The very first time I ever attempted to make pretzels was after a long day at work a couple of years ago. I was tired but had been browsing pictures of pretzels all day and I just craved one. They surprisingly didn’t take much time at all and definitely satisfied my craving. They were gone in a day. While the classic pretzel shape is something that everyone loves, I found that the pretzel bites I made were gone much faster; I’m pretty sure it had to do with their size and the fact you could just pick one (or two or three) up passing by and pop them in your mouth.
I have since made pretzels dozens and dozens of times and I knew I wanted to make pretzels for this blog, but I needed something special about them to share. I was racking my brain with ideas and cheese and steak just sounded like the obvious choice. I am a sucker for a good cheesesteak so I thought that stuffing them inside an already delicious pretzel would make them even better.
The cheese gets so melty and gooey and oozes out a little and the steak gives these the best flavor. Really spring for a nice roast beef if you can; I get a Boar’s Head London Broil and the flavor cannot be beat. One time when at the deli counter, I asked for a suggestion on a rare roast beef, and they immediately said this one right off the bat. They let me sample a few, but this one was definitely the best – and I’ve been buying it all the time ever since. Roast beef in those plastic containers you find near the cheese section doesn’t even compare. If that’s all you can find, then don’t let that stop you from making these, but just try and find a really good roast beef – you won’t regret it.
As always, not only are these pretzel bites incredible when they are first out of the oven, but they freeze well to boot. You can pop out a couple of frozen pretzel bites, place them on a baking sheet, and a few minutes later you’ll have the best snack (or, let’s be real, meal). I’m already planning on having these for lunch…and possibly dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- Vegetable oil, for bowl
- 10 cups water
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 1 1/2 -2 cups cheddar, shredded
- 1 1/2-2 cups monterey jack, shredded
- 1 1/2 cups rare roast beef, chopped coarsley
- 1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Begin by making the pretzel dough. In the bottom of a mixing bowl, place the warm water in and add the sugar and salt. Sprinkle the active dry yeast on top and let sit for 5 minutes until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, combine the mixture on low speed. Change the speed to medium and knead the dough for about 5-6 minutes until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the bowl. Remove the dough, pour a little oil into the bowl and spread around, then return the dough ball to the mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let the dough sit in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper with a light spray of cooking spray or silicon baking mats and set aside.
- In a large pot, combine the water and the baking soda and bring to a boil.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cheeses and the roast beef and toss until combined.
- Take the dough and divide into 16-20 pieces. Take one of the pieces on a lightly oiled surface and, using your fingers, shape in the form of a disc. Place some of the filling in the middle, then take two of the opposite sides and bring them up and pinch together, then take the other two opposite sides and bring those up and pinch those together. Lightly roll into a ball. Repeat with remaining dough balls and cheese mixture.
- Take the stuffed pretzel bites and place them in the boiling water for 30 seconds. You can do 2-3 at a time. Remove them from the water and place on the baking sheets. Brush them with the egg and water mixture and top with kosher salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels.
- Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes, keeping a close eye on them. Serve immediately, or let them cool down completely and store them in freezer bags and place in the freezer. When ready to re-heat, take the pretzel bites out and place on a baking sheet and heat at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the filling has been completely re-heated.
Pretzel recipe from Alton Brown
Used in this post: mixer // marble slab
0
0
0
0
0
0
Between this and the chicken fried steak tacos I must conclude you are evil and I adore your brain.
I found you on GOMI and I added you to feedly and I am very happy I did. Thanks
Hahah TOTALLY am, not going to lie 🙂
YAY! So glad you found me, too – I love fellow hamcats!!!
Awesome idea! The kids would go crazy over this (and me too!), looks amazing. Pinned 🙂
Thank you – yes, I’m pretty sure kids of ALL ages would love these 🙂 Thanks for the pin!!
These look amazing! I might just have to attempt a pretzel dough to make these!
Thank you!! The pretzel dough is seriously simple…maybe even dangerously so 🙂 I make pretzels WAY too often because it’s so easy – definitely give it a shot!
A dozen please!! These meaty and gooey pretzel bites sound amazing! Saving up the recipe for later. Btw, beautiful pictures!
Thank you so much – I really appreciate it!! You will definitely love this recipe – it is so good!! 🙂
Reblogged this on Sir's Quarters and commented:
Need to make these.
Well, this OBVIOUSLY needs to be part of my life. These sound amazing. Thanks for the roast beef tip!
Thanks, Allison! haha they were pretty tasty – and I’m not ashamed to admit that there are no more left in my freezer now! 🙂
wish i could print this recipe your site sucks
Hi Mike, sorry my site sucks. I just e-mailed you the recipe, hopefully you’ll be able to print it out that way. Have a great day!
SO SO SO good!!!
Thanks, Lori!! 🙂 I’m glad you liked them!!
These look incredible! Quick question….the recipe says to brush them with the egg and water mixture…I’m not seeing in the recipe how much water I would mix with the egg to brush on top….
Hi Diana! Thank you so much! You want to beat together 1 egg yolk and 1 Tbsp of water and brush that over the tops. I hope that helps – please let me know if you have any other questions! 🙂
I will take an order of these for Monday! 🙂
Omg I dont know you personally and I could just hug and kiss you these are awesome and my boys can’t get enough of them as being a single dad and having my boys and sports and between work don’t have much time but taking a sunday afternoon to make several of these and freezing them down is perfect.
Thank you
Thank you for this recipe and for helping me get over my fear of making pretzels! I’ve been saving pretzel recipes for years, but never tried them. Pinned this to try for Superbowl Sunday and I’m so glad I did! They were a HUGE hit, and so much easier than I thought. Passing the recipe on to friends, and will definitely make again and again! Thinking of trying to switch up the filling to corned beef, swiss and sauerkraut to make reuben pretzel bites next! Thank you!!
I’m so glad you loved them Laurie! While they seem daunting (trust me, I know!), they really aren’t that bad. So happy you’ll be passing it on to friends and make them again for yourself. The corned beef, swiss, and sauerkraut sound amazing – with a thousand island dipping sauce? Pretty sure I need to make a batch of these as well! Thanks again for the kind words, so happy you enjoyed them! 🙂
I really enjoyed making these pretzels and then, of course, eating them! My guests were amazed!
Ah thanks so much, Lidia! I’m so glad you and your guests enjoyed them!! 🙂