.

Today, I decided to make these bagels with a cinnamon swirl, but this step is optional. You could skip this step and top your bagels with your choice of topping later on! Spread a cinnamon sugar (1/3 cup sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon cinnamon) mixture onto your kitchen counter and knead the dough into it a few times until the cinnamon sugar is well incorporated into the dough! Try to knead as little as possible, as you don't want to overwork your dough!

Once your dough is ready, lightly mist a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with saran wrap and let rest for an hour and a half. The dough will rise significantly.

After the 90 minutes, roll out the dough onto the counter and cut into 6 - 8 equal pieces. I cut my dough into 6 pieces and it made 6 GIANT bakery style bagels. Feel free, however, to make 8 smaller bagels, although you may need to adjust the cooking time listed below.

Once you have 6-8 equal pieces, roll these into balls and place onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. Let these rest for 20 minutes.

Now, using your finger, poke a hole into the center of each roll. Gently open the hole about an inch by gently pulling the hole apart.

Next get your water bath ready. The water bath is a really crucial step to making really chewy bagels!

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and then add in ¼ cup of honey. The honey also helps with the chewiness of the bagels.

Once the water is boiling and the honey has been added, gently drop in one bagel at a time and cook for 60 seconds. Then flip the bagel over and cook for another 60 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bagel from the water and set aside. Repeat with the remaining bagels.

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F and bake these on another silicone mat lined baking sheet for about 20 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden and the bagels are cooked through! In the last few minutes, keep an eye on these so the tops don't get too brown. Place on a cooling rack to completely cool!