Pretzel Bites with a Warm Cheesy Dipping Sauce

This is a REPOST from the original post date of Feb. 3rd, 2015. I remade the pretzels, and updated the photos in this post — they’re still just as delicious, and a perfect little snack for the Super Bowl. 

With the Super Bowl happening on Sunday, I had to try making something delicious for the guests we had for the game. I ended up making a pico de gallo, roasted tomato salsa (which I wasn’t too pleased with), guacamole, and some PRETZEL BITES. The guys grilled some ribs, so we stayed full the whole game! And what a game it was!

I am obsessed with soft pretzels… I’ve made some of my own before, but I haven’t made them in a while… These pretzel bites are better for the Super Bowl watching party because they’re smaller bite-size pieces, and you can eat as many or as few as you want. The dipping sauce is an easy cheese sauce that you make on a stovetop, and can be prepared while the pretzels are baking.  I don’t remember how I stumbled upon this recipe (I think Pinterest), but it’s from an amazing food blog: Two Peas in their Pod.  

Another great thing about the recipe are the ingredients. They’re all pretty basic, and I had them all at the house. Any time I can save a trip to the grocery store, I am down!

Here’s what you need: 

FOR THE SOFT PRETZELS: warm water, light brown sugar, active dry yeast, unsalted butter, kosher salt, all-purpose flour Enough vegetable oil to coat a large bowl, baking soda, egg, coarse sea salt or pretzel salt FOR THE CHEESE: unsalted butter. all-purpose flour, milk (not pictured :-/), Cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, & paprika (to taste)

Here’s how to do it: 

In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine your melted butter, brown sugar, 1 1/2 cup warm water (make sure it doesn’t burn you.. the water can’t be too hot — it will kill the yeast and you’re done for!).  Mix until combined with the dough hook or a spoon or whatever. Let sit for five minutes, then add some of the flour and turn the mixer on low.  Slowly mix in your flour and salt. I mixed about a cup of flour at a time until it is all mixed and a nice dough ball forms (it should pull away from the sides of the bowl). Add more flour if you need to. The final dough ball shouldn’t be too sticky! Place in a large well-oiled bowl, and cover with a towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot. I put mine in our pantry.

Let sit for about an hour. It should at least double in size. I let it sit for a few hours so I could prep and cook a few more things. Here’s my before and after dough-ball pictures (looks like it tripled in size!) :

Before

After

When you’re ready to finish the pretzels, preheat your oven to 425 degrees, spray down one or two baking sheets with cooking spray, and add the baking soda with about 3 quarts of water to a large saucepan. Turn on medium-high to high heat, and let it start to boil. Reduce heat to where its still bubbling. Watch out for bubble overflow! :)

While you’re waiting on the water to boil, dump your big, beautiful dough ball onto a smooth work surface and cut into 8 equal pieces. I like to cut it like a pizza. Each dough ball should weigh around 4.5 oz. if you wanna get all technical. ;) Roll each of these out into long ropes about 2 feet long. Then, cut each rope into 1-inch pieces.

Drop about 15 pieces at a time into the bubbly soda-water. I did about a rope at a time. Let them sit for about 30 seconds in the water, and remove with a slotted spoon (I use an awesome handled colander like this one for this part and it makes it SO easy!). 

Spread bites out on the prepared baking sheet(s), brush each with the egg white mixture (1 Tbsp. melted butter), and sprinkle with salt (I used kosher salt, but pretzel salt is more appropriate!) 

Cook in the preheated oven for 14 – 17 minutes — (mine were done at 14!). 

While the pretzels are cooking, you can whip up the cheese dipping sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add flour and whisk together until starting to brown a tiny bit. Add your milk a little at a time while stirring until the base of the sauce thickens up. Remove from the heat and stir in your cheese. Season the dip with salt, pepper, and paprika. Serve & enjoy!

Pretzel Bites with a Warm Cheesy Dipping Sauce

2015-02-03 15:31:57

Serves 8

These bite-size pretzels were a hit at our Super Bowl dinner.

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Prep Time

1 hr 30 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

1 hr 45 min

Prep Time

1 hr 30 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

1 hr 45 min

Soft Pretzels

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 Tbsp. light brown sugar

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 package)

3 oz. unsalted butter, melted

2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

Enough vegetable oil to coat a large bowl

3 qt. water

1/2 cup baking soda

1 whole egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. cold water (+1 Tbsp. melted butter, opt.)

Coarse sea salt or pretzel salt

For the cheese sauce

½ Tbsp. unsalted butter

½ Tbsp. all-purpose flour

½ cup milk

8 oz. Cheddar cheese, shredded

Salt, pepper, & paprika (to taste)

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine your melted butter, brown sugar, 1 1/2 cup warm water and yeast. Mix until combined. Let mixture sit for five minutes, then add some of the flour and turn the mixer on low. Slowly mix in your flour (about a cup at a time) and salt. Add flour if dough ball is too sticky.
2. Place dough in a large well-oiled bowl, and cover with a towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot. Let sit for at least an hour until dough ball has doubled in size.
3. After dough has risen, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Spray down one or two baking sheets with cooking spray
4. Mix baking soda with about 3 quarts of water in a large saucepan. Turn on medium-high to high heat, and let it start to boil. Reduce heat to where its still bubbling.
5. Meanwhile, dump the dough ball onto a smooth work surface and cut into 8 equal pieces. Roll each of these out into long ropes about 2 feet long. Then, cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Drop about 15 pieces at a time into the bubbly soda-water. Let them sit for about 30 seconds, and remove with a slotted spoon.
6. Spread bites out on the prepared baking sheet(s), brush each with the egg white mixture, and sprinkle with salt (I used kosher salt, but pretzel salt is more appropriate!) Cook in the preheated oven for 14 - 17 minutes -- (mine were done at 14!).

For the cheese dipping sauce

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add flour and whisk until mix starts to barely brown. Add your milk a little at a time while continuously whisking until the base of the sauce thickens up. Remove from the heat and stir in your cheese. Season the dip with salt, pepper, and paprika. Enjoy!

Adapted from Two Peas and their Pod

Adapted from Two Peas and their Pod

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