Frost Bites- Powdered Sugar Soft Pretzels

Snack foods have never really been my thing, I'll gladly pass up a bag of potato chips or bowl full of salsa with chips with no regrets.

 It probably has something to do with the salty taste and the crunchy texture, neither of those tempt me at all. I'm more of a soft and sweet type of chica, give me a pretty pink box filled with soft and fluffy round donuts dripping with shiny vanilla glaze and I'm in heaven!

 Just the thought of them has me peering towards my kitchen trying to spy a crumb of soft cakey goodness!  But as they say" for every rule there is an exception" and for me that exception is soft pretzels.

 I've loved them since forever, the distinct smell of fresh baked salted bread twists caressing my nose from 5 stores down hit me every time I walk through those mall doors. Soft pretzels are like my salty kryptonite!

 If you can at all understand my love affair with soft baked pretzels, than you can figure out why I've been having a " bad romance" with these sweet bebe's. 

 And when I say bad, I really mean good! Well maybe a little more bad than good if you consider the fact that I may slightly be addicted to them, I've made them twice already in the last four days!! 

 What do you expect when my exception to the rule meets everything I adore.  Super soft salty bites of  pretzel rolled in powdered sugar love, True Amor!

recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour Recipe
                                                     

                                                   Dough Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

1 cup warm water

                                                    Coating Ingredients

1 cup very hot water

2 tablespoons baking soda

Kosher or sea salt

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup of powdered sugar



                                Directions

1.Pre-heat your oven to 475 degrees.


2.In the bowl of your mixer, sift together flour, salt, sugar, and yeast.

3.Add in 1 cup of very warm water and use the dough hook to mix it well. You could also do this by hand or use a food processor. Knead the dough until it is smooth.

4.Sprinkle flour in the bottom of a bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and cover it. Allow it to sit for about 30 minutes to rise.

5.After 30 minutes, knead the dough for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Divide the dough into 4 equal sections. Form each section into strips about 8 inches long and about 1 inch wide.

6.Cut each strip into about 6-8 pieces. You should end up with 24-32 pretzel bites.

7.In a shallow dish combine the hot water ( to speed up the process you can microwave the water for 2 minutes or you can boil it on the stove) with the baking soda and stir to dissolve.

8.Place the pretzel bites in the water/baking soda mixture and allow to sit for one minute. Then flip the pretzel bites and allow to sit in the mixture for one minute longer. Arrange the pretzel bites on a greased baking sheet.

9.Allow the pretzel bites to rest for about 5 minutes, then sprinkle with a bit of kosher or sea salt before baking them for 10-11 minutes, or until the pretzel bites are nice and brown!

10.While the pretzel bites are baking, melt 3 tablespoons of butter (1 minute in the microwave). Place the cup of powdered sugar in a medium bowl and set aside.
11.When the pretzel bites are done baking, immediately brush each bite with melted butter. Keep brushing the bites with butter until it is all gone. Then immediately place a handful of your bites in the bowl of powder sugar and roll them around until evenly coated.  The cooler they seem to get the harder it is to get the powder sugar to stick.

 If you are feeling really dulce ( sweet) you can serve them with a little chocolate dip to send you into a complete sugar rush!


Now if you are in a race for time and find that these sound so delicious that you just have to have them now!   Then you can take the fast track to yumminess, you can purchase pretzel nuggets in your grocer's freezer already made.  Follow the directions on the package, then jump to step 10-11 and race towards instant gratification!