Soft Pretzel Bites With Cheddar-Mustard Dipping Sauce

Sunday afternoons lend themselves easily to snacking. Whether there's just two of you, staying in and watching football games or movies, or you've got a group of friends coming over to watch the game, you'll want to whip up a batch of these pretzel bites and a savory cheddar-mustard dip to go with them.

I usually prepare pretzels and pretzel rolls the same way every time I make them -- after I make the dough and shape them, I poach them in a mixture of baking soda and water, brush them with an egg wash, sprinkle them with salt, and bake them -- but I recently read that you can bake baking soda to get results similar to using a lye solution (which is typically not recommended for home cooks but is used for signature pretzel flavor). I figured I would give it a try. At the very least it would eliminate the step of brushing the pretzels with an egg wash.

I wouldn't say these pretzel bites came out any more pretzel-y than poached pretzels, but I did find bathing the bites in baked baking soda and water easier than poaching. The baking soda needs an hour in the oven, so it can be baked while the pretzel dough proofs. Then it's just a matter of soaking the pretzel bites in the baked baking soda and water bath for 4 minutes per batch, rinsing them in a clean water bath, transferring them to a baking sheet, sprinkling them with salt, and baking them. The pretzels bake for just long enough to give you time to whip up some cheddar-mustard sauce to go with them.

These soft pretzel nuggets get a little crunchy crust on the bottom and are the perfect game-time treat, especially when paired with creamy cheddar-mustard dipping sauce.

Soft Pretzel Bites (adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod)

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups warm water
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus softened butter for bowl
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking soda
Pretzel salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Combine 3/4 cup warm water, brown sugar, yeast, melted butter, salt, and flour in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Mix on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium, and continue to mix until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and starts to form a ball.

Dump dough out onto counter, and knead into a ball.

Rub inside of glass bowl with some soft butter, add the dough ball, and turn to coat with butter.

Cover bowl, and let dough rise in warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

While dough is rising, spread baking soda on foil-lined baking sheet, and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove baking soda from oven, and increase heat to 425 degrees.

Divide dough into 4 pieces, and roll each piece into a long rope. Cut the ropes into 1-inch pieces to make the pretzel bites.

Carefully combine the baked baking soda in a large glass bowl with 2 cups warm water. Fill another bowl with plain water. Working in batches, bathe the pretzel bites in the baking soda-water mixture for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring to coat all sides. Then dunk the pretzel bites in the plain water to rinse. (I don't know if it's necessary, but I changed the plain water after each rinse, so I would have clean water for each batch.)

Arrange the pretzels on baking sheets lined with parchment or Silpat mats, and sprinkle with pretzel salt.

Bake for 12 to 13 minutes, or until dark golden brown, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through.

Serve hot with cheddar-mustard dipping sauce.

Cheddar-Mustard Dipping Sauce (adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
2/3 cup milk
6 ounces cheddar, shredded
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Preparation

Melt butter in small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir in flour, and cook for 1 minute.

Slowly stir in milk by the tablespoonful, making sure it is fully absorbed by the flour mixture before stirring in more.

Once all the milk has been added, stir in the cheese.

When cheese is melted and sauce is smooth, stir in the mustard. Serve hot.

I loved the sharp flavor of the the cheddar-mustard dipping sauce. I started with an easy béchamel and simply stirred in some cheese and mustard. You can easily use this recipe to make a plain cheese sauce or different flavored cheese sauces. I'm thinking about cutting back on the flour a little next time, which would enable me to add a little less milk too, but otherwise I thought the sauce came out great. And if you have leftover sauce, try gently reheating it and pouring it over vegetables like brussels sprouts and broccoli.

What are your favorite Sunday snacks?

Mini Pepperoni Pizza Pull-Apart Breads

A few weeks ago Elina had a little gathering at her house, and I arrived just in time to help her finish assembling some pepperoni pizza monkey bread. To make the bread, she was flattening small balls of pizza dough, sealing pepperoni and cheese inside them, coating them with garlic butter, and tossing them in a Bundt pan. The ingredients and recipe were pretty simple, but the end result was an impressive party treat. After Elina baked the monkey bread, she set a bowl of tomato sauce in the middle of it, so guests could pull off a chunk of the bread and dip it in the sauce. And the whole thing was gone in no time... it was just as addictive as pizza, having all those same flavors.

I found myself craving the bread a week or so later, but having no party guests coming over to serve the bread to, I thought it would be fun to make it on a smaller scale and put my mini tube pans to use. And just as I had helped Elina, I got Jeff to help me. I set Jeff to work weighing out 1/2 ounce balls of dough. As he prepped those for me, I flattened them and filled them. I made two mini breads using pepperoni and mozzarella and one with pepperoni and provolone. (I think Elina used cheddar -- so you can see how versatile this recipe is.)

Jeff and I each got a mozzarella version to ourselves and then split the provolone one. It was fun to make the little breads instead of just throwing together a pizza for dinner.

