Pretzel Bites

I love a good mall pretzel. Nothing beats a chewy and buttery Auntie Anne's pretzel on a shopping binge. I just wish there were more Auntie Anne's outside of malls and airports! I'm talking to you, pretzel enthusiasts. I can envision it now -- pretzel stands and pretzel trucks in various Austin locations, serving me those salty homemade pretzels with cheesy dip on the side.

In the meantime, I'll be over here making pretzel bites (recipe here), very overly-salted pretzel bites. Next time I'll go easy on the sea salt, but I love how soft and chewy these bites were on the inside. The perfect midday/game day snack, I say.

What you'll need:

1 1/2 cup warm water
2 T brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast
6 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 1/2 t salt

4 1/2 to 5 cups flour

3 quarts water 

3/4 cup baking soda 

1 whole egg, beaten with 1 t cold water

Coarse sea salt

What to do:

1. Mix the water, brown sugar, yeast, and melted butter in a stand mixer on low. Let it set for 5 minutes. 

2. Add 2 ½ t of salt and flour and mix on low until combined. Continue kneading on low until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. 

3. Remove the dough, place it on a lightly floured surface, and knead into a ball with your hands. 

4. Spray a bowl with cooking spray, add the dough, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour. 

5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray. 

6. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a pot over high heat and add the baking soda. 

7. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide it into 8 equal pieces. 

8. Roll each piece into a long rope measuring about 18-22 inches. 

9. Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces to make pretzel bites. 

10. Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches of about 10-15 for 30 seconds. 

11. Remove with a large slotted spoon and place the pretzel bites on the prepared baking sheets. Make sure they don’t touch. 

12. Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. Place into the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. 

13. Remove to a cooling rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating. 

14. Dip in mustard or cheesy sauce and enjoy!