Soft Pretzel Bites

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Soft pretzel bites are the perfect, easy snack for your next movie marathon, game night, or living room tailgate. Topped with flake salt, then dipped in your favorite sauce, these delicious little pretzel bites will quickly become your family’s new favorite snack recipe.

Make Your Own Easy Soft Pretzel Bites

Who doesn’t love an easy, delicious snack food?? Personally, I have ALWAYS been a pretzel lover — whether the large soft pretzels from the fair with warm cheese sauce or the little pretzel sticks you buy from the grocery store, I truly believe that pretzels are the perfect midday pick-me-up or late-night snack.

These cute, homemade pretzel bites only require 10 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes to cook, with a few hours in between to allow the dough to rise — that means MINIMAL work on your part to have these salty snacks ready and on the table!

The best part? The flavor options are endless! You can cover in chia seeds or salt, brown sugar, or just all the melted butter — you get to choose how to make these soft pretzel bites the snack of your dreams. Plus, you can whip up a batch of your favorite dipping sauce (or a few) to add another layer of tasty goodness.

Key Ingredients

• Water – Yes, just the kind from your sink! You’ll use water to set the shape of your pretzel bites before baking.
• Instant yeast – If using active dry yeast, allow the yeast, warm water, and brown sugar to sit for 5 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients.
• Baking soda – You must use baking soda, not baking powder, for this recipe.
• Brown Sugar – Hard- or soft-packed, whatever is in your pantry.
• Flour – Your baking staple is always needed!
• Salt – I use kosher salt at a few different stages of this recipe. Make sure you have regular salt for preparing the dough as well as pretzel or flake salt to top your pretzel bites at the end.
• Egg – You only need one egg for the pretzel recipe.
• Optional ingredients – To add a little more flavor and customize your soft pretzel bites, consider topping with pretzel salt, flake salt, sesame seeds, or cinnamon sugar.

How to make Soft Pretzel Bites

Step 1: Prepare the pretzel dough

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the warm water, yeast, and brown sugar. Mix on low until the yeast is evenly distributed and the brown sugar has dissolved— about 30 seconds.
2. With the mixer on low, slowly add 2 cups of flour and kosher salt. Add the remaining 1/2 cup flour slowly and stop adding additional flour when the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl.
3. Allow the dough to knead for 2-3 minutes, or until is has formed a smooth ball. If the dough starts to stick to the sides of the bowl again, add a little bit more flour.
4. Form the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Place it in a warm spot to rise for one hour.
5. Punch the dough down and reform it into a ball. Allow it to rise for another hour.

Step 2: Cook the pretzel bites

1. Once the dough has doubled from its original size, cut it onto quarters and roll the quarters into long strands— about 18” long and 1/2” thick.
2. Cut pretzel bites of your desired size (I usually opt for 1” long bites).
3. Preheat your oven to 425F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
4. While your oven is preheating, bring a large pot of water to a boil— make sure to only fill the pot half full so it doesn’t boil over when cooking the pretzels.
5. Once the water is boiling, slowly add the baking soda and stir it to ensure the baking soda has dissolved. Turn the heat down to medium-high so the water stays at a gentle boil rather than a rolling boil. Note: Make sure to add it slowly! Adding the baking soda too quickly will result in it boiling over— not fun to clean!
6. Add a few pretzel bites to the boiling water and allow them to cook for 45 seconds per side— make sure not to crowd the pan. You want the pretzel bites to cook evenly on all sides. Remove the boiled pretzel bites to a parchment lined sheet pan and repeat with the remaining pretzel bites. Note: Make sure the pretzel bites are at least 1” apart on the sheet pan as they will puff up slightly during baking.
7. Beat the egg in a small bowl with a splash of water to create an egg wash. Brush the tops of the pretzels lightly with egg wash. If using salt or sesame seeds, add them now. If using cinnamon-sugar, do not add anything on top of the egg wash.
8. Bake the pretzels in a pre-heated oven for 15-18 minutes or until they are a deep brown color.

Step 3: Customize and serve

If using cinnamon sugar, transfer the pretzel bites to a large bowl and toss them with the cinnamon sugar while they are still warm.

Tips for making the perfect Soft Pretzel Bites

• Infuse with your favorite beer. For extra flavor, substitute the water for your favorite wheat beer.
• Don’t skip any steps! Boiling the pretzels helps create that signature pretzel exterior— please don’t skip it!
• Add a delicious dipping sauce. Whether you’re a fan of honey mustard or crave a delicious cheese dip, these pretzel bites only get better with some kind of sauce.

How to store your Pretzel Bites

The pretzel dough can be made the day before and allowed to rise overnight in the refrigerator. Allow the dough to come to room temperature (about an hour) before shaping and boiling.

Here are more delicious snack recipes to try!

• Bourbon Pretzels
• Simple and Easy Homemade Chex Mix
• No-Bake Peanut Butter Energy Bites
• 3-Ingredient Rotel Dip