Food for Thought

I stumbled upon another great recipe that I thought I should share. I LOVE soft pretzels. I used to always get one at the Sam's snack bar back before my South Beach Diet days. The pretzel bites are even better, especially for little fingers, so I knew I had to try this recipe as soon as I read it. We had them for a snack during the Super Bowl and I think they were all devoured in about 15 minutes!Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites (from twopeasandtheirpod.com)

1 1/2 C warm water
2 T light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 t)
3 oz. butter, melted
2 1/2 t salt
4 1/2 to 5 C AP flour
vegetable oil (I used canola)
3 quarts water
3/4 C baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 T cold water
Coarse sea salt

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* 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. Cut the dough into one inch pieces to make the pretzel bites. Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches 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. Serve with cheese sauce, recipe below.

Cheddar cheese sauce:½ T unsalted butter
½ T all-purpose flour
½ C milk
8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated

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 about 3 T of soft cream cheese, 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 didn’t measure, and the original recipe didn't have quantities.

2 comments:

Ella said...

Ha ha! That's what I had for lunch today...a sam's pretzel! These look delicious! Can't wait to try this!!

christy said...

EVERYONE should make this. They were AMAZING!! Thanks Trisha for sharing