Soft Pretzel Bites Recipes

Steps:

• 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. Serve with cheese sauce, recipe below.
• For the cheese sauce:.
• 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.*.

Steps:

• Make the soft pretzel bites: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a cooling rack covered with paper towels.
• Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large stockpot. (It may seem like a small amount of water for a large pot, but once you add baking soda it'll foam up.)
• While the water comes to a boil, place the dough ball on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 4 equal pieces. Roll each portion into a long rope. Cut the ropes into 1-inch pieces.
• When the water is boiling, add the baking soda and sugar. Cook the dough pieces, in batches, for 30 seconds. Drain on the paper towels.
• Whisk together the egg yolk and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Dip the tops of the pretzels in the egg wash and sprinkle with salt. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake until the pretzel bites are nicely browned, 9 to 10 minutes.
• For the beer cheese: Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook until foamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the beer until the mixture is smooth, then add the half-and-half. Simmer until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and House Seasoning. Gradually add the cheese and stir until smooth. Season to taste. Serve the pretzel bites with the beer cheese.
• Stir together the garlic and onion powders, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Place 1 1/2 cups water, butter, brown sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Mix until well combined. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
• Turn mixer on low speed and add 4 cups flour, 1 cup at a time. Add additional 1/2 cup flour if dough appears sticky. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle in more flour if dough still seems a little tacky.
• Oil a large mixing bowl. Add the ball of dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a sheet pan with cooking spray.
• Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a large saucepan. Slowly add baking soda and return to a boil.
• Meanwhile, remove dough from the bowl, flatten into a disc shape, and cut into 8 wedges. Roll each wedge into a 24-inch rope. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces.
• Drop batches of dough pieces into the boiling water for about 35 seconds. Remove to the prepared sheet pan. Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water; brush over the tops of each boiled dough piece. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Steps:

• For the dipping sauce: Whisk together the mustard, honey and horseradish in a bowl; season with salt and pepper. Cover and let sit at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
• For the soft pretzels: Combine the sugar, salt, yeast and 1 1/2 cups warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit 5 minutes.
• Add the butter and 4 1/2 cups of the 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 sides of the bowl, 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour a tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead the dough 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 450 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray liberally with cooking spray.
• Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a large pot over high heat and add the baking soda.
• Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope measuring about 22 inches. Shape each into an upside-down U shape, then bring the ends together and twist them to create a pretzel shape.
• For the salt mixture: Combine the salt, black pepper and pink pepper in a small bowl; set aside.
• Boil the pretzels in the water solution 2 at a time for 30 seconds; remove with a large flat slotted spatula or a spider.
• Place 4 pretzels on each baking sheet, brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt mixture. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating. Serve with the dipping sauce on the side

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1 cup of warm water. Allow the yeast mixture to sit for five minutes, or until it is frothy on top.
• While waiting for the yeast to become frothy, whisk together 2 cups of the flour with 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl. Once the yeast mixture is frothy, pour it into the bowl with the flour and stir until it forms a shaggy ball of dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 minutes. Incorporate 3/4 to 1 cup of additional flour while kneading. After kneading for 8 minutes, the dough should be smooth, elastic, and should spring back when poked with a finger. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover loosely, and let rise for one hour, or until double in volume.
• Once the dough has risen, punch it down to deflate. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface, pat the dough down into a round disc, then cut into 16 equal sized wedges. Roll each wedge into a thin 24-inch long rope, then twist into the classic pretzel shape. For pretzel buns, roll the wedges into balls (cut into 8 pieces for larger rolls) and for pretzel bites, cut the ropes into one inch sections. Place the shaped pretzels on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and coated lightly with non-stick spray. Allow to rise for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, then carefully add 1/4 cup of baking soda. Add two or three pretzels to the pot at a time and let boil in the baking soda water for 60 seconds on each side. Let the boiled pretzels drain for a few minutes on a wire rack before transferring back to the parchment lined baking sheets.
• Prepare an egg wash by whisking together one egg and one tablespoon of water. Liberally brush the egg wash over the pretzels, then sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake the pretzels for 15-18 minutes, or until deep golden brown on the surface.