Chewy Pretzel Bites (MelsKitchenCafe.com)

OK I have to admit I was a little intimidated by these at first...could I really make pretzels??? So I thought I would give it a try and see how they turned out... Well I was VERY pleased with them! I had lots of company coming through my house yesterday when I made these and not one person complained! EVERYONE loved these and they were a great after school snack! The kids actually said it was the best after school snack they had had.

These were pretty dang easy I don't know what intimidated me but glad that I decided to get over my lil issue. I made 3 batches of these babies and each batch I made a different flavor it was very good! I made a batch of plain-salted, a batch of cinnamon & sugar, a batch with Parmesan cheese that we dipped in pizza sauce. The recipe makes about 2 dozen bites.

Dough:
2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup (8 ounces) very warm water

Topping:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Coarse salt (optional)
3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix to just combine.
Add the water and mix well, adding more flour, as needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth and quite slack. The goal is to get a really soft dough that isn’t overly sticky. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes or up to 60 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Don’t be afraid of the high heat! This is what will help those pretzels to brown up perfectly and stay soft on the inside. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or lightly greasing them.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into about four strips of equal length. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda in a liquid measuring cup (deep enough to dip the pretzel bites into). Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the baking soda completely dissolved, so I just lightly stir up the mixture right before adding each pretzel.

Cut each strip of dough into about 6-8 pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ inches in width. You don’t have to be completely exact, just eyeball it. Dip each pretzel bite in the baking soda solution (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. *Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. * PLEASE DON'T PUT SALT ON THEM IF YOU ARE GOING TO DO THE SWEET VERSION!!! Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 7-8 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Bake one sheet at a time – it won’t hurt the other pretzels to chill out for a little longer.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you’ve used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that’s what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. This is where you put your flavor if you want something else like Parmesan, cinnamon & sugar, etc. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave on low heat.