Perfect for Snacking Pretzel Bites

If ever there was a time for snacking, the time is now.And the answer for "what should I eat?" is definitely these soft pretzel bites.

Who Ate My Quarantine Snacks?

Covid-19 has left us all stuck in our homes and held captive by our snacks. Here on the Texas Gulf Coast, we only know one way of preparing to stay put for a while - and that's "hunkering down" hurricane style, i.e., with plenty of bottled water, toilet paper, and packaged sweets and chips that will stay good for a while.Most of the time, those snacks are gone in the first few days. And that might be the case for you in quarantine now too. But this season of staying home is much different than those hurricane-like days in the past. It's been an endless array of groundhog days were every day seems to feel exactly like the day before - and we still have electricity and running water (thank the Lord!).So with every day feeling like the next, it's that much more important to keep our spirits up with cheap entertainment. In our house, that means going outside to explore and cooking.

Cooking is Interactive Learning!

Yesterday, that meant my daughter and I got in the kitchen and made some soft pretzel bites. My kids love pretzels and these soft ones are perfect straight from the oven. We pretended the dough was Play Doh and made long skinny "snakes" of dough and after they were cut into bite-size pieces, she"painted" the pieces with egg wash.This recipe makes approximately 120 pretzel bites and I can guarantee you that they will all be gone in a day. Or if you serve them when you have a party, they will most definitely be a hit!

Soft Pretzel Bites Recipe

Pretzel Bites

The perfect salty snack for any party or afternoon munch session are these soft pretzel bites. They're fresh bread dough topped with coarse salt and served with a cheddar cheese sauce!

Soft Pretzels:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast ((2 1/4 teaspoons))
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour (or all purpose)
• Vegetable oil
• 3 quarts water
• 1/3 cup baking soda ((for boiling the pretzels))
• 1 whole egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
• Coarse sea salt

Cheese Sauce:

• ½ Tablespoon unsalted butter
• ½ Tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ½ cup milk
• 8 ounces Cheddar cheese (grated)

For the Pretzels:

1. Combine the 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.

   

2. Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.
   
3. Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
   
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
5. Bring the 3 quarts of water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and carefully add the baking soda. It will boil over, so add slowly and be careful!

6. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each. Roll each piece into a long rope measuring 22 inches and shape. Cut the dough into one inch pieces to make the pretzel bites. Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches.

   

7. We did about 15 bites at a time. Boil for about 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon. Place pretzel bites on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure they are not touching. Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.

   

8. Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating. Serve with cheese sauce.
   

To make the Cheese Sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the Cheddar cheese until smooth and all of the cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

*If you want to make cinnamon and sugar pretzel bites-instead of adding salt, sprinkle the bites with cinnamon and sugar. For the frosting mix-soft cream cheese-about 3 T, powdered sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a little bit of milk. Whisk together. Add more milk if it is too thick, if it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. I don't measure. I just guess until the consistency is right.*

Appetizer, Snack

American

pretzel, pretzel bites, soft pretzel

Products Used:

If you'd like to make the traditional twist soft pretzels, check out the recipe here.[activecampaign form=1]

Game Day Soft Pretzels

This post contains affiliate links.

I'm not one for actually watching a baseball, basketball, or football game, but I'm all for a watch party! Especially when it comes to the food part of it. But I get tired of the same old stuff time and time again. This time, I decided to try my hand at homemade soft pretzels. I was inspired by my recent trip to Clarksville, Tennessee where I had the best soft pretzels ever at Strawberry Alley Ale Works. They were so good, y'all!After making these soft pretzels from scratch, I am a firm believer in making it yourself. For starters, it was so much cheaper than buying the frozen pretzels! This literally cost me under $3 to make. Second, the taste was just out of this world good. I paired my homemade pretzels with my Bob Armstrong Chile Con Queso and man oh man was that a match made in heaven! Yum!So enough about me, let's get cookin'!

Game Day Soft Pretzels

Get your party at home game day ready with these easy to make and eat soft pretzels. Trust me, you will want to double this recipe, they're so good!

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F water)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 ounces unsalted butter (melted)
• Vegetable oil (for pan)
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

1. Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
   

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

3. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan.

4. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces.

   

5. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

   

6. Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt.

   

7. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

   

Appetizer, bread

American

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Want the bite size version?

Check out how to make these bite size soft pretzels - complete with cheddar dipping sauce!If you'd like to see more recipes like this, follow me on Pinterest!