buffalo & cheddar pretzels

 Hey, hi, hello! I saw these pretzels on Half Baked Harvest this week and scrapped my plans for a coconut cake to replace it with these!

These perfect pretzels would be a fantastic Super Bowl snack since they're incredibly easy, extra tasty, and super quick. In the time it takes for the dough to proof you can prep the rest of your snacks and have your kitchen clean! I, of course, am just imagining this in my head because I will actually getting my hair cut during the Super Bowl! Will I be the only person not watching, or do you also have other plans?

These pretzels are perfect, seriously. That's the very first thing I thought when I bit into one of these. Absolutely perfect! They're soft, loaded with flavor, and the most satisfying size for a small snack. I also want to note that the inside of the pretzels are brushed with buffalo sauce lending the tiniest bit of spice. You can add more sauce for dipping obviously, but I was so happy with the flavors that I found I didn't need any. 

Buffalo & Cheddar Pretzels

recipe from Half Baked Harvest

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 packet active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly 

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 1/4 cups of AP flour**

1/2 cup buffalo sauce

12 cheddar cheese sticks, unwrapped

2/3 cup baking soda

1 egg, beaten

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

3 tablespoons poppy seeds

2 teaspoons minced, dried onion

2 teaspoons minced, dried garlic

2 teaspoons coarse salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook combine sugar, yeast, and warm water until just combined. Let stand for about 5 minutes to bloom.

Once yeast has bloomed add melted butter, salt, and flour** to yeast mixture and mix on medium speed until dough comes together and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl to form a ball. 

Place dough ball into a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let dough rest and rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add baking soda to boiling water right before adding pretzels. 

Once dough has risen, remove from bowl and roll into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick on a clean surface. Cut dough widthwise into 12 even strips and brush liberally with buffalo sauce. 

Wrap each cheese stick with a strip of dough making sure the buffalo sauce is on the inside. Seal both ends. 

Boil pretzels 1 - 2 at a time for 30 seconds in the soda water. Remove pretzels with a slotted spoon. Place 6 pretzels each on two baking sheets covered with parchment then brush with the egg wash. 

Place sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion, garlic, and salt in a small bowl and mix generously. Cover unbaked pretzels liberally in "everything" spice before baking. 

Bake pretzels for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. 

** Original recipe calls for 4 1/4 cups of flour. I recommend adding only 4 cups of flour and letting it combine before determining if the dough needs more. If it does, add a few tablespoons of flour at a time until you get the right consistency.