Soft Pretzels and Oreo Truffles

On Saturday Doug, Angie, Noah, and Leah came over to watch the University of Utah football game. They won, Go Utes!! We had a great time visiting, cheering, playing with the kiddies, and of course snacking!

Josh wanted to make homemade pretzels again, but this time we used Bobby Flay's recipe. They are similar to the last ones we made, but these have brown sugar and a little more butter. We really like both recipes, but Josh thinks this one is a tad better. He also perfected his cheese sauce! So make sure to try this recipe. It is really good!!



We also made Oreo Truffles for a sweet treat! They were easy to make and great bite size treats!

Soft Pretzels

Adapted from Bobby Flay

Queso Poblano Sauce:
½ Tablespoon unsalted butter
½ Tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup milk
8 ounces Pepper Jack cheese, grated
1 poblano chiles, roasted, seeded and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Soft Pretzels:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast
3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
Coarse sea salt

For the Queso Poblano Sauce:

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the Pepper Jack cheese, poblano chiles, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

For the Pretzels: Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.

Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each. Roll each piece into a long rope measuring 22 inches and shape: take the right side and cross over to the left. Cross right to left again and flip up. Boil the pretzels in the water solution, 2 at a time for 30 seconds, splashing the tops with the warmed water using a spoon. Remove with a large flat slotted spatula or a spider. Place 4 pretzels on each baking sheet, brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.

Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating. Dip into desired sauces.

Oreo Truffles
Adapted from Kraft Food and Family and Bakerella

1 package oreo cookies, 16 ounces (divided… use cookie including the cream center)
1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)
White chocolate-the kind made for dipping! Either bark or the discs.

1. Crush cookies in a food processor and stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together.

2. Roll the mixture into 1" balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.

3. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. I melted dark chocolate and drizzled it on the white!

4. Once dry, refrigerate and enjoy!

Makes about 36 truffles.

FYI: It helps to freeze the uncoated balls for a few minutes to keep the mixture from starting to fall apart in the melted chocolate. If this becomes a problem, dip them in the chocolate, let dry and then dip again. They are also good dipped in regular milk or dark chocolate. Try different types of Oreos for fun, such as mint, peanut butter, holiday, etc.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

The other night we were watching the Food Network, sometimes it sucks us in:) Well, we caught a Throwdown with Bobby Flay. He went to Philadelphia to challenge "The Pretzel Boys" who are famous for Philadelphia's best soft pretzels. It was fun watching them make pretzels...both recipes looked tasty, but Bobby ended up winning...it is his show:)

After watching, we were inspired to make soft pretzels. Something we have never done before. So we set out to find the perfect recipe. After doing some research, we went with Alton Brown's recipe. He usually is a go to guy for a good, standard recipe...and this time he didn't let us down!

We had a good old time making pretzels! The dough was easy to make and rolling and twisting the pretzels was so fun!! We went with the classic salted pretzel and we also did some cinnamon sugar ones for dessert! The pretzels had the perfect texture...golden brown on the outside, a bit chewy, but still soft in the center. YUM! Josh even made a Monterey Jack cheese sauce to go with! I liked the salty and sweet ones. We will for sure be twisting up pretzels again!

Dividing the dough into 8 parts! It is Pretzel Time!


Giving the dough a nice twist!


Bath Time! Boiling water with baking soda!


Sprinkling them with salt!


Golden Delicious!


A super soft and salty pretzel!


Time for something sweet! Cinnamon and Sugar!

Homemade Soft Pretzels Recipe
Adapted from Alton Brown

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt or sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Josh's Cheese Sauce

Melt 1/2 T butter in a small pot. Add in 2 T flour and stir. Stir in 6 oz. of shredded Monterey Jack cheese until melted. Add in salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste! Serve with salted pretzels on the side.