Soft pretzels are the perfect little snack. These little pillows of amazingness are best served warm, with a mustard for dipping and dusted with some salt.
One of my good friends and fellow IACP member, Michelle Stern, just wrote a fantastic family friendly cookbook called The Whole Family Cookbook: Celebrate the goodness of locally grown foods. Last week when I received my copy in my hot little hands, not only was I so thrilled that Michelle’s first book was published, but I was so excited that her book makes cooking as a family really accessible! (something I am super passionate about!) Cooking with kids is something that I have always enjoyed! A few years ago, while babysitting in college, the kids and I would make baked goods together all the time. Now, as a personal chef, the kids are always in the kitchen with me! The youngest, who is now 10, is a little chef in the making! She if full of questions about baking and mixing and different ingredients and we have the absolute best time together in the kitchen. I love being able to educate her on techniques and healthy eating habits! And some of the flavor combinations she dreams up are totally amazing. We make an excellent team 
Okay, so back to these soft pretzel bites. We made them the other day and they were a total success. (Plus, it was our first time baking with yeast together and it wasn’t a failure – woohoo) They were a hit with all the kids (and adults) and a recipe I will keeping in my back pocket for a very long time!
And now for the giveaway! I’m giving away 1 copy of The Whole Family Cookbook!! It will take you through breakfast, lunch and dinner along with everything in between! All you have to do is leave a comment here telling me your FAVORITE thing to cook with kids!! Is it chocolate chip cookies? Homemade pizza? Rice Krispie Treats? For an extra entry, head on over to the What’s Gaby Cooking facebook page and become a fan. If you’re already a fan – just leave another comment to let me know! I’ll randomly pick the winner on Friday (4/15) morning. (Must live within the US)
| Soft Pretzel Bites |
- 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups AP Flour
- 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
- Vegetable Oil, for the bowl
- 10 cups water
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 1 egg yolk
- splash of water
- course sea salt
- Combine the yeast, brown sugar and warm water in a mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook attachment. Let it hang out for 5 minutes until foamy. Add the melted butter and salt to the mixture and combine. Add the AP Flour while the dough hook is rotating. Next add the Whole Wheat flour and mix until the dough has formed a large mass.
- Remove from the bowl and let rest in an oiled bowl for an hour, covered with a kitchen towel.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place a large pot with 10 cups water on the stove and bring to a boil. Add the baking soda. *Don’t freak out when it almost bubbles over – it’s normal – and it’s kinda cool, so make sure the kids are around when you do it!*
- Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 14 inches long. Cut the rope of dough into little bite sizes pieces about 1 inch long.
- Using a slotted spoon, add about 20 to the boiling water at a time. Once they rise to the top of the water, about 30 seconds, remove with your slotted spoon to a paper towel to dry. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
- Transfer the bites to parchment lined baking sheets that you’ve sprayed with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and a splash of water. Brush the tops of each pretzel bite with the egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown, about 10-16 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving!
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I love to make chocolate chips cookie bars with my niece. We’ve been doing it forever!
The kids and I LOVE to make pizzas together. We’ve been making them since my oldest was only a year! They also love to help me make soup! They love to add all the different parts! Thanks so much for the chance! I hope I’m not too late!
I was just wondering what’s another way to mix these up, because I’m assuming that when you say “dough hook” you are using a Kitchenaid mixer.. ? I have a bread machine, but not sure if that would do the trick. I reallyyy want to make these with my kids, but I am not good at kneading by hand at all, and I don’t think that would work here anyway. Any tips?
My favorite thing to make with my 9 year old b/g twins is not really a set recipe – or sometimes not even something you’d really want to eat! Let me explain – my kids enjoy going into the kitchen and with my permission and help for ideas they “create” their own recipes for “drinks” and “sandwich spread” and what have you! They concocted a somewhat edible version of lime soda with real lime juice, sugar, vanilla flavoring, etc., and have created some amusing peanut butter spreads and snack mixes. They enjoy experimenting, I enjoy watching their creativity and we all get a good chuckle during the tasting session! Otherwise, we also enjoy making cutout cookies and decorating to our hearts desire!
I made these and wrote about them here. The recipe you posted was super simple and easy to follow, and resulted in a ton of delicious pretzel bites. Thank you for sharing!
My favorite thing to cook with my kids would have to be no bake cookies and/or soda cupcakes.. MMM. They love to cook and when they are older and on their own they will be able to feed themselves without having to depend on their girlfriends to do it for them.
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