We’ve been hosting a get-together at our house on Super Bowl Sunday since we moved in a few years ago. Most (if not all) of our friends are Patriots fan, but even when the Patriots don’t make it to the big game, we still like getting together to watch the game (and the commercials) and enjoy some good food! Last night’s game was really exciting and we definitely enjoyed watching the Saints win so congratulations to all of their fans! Hopefully next year the Patriots will be back in the Super Bowl 🙂
I actually didn’t make much food for our party this year since it was a small gathering. Yesterday I blogged about the red velvet cupcakes I made and today I wanted to share the soft pretzel bites that were also on the menu. I saw these over on Maria’s site, Two Peas and their Pod, last week and I knew I wanted to try them. They looked delicious and I’ve been on a pretzel kick lately plus homemade pretzels are so much better than anything you can buy in the store.
These are definitely worth the effort! They’re really pretty simple, especially if you read the directions properly, which I failed to do on the first batch. I didn’t divide the dough into a small enough piece so my rope was thick, yielding jumbo pretzel bites. Luckily, they still came out fine so no harm done. The only other thing I’d advise is to spray the baking sheets very well with cooking spray. Some of the pretzel bites from my first batch stuck to the bottom of the pan. I liked these best when they were still a bit warm, but they’re tasty at room temperature too.
Soft Pretzel Bites
adapted from Bobby Flay (as seen on Two Peas and their Pod)
1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 F)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast (I used instant)
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled just slightly
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
coarse sea salt
These look awesome Tracey 🙂 Such wonderful color on them.
Too funny… I made these yesterday, too! Yours look great!
beautiful pretzels! Now I want to make them even more. 🙂
How fun! We love soft pretzels in our house – and these look good!
They look great. I was hoping to have a chance to make them, but alas, too much going on here as I didn’t realize people were coming to watch the Iowa game as well as the IU game and the Colts game…OMW I didn’t have a moment to think all day. Will make them soon. Yours are a great advertisement!
These look delicious ( and I’m not that big a pretzel fan)! It sounds like you had a fun Super Bowl gathering with lots of yummy food!
Yum! Love the idea of making the pretzel bites… it sounds so much easier than shaping the traditional pretzel knots (which I always screw up, anyways). Sounds like the perfect snack for my next party.
Those look perfect Tracey! Thanks for sharing. I love pretzels.
Gosh Tracey, I think about everything home-made is better! Especially if you make it. They look wonderful!
AmyRuth
Oh, these look incredible! I love a good soft pretzel, but have never made them. These might be the perfect Superbowl food!
Wow! Definitely looks fab to me.
These look fantastic! Homemade soft pretzel bites are the bomb!
I love the idea of making them bite sized. The big ones are too much. These look like a perfect snack. And, I’m sure if you made them they’re delicious too.
Those look so good! I can’t wait for an excuse to make them.
I hope I can make some this week if I have the time. I like them and the color also is so great.
Hi Tracey, this looks so gorgeous and cute! By the way, how many gram is 1 package of instant yeast?
Nice- I’ve been on a pretzel, bagel, bread roll (pun intended) for a bit, and those look like a great snack-I’ll have to try them this weekend. Oh, and next year it’ll be the Jets! 🙂 Thanks!
I love how these are bite-size. That way, you don’t have to commit to a huge, honking soft pretzel when you just want a few satisfying bites. 😉
Ooh, I imagine I’d sit around eating handfuls of these at a time! They look amazing!
Never thought to make pretzels, but I’ve gotta try this!
How fun!! I’ve always thought homemade pretzels would be too much work, but yours seem so simple! I could probably sit down and eat an entire bowl of these! They really look great!
Nice! I really want to try these with/for Brianna and Gillian. I think they’d really enjoy them.
These look delicious. How do you recommend storing them so the salt doesn’t dissolve?
how well and how do they keep? frozen? airtight? I’d love to give this a try.
Jami & Tia – We ate these the day I made them so I can’t speak from experience as to how they’d keep. I suspect they’d be ok if kept in an airtight container for a day or so but like I said, they’re definitely best if eaten shortly after being made.
Many of the reviewers over on the Food Network site (where I found the recipe) said they freeze well so that may be your best option. If you want to go that route, let them cool completely after baking, then wrap them well in plastic wrap, pop into a resealable bag and stick them in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat them, put them in the refrigerator overnight to defrost and then re-warm in the oven briefly before eating.
Ooh…these look so good. I’m going to have to make them.
They look GREAT! Glad you liked them my friend!
I can’t wait to try these!!! Great blog.
These look so great! I saw them on Maria’s site the other day, and was totally craving them. Now that I see them again, I’m thinking I absolutely have to make them very soon!
I have been looking for a good pretzel recipe! This one looks great!
Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites looking soooo good.I have never made them.like to try these.thanks for the recipe.
Wow it looks delicious I love these kind of post you are doing a good job I recommend all to join in.
Yammie it seems delicious I love these.
Gosh! I really want to try this at home. Kids will really love it!
They look so delicious. I made these last sunday and my kids enjoyed them.
I just made these. SO good. I did the first tray with wax paper, big mistake. But the rest of them turned out perfect. This makes a TON of pretzels but so good!
Look so good and somehow seem way more doable than regular pretzels. Thanks for the idea!
Just made these and ate half the batch myself….very good. Going to have to make these for the superbowl, I’m thinking with some beer cheese would be awesome.
Just made these. They were SO good!! I followed the recipe exactly, but I only cooked them for 8 minutes. The first batch I cooked for longer and it burned, but the rest I cooked for 8 and they all came out perfect. Will definitely make these again!
I’m confused. How much water do you mix and how much water do you boil?
@Ciera – sorry for any confusion, you want to use 1 1/2 cups of water in the dough and then the 3 quarts is what you’ll use for boiling. Hope that helps!
I would love to make these but I don’t have a fancy mixer with a dough hook. Is it possible to make them without it?
@Anon – Definitely! You can stir the dough together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon and then knead by hand. You’ll have to increase the kneading time if you’re doing it by hand, but this is a nice dough so it shouldn’t be too hard. It’s tough to give you an exact time, but knead until it’s smooth and elastic – maybe 6-8 minutes. Good luck!
Thanks for this recipe! I tried it last weekend, and they turned out perfectly! Everyone loved them. I don’t cook or bake much, so I’m glad your instructions were easy to follow. I’m going to try making stuffed pretzels next.
I made these today for a Girl Night. They got rave reviews and I came hope empty handed. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Oh my these look so yummy! I have a terrible bout of bad luck with doing anything yeast based with my mixer (I just don’t do it right I guess!), can I mix all of this up with my bread machine on the dough setting?
I just made these tonight. They’re delish! Just an fyi don’t add the baking soda all at once to your boiling water. It’s EXPLODES everywhere! So just add it a little bit at a time while whisking! So yummy covered in cinnamon sugar!
Have you tried them with whole wheat flour?
@Sew Happy Baby: I haven’t but I’d love to try one day! It might be worth checking out the comments/reviews on Food Network’s site (linked above), maybe someone else has done it and has tips. If you give it a go, please let me know how they turn out!