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
Ingredients
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
Instructions
For the Pretzels:
- 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.
- 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 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!
- 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.
To make 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.
Video
Notes
Products Used:
If you’d like to make the traditional twist soft pretzels, check out the recipe here.