Mini Pepperoni Pizza Pull-Apart Breads (adapted from Healthy and Sane and Confessions of a Foodie Bride)
Makes 3

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound store-bought pizza dough
32 pepperoni circles, cut in quarters (use more if you like)
Mozzarella (shredded), provolone (cut in small pieces), or cheese of your choice (I didn't measure but about 4 ounces should be enough)
Pizza sauce, for serving (optional)

Preparation

Melt butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook just until garlic is fragrant and starts to brown. Remove from heat.

Brush 3 mini Bundt or tube pans with a little of the garlic butter.

Divide the dough into 32 1/2-ounce pieces.

Flatten each piece of dough, and fill with 4 pepperoni quarters and a little bit of cheese.

Seal the dough with the fillings inside. Brush the dough balls with the garlic butter, and toss them in the prepared Bundt or tube pans. (You may need to wash your hands occasionally because the dough will start to get slippery and not make a good seal from all the butter.)

I did two layers of five balls in each pan and had two balls leftover, which I just tossed in one of the pans. If you do this, you'll have two pans with 10 pieces of dough and one with 12 pieces.

Brush the remaining garlic butter on top of the dough balls in each pan.

Cover the pans with a towel, and let rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Uncover the pans, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden brown. (I got a little impatient and could have left them in a bit longer to get more browning.)

Let sit for 5 minutes and then invert onto plates (or onto a cooling rack and then transfer to plates, whichever is easier).

Serve with warmed pizza sauce, if desired.

Note: You could easily double the recipe and make 6 servings, perfect for a small gathering or dinner party.

Filled with gooey cheese and spicy pepperoni, these little pepperoni pizza breads are the perfect stand-in for traditional pepperoni pizza and are super-cute and fun to eat too.

Which bloggers are inspiring you these days?

Cheddar-And-Onion Smashed Burgers With Homemade Sesame Buns

Happy Memorial Day! Memorial Day usually kicks off grilling season around here. I love being outside and eating hot dogs and hamburgers and grilled chicken, steaks, and salmon. I can't wait until we have a house with a yard so we can have our own grill. Once we do, I look forward to throwing some sort of protein and corn on the cob on the grill all summer long. For now I just relish the times I get to hang out with friends and family who have grills and outdoor space.

Because we can't grill outside, I'm always on the lookout for tasty recipes I can make indoors in a grill pan or using my Cuisinart Griddler. I was pretty excited to see an article in Food & Wine about burgers actually being better on a griddle. Of course, if you read the whole article, you soon find out they want you to put the griddle on the grill. I knew if I followed the recipe without using a grill, my burgers wouldn't get that smoky grill flavor, but I figured they'd at least partially satisfy my craving for grilled foods.

I remembered that Alicia had recently made her own burger buns, so instead of buying some this time, I decided to make my own too. I found a recipe from King Arthur Flour and set to work on the buns about 3 hours before I wanted dinner to be ready. They are so easy to make. As long as I have the time to make burger buns, I'll be doing that as opposed to buying them from now on. They are definitely worth it.

Homemade Sesame Seed Buns (adapted from King Arthur Flour)
Printable version
Makes 8 buns

Ingredients

3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water (less in humid environment, more in dry climate)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 egg white, beaten
Sesame seeds, for topping

Preparation

In bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook, combine water, butter, egg, flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.

Run mixer on low speed until dough becomes soft and smooth.

Transfer the dough to a large buttered glass bowl, cover it with a towel or plastic wrap, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, until it has nearly doubled.

Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. (To divide it evenly, use a scale. My dough weighed just slightly more than 800 grams, so I divided the dough into 8 roughly 100-gram pieces.)

Roll each piece into a ball. (See this how-to video.)

Space the dough balls out on a sheet pan lined with parchment or a Silpat, and flatten each one to about 3 inches across.

Cover the baking sheet with a towel or plastic wrap, and let the buns rise for another hour. They should look puffy.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Brush the buns with the egg white, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Bake the buns for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden.

Transfer buns to a rack to cool.

Cheddar-And-Onion Smashed Burgers (adapted from Food & Wine, June 2011)
Printable version
Serves 2

Ingredients

Favorite pickles of your choice, thinly sliced
2 homemade burger buns, halved
2 ground beef patties (or 1/2 pound ground beef)
Salt and pepper
Garlic powder
1/2 Vidalia onion, sliced paper thin
2 slices cheddar cheese

Preparation

Heat griddle to 400 degrees.

Layer pickles slices on the bottoms of the buns.

Place the patties on the grill, press them with a spatula, and cook them for 30 seconds. (Or for ground beef, loosely form the meat into two balls, and place them on the griddle. Cook the meatballs for 30 seconds. Then flatten them with a spatula to make 5-inch patties.)

Season the patties with salt and pepper and garlic powder, and cook for 2 minutes, until well-seared.

Press a handful of onions onto each patty.

Carefully flip the burgers so the onions end up on the bottom.

Season with salt and pepper and garlic powder again, and top each patty with a slice of cheese. Cook for 2 minutes.

Then cover the patties and griddle with a roasting pan turned upside down, and cook for another minute, or until cheese is melted.

