Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites

I’m just going to ignore my own post for the next few minutes and talk about this amazing recipe I saw yesterday on my Google Reader. Okay, I give you permission to mock me since my Google Reader is filled only with the food blogs I read and Thought Catalog. Pretty much defines my life and everything I live for. I just need to find more blogs, I cannot get enough!

But so my reader. Out of the blue, pops five little words that instantly caught my attention: Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies. That sentence fragment should be illegal. I forbid it to be used in the English language again.

It took a matter of, oh I don’t know, 10 seconds for me to jump over to Maria’s blog, Two Peas and Their Pod, and drool all over my phone. There is nothing I love more than salted caramel and chocolate chip cookies. Could you image when these come out of the oven, all warm and gooey…. I think I just died. My heart literally stopped.

But since I don’t have any of these in my possession, eh hem, all I can offer you are these Auntie Anne’s style Mini Pretzel Bites from Maria herself! See she is really a genius and can do no wrong in my book. Not that there is anything wrong with pretzel bites at all, especially these. As soon as they came out of the oven, everyone walked by and stole my pretzels, sheesh. They’re that good, I promise. They’re very similar to the ones from the mall, except they’re even better. Get ready for adaptations up to your eyeballs.

Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
From the always wonderful Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 egg, beaten with one tablespoon cold water

Directions:
Combine water, sugar, yeast, and butter in a mixer. Mix with the dough hook until combined. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

Slowly add the salt and flour on low speed until they combine. Once they come together, increase the speed and continue kneading the dough until it is smooth and comes away from the side of the bowl. About 3-4 minutes. If the dough is too wet, add in more flour one tablespoon at a time until it reaches the correct consistency. Remove the dough and place on a floured surface. Knead for a few minutes until the dough comes together in a ball.

Oil a bowl with vegetable oil and add the dough. Turn to coat the dough with oil. Then cover with a towel and place in a warm area until the dough doubles in size, roughly one hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Bring water to a boil in a large stock pot over high heat and add the baking soda. Mix until the baking soda is dissolved.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope, about 22 inches long. Cut the dough into one-inch pieces and boil them in the water for 30 seconds or until they float. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a buttered baking dish. Make sure that the bites are not touching. Brush the tops with the egg wash and then sprinkle with pretzel salt or any salt you have on-hand since you are lazy and did not want to purchase pretzel salt. Bake for 15-18 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and enjoy!

Like pumpkin pretzels, oh and chocolate covered pretzel bites! The variations are endless!