Soft pretzels and nacho cheese dipping sauce seem to go hand in hand. Okay, so I don’t actually think I’ve had the combination before, but I’m sure I’ve seen people dip soft pretzels in a cheese sauce. Maybe at a ball game.
So I decided to stuff nacho cheese into pretzel bites. If you follow my blog, you know I’ve been experimenting with various soft pretzel fillings. I’ve done Nutella, peanut butter, and pepperoni and cheese. And now nacho cheese. Yum.
These taste best when warm while the cheese is still melted. I love the way some of the cheese bubbled out of the bites when baking.
If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, you can always pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to get them nice and warm and have melty cheese again.
Nacho Cheese Pretzel Bites
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups warm water 110 to 115°F
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 oz unsalted butter melted
- 1/3 cup baking soda
- 1 egg yolk
- Velveeta Mexican flavor cheese
Instructions
- Combine the warm water, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow it to sit for about 5 minutes.
- Add the flour and butter and using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, and place the dough in a glass bowl oiled with vegetable oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 12-inch rope. Using a sharp knife, cut rope into 1-inch pieces.
- Take one piece of dough and flatten in palm of hand. Then place a small piece of cheese about 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch in the middle. Make sure you don’t reach the edges of the dough or else you can’t completely seal the dough. Roll/Seal the dough back up to resemble the square/rectangle bite shape you originally cut. You can shape it a little between your fingers. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Fill a large pan with water. Bring the water to a boil and add the baking soda.
- Place the pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Place pretzels on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat mat.
- Beat one egg yolk. Brush the top of each pretzel bite with the beaten egg yolk. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 6-8 minutes.
Notes
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I think I could eat the entire bowl! What a fun appetizer for a party. 🙂
Yes they are fun! And easy to make! I always make extra pretzel dough and put it in the freezer so I can have it easily ready when I need to make a quick appetizer.