Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites with Homemade Cheese Sauce

Woot! Woot! It's Friday! We have a crazy fun weekend planned and I can't wait for Hub to get home so we can start enjoying it together! One of our plans is our friends Super Bowl Partay!! Are you ready for some foootballll!? I'm so excited!! I flipping love Peyton Manning and couldn't be happier for him...except if he still played for the Colts...and he was taking them to the Super Bowl, not the Broncos. AND I'm so glad our friends are going to be doing the hosting. We thought about throwing a Bowl Bash, but then we got lazy and waited for someone else to suggest throwing a party. It worked out! So today I'm showing off a super popular recipe that would be a perfect addition to any Super Bowl Party! Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites!

I found it about a year ago and make it all the time. I was so afraid of yeast before and after I made this recipe and have messed it up several times :) That is until now! Hub bought me a food thermometer for Christmas and I'm able to get the "warm" water to the perfect desired temperature. Now making these amazingly-soft-yet-also-super-crunchy pretzel bites is a snap!

The best part about making these is when you boil the water and add the baking soda! It does this crazy bubbly foam up thing, so you can't pour it in too fast. I love food science stuff. At the end I got a little lazy and made some longer sticks, too. No matter what the shape or size, these are delicious!

I also made an awesome cheese sauce to go with these. I kind of made it on the fly last minute and just threw a bunch of stuff together, but I'll try and give as close of measurements as possible. Once you get the base, you really can make the cheese sauce your own. Pick out your favorite cheese and seasonings and get to dipping! These babies don't last long.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups warm water (between 105-110 degrees)
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp brown sugar
4 1/2-5 Cups flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
Vegetable oil
3 Quarts water
3/4 Cup baking soda
1 egg and 1 Tbsp water, beaten together slightly
Chunky coarse sea salt

Directions:
1. Mix together the warm water, sugar, yeast and melted butter in your mixer bowl with your dough hook attachment. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.

2. Combine 4 1/2 Cups of flour and salt together and add to the yeast mixture on slow speed, continue mixing on slow. Once all the flour is in, turn up the speed to medium and mix until the dough pulls away from the bowl. If the dough seems too sticky, add in the extra flour a little bit at a time. Take out the dough and knead on a lightly floured surface with your hands for a few minutes.

3. Roll the dough into a ball. Coat a large bowl with oil and roll the dough around in the bowl until the dough has a layer of oil on it. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet.

5. Start pulling out chunks of the dough and roll into a long rope that is the same thickness throughout. Cut into 1 inch pieces.

6. Boil the water in a large saucepan on high heat. Once boiling, SLOWLY add in the baking soda. If you go too fast, it will boil over and you'll have a huge mess. Throw in several pretzel pieces and let boil for about 30-45 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on the baking sheet, making sure the pieces don't touch.

7. Brush the egg wash over the pretzel bites and sprinkle on the coarse salt. Place in the over and bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until they are the desired golden brown you want them to be. Remove and immediately add more salt and transfer to a wire rack.

I added garlic butter on top of mine and served with a cheese sauce.

Cheese sauce
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 Cup milk
1/4 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
Dash of salt and pepper

Directions:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add in the flour and stir until combined. Add in the milk and stir for about 1 minute. Add in all the cheese and seasonings and stir constantly until cheese is melted. Serve with your favorite pretzel bites or tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Need some great sauce pans? Check these out!

What about an affordable yet amazing Kitchenaid?

You could easily keep off the salt and brush the bites with melted butter and cinnamon sugar when they come out of the oven and serve with some icing! Yummy dessert! What are you planning on making for the Big Game this Sunday? Can't wait to hear your recipes! Might even try a few myself! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

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