Quick & Easy Homemade Pretzel Bites

It’s almost New Year’s! Are you going out? Staying in? Either way we’ve got a great little snack for you to make to help ring in the New Year…and it’s SUGAR FREE!

Take it to your party or keep it for yourself!

It mixes up SO quickly, which leaves you time to go do other things while it rises. (Yay for multi-tasking that actually works!) Once the dough is ready, you can enlist the help of the kids to roll out long ropes of dough and simply cut them into chunks! (Or show them how to twist a pretzel and they’ll feel pretty accomplished!) 😉

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (like bathwater)
• 4-5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3-1/2 cup honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water

• 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

• a couple of greased baking sheets

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1 1/2 cups warm water. We just put it right into the measuring cup, rather than dirty another bowl.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt. (And don’t forget the smiley face)If kneading by hand, make a well in the center……add the honey and the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough…and tell your child who is somewhat OCD about sticky hands, that it will be okay and the more she or he works the dough, the less sticky it will become. 🙂 If the mixture is dry, add one or two more tablespoons of oil. (If using a stand mixer, just add the ingredients in, in order.) Knead the dough until smooth (about 7 to 8 mins, if done by hand OR 1-2 mins, if done in a mixer. Since the recipe uses honey instead of white sugar, a stand mixer is my preferred method, but my lovely assistant insisted that mixing by hand was the BEST – until she started to feel a little too sticky.)
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
5. In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in 4 cups hot water; set aside.
   

   (he was SUPER excited about it :!)

6. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and cut into chunks or twist into a pretzel shape.
   

   It works best to start in the middle and work your way out…

   

7. Once all of the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda-hot water solution and place pretzels on baking sheets.
8. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
9. Bake in preheated oven until browned, about 8 minutes, but maybe a little more – depending on how thin the rolling went.
10. Brush tops with butter (optional, but delicious!)

And – TA-DA! Pretzels, pretzel bites, pretzel chunks. Whatever you want to call them. Tasty and pretty enough for a potluck, but yummy and easy enough to make even if no one else will see them!

*below are the directions without the photos*

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1 1/2 cups warm water.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt. If kneading by hand, make a well in the center; add the honey and the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two more tablespoons of oil. (If using a stand mixer, just add the ingredients in, in order.) Knead the dough until smooth (about 7 to 8 mins, if done by hand OR 1-2 mins, if done in a mixer. Since the recipe uses honey instead of white sugar, a stand mixer is my preferred method.)
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
5. In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in 4 cups hot water; set aside.
6. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape.
7. Once all of the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda-hot water solution and place pretzels on baking sheets.
8. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
9. Bake in preheated oven until browned, about 8 minutes.
10. Brush tops with butter (optional, but delicious!)

*p.s. – Michelle shared her favorite soft pretzel recipe a while back – if you’re looking for that deliciousness, it’s found here.