Measure warm water into a glass measuring cup or bowl. Stir in sugar and yeast, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture, vanilla extract, and some food colouring stir well to combine.

Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.

Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 7 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.

Once dough has doubled, punch it down, and divide it out.

We divided the mixture into 8 equally sized balls, for medium-large bagels – but you can make them smaller or larger by dividing into 12, 10, or 6 equal sized pieces.

Once you have all of your bagels formed, use a chopstick to make a hard indent from the side of a bagel.

Directly across from that indent, pinch the outer edge of the bagel to form a peak - forming a heart shape, in the process.

Repeat with remaining bagels, then set them on lined baking sheets to rise for another 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.

Drain well, place on a lined baking sheet, and sprinkle generously with coarse sugar.

Bake for 35-40 minutes if you made 8 bagels. Otherwise, aim for 32-35 minutes (small) or 40-42 mins (large), until golden brown.