Transfer the burgers to the bottom buns.

Cover with the bun tops.

A couple notes on this recipe: I made these twice, and I went through the balling and smashing the first time and skipped it the second time. You could go either way. I added seasoning the burgers on the second side and also using garlic powder because these needed more flavor. (You're really supposed to finish them with umami dust, but I didn't have it or want to buy the ingredients to make it.)

These are definitely the best-tasting burgers I've made indoors. While I love the classic toppings (cheese, onions, and pickles), I know I'll be adding tomatoes to these burgers when I can find ripe ones at the farmers' market this summer. Tomatoes are pretty classic too, I think.

What are your plans for Memorial Day?

I'm in Aruba right now and have no idea how we'll be celebrating. I plan to spend the day on the beach though!

Classic Baguettes

While I do a ton of baking, I don't often make bread. I consider myself a little intimidated by it even though every time I attempt a bread recipe it comes out just fine. Maybe it's just the reputation yeast has of being difficult. I never seem to have a problem with yeast either though. So I told myself to get over whatever it was I needed to get over and tackle baguettes.

I went to my trusted source for bread recipes -- King Arthur Flour -- and found a baguette recipe. I was thrilled to see that the recipe would yield three baguettes. Who wants just one baguette when you can have three?

I figured out my timing. It's important to read through all recipes a couple of times so you know what you're getting into, but it's especially important to do this with bread recipes. With breads, it's all about timing. With this recipe, the starter needs to sit out overnight, then the dough needs to rise for 3 hours, then the dough has to be divided into three pieces and those pieces need to sit for 15 minutes, then the baguettes need to be shaped and rest for an hour, and last of all they need to bake and cool. All of this takes a lot of time. I made the starter one night when I knew I would be around the next day to give this recipe the time it requires.

Classic Baguettes (adapted from King Arthur Flour)
Printable version

Ingredients

Starter
1/2 cup cool water
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/16 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough
All of the starter
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
3 1/2 cups (14 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Preparation

Make the starter: Mix the starter ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth.

Cover with plastic wrap, and leave the starter out at room temperature overnight (or about 14 hours).

Prepare the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the starter, yeast, water, flour, and salt. Run the mixer on low until the dough is smooth and soft with a somewhat rough surface, about 5 minutes.

Place the dough in a large, lightly buttered bowl, and cover it with lightly buttered plastic wrap.

Let the dough rise for 3 hours. After 1 hour and 2 hours, gently deflate the dough and turn it over. (You don't want to "punch down" the dough -- I learned this at a King Arthur Flour baking class.)

After 1 hour

After 2 hours

After 3 hours

Turn the dough out onto a lightly buttered counter top. Divide the dough into three pieces. (I weighed the pieces to divide them more evenly; each weighed almost 300 grams.) Shape each piece into a slightly flattened oval.

Cover the pieces with lightly buttered plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, lay a dish towel in a 12-by-17-inch sheet pan and rub it with flour. You'll put your shaped baguettes on the towel and coddle them in the folds of the towel. Line another 12-by-17-inch sheet pan with parchment. (You'll use this pan to bake the baguettes on.)

Shape the dough: Working with one piece at a time, flatten the dough, fold it in half lengthwise, and seal the edges with the heel of your hand. Flatten the dough again, fold it in half lengthwise, and seal the edges with the heel of your hand. Then with the seam side down, gently roll the dough into a 15-inch log. (Repeat with remaining two pieces.)

Transfer the logs to the sheet pan with the floured towel. Cover them with lightly buttered plastic wrap, and let them rise until they become puffy, 60 to 90 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll or carefully lift the baguettes onto the sheet pan lined with parchment. Make sure to turn them floured side down.

Spritz the baguettes with water. If you don't have a spritzer, do what I did: Fill a small bowl with water, dip your fingertips in the water, and flick the baguettes with the water. Also, fill a pan with ice cubes, and place it on the bottom rack in the oven. (This will create some steam; the steam is what helps the baguettes develop a crackly-crisp crust.)

Using a very sharp knife held at a 45-degree angle, make three 8-inch vertical slashes in each baguette. (I should have angled mine just a bit more.)

Transfer the sheet pan to the oven, and bake the baguettes for 25 minutes. (I rotated the sheet pan after 15 minutes.) Turn off the oven and leave it open a crack, and let the baguettes cool in the oven for a very crispy crust. Otherwise, transfer them to a rack to cool.

I pulled a piece off the end of one baguette and happily listened to the crackling and crunching.

I slathered some honey butter on the little heel of bread and took a bite. Pure bliss. First I encountered the crunch and then the chewy texture and finally the oozy sweetness of the honey butter. I loved the chewy texture best of all.

It always amazes me that some flour, water, yeast, and a little salt can produce something so incredibly satisfying. If only I had time to make bread more often!

For a great spring recipe using these baguettes, be sure to check out my post on Recipe Relay today! (It uses local ricotta and pea shoots!) And one more reason to head over there? Four words: King Arthur Flour giveaway!

Does bread baking intimidate you?