Pretzel Bites

{Thursday's By Tara} - A Thursday ritual. A featured post written by Tara; simple, special, extraordinary moments in soaping and life.

Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites

We had a very rainy Sunday in our little corner of Florida this weekend. The kids were cooped up inside and we were all going a little crazy. We decided to try and make one of our favorite "treats" from the mall, Pretzel bites. I looked up a few recipes and mixed them all up to create this one. It would have been easier if we had had a loaf of frozen bread dough, but since we didn't and we live 45 min. from the grocery, we just started from scratch. I hope you enjoy!

DIY Soft Pretzel Bites Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 package active dry yeast

3 ounces unsalted butter, melted

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Vegetable oil

3 quarts water

3/4 cup baking soda

1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water

Coarse sea salt

For the cheese sauce:

½ Tablespoon unsalted butter

½ Tablespoon all-purpose flour

½ cup milk

8 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

For the Pretzels: Combine the 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.

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.

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.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda.

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. 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.

Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating.

*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.*

Recipe makes a lot of bites-perfect for sharing!