Soft Pretzels

I have no idea why we haven't done this before. Seriously. And when you try them, you will wonder the same thing! They are best hot and dipped in queso...or cheese...or ranch...or plain...they are straight up amazing!!

They're actually pretty easy too - you know I'm all about easy recipes! It just requires a little prep time.

For us, it's a joint venture. You got it - we like to make them together, as a team. I mix the dough, he heats the water. I roll it out, he twists it into pretzels. And we both eat them...oh my yes.

For the dough, you need:

2.5 cups all purpose flour
dash of salt
spoonful of sugar
package of yeast (either quick-rise or active dry)
1 cup warm water (about 110 F)

Mix the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. Pour the yeast into the warm water and stir until mostly dissolved. Pour the yeast water into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly - if you have a mixer with a dough hook, that would be best; if not, beat it roughly with a wooden spoon. It should be a soft, smooth lump of dough, not sticky. If it is too sticky, sprinkle with flour and keep kneading. When you have a nice tidy lump, dust with flour and cover the bowl with a towel.

Let's stop and talk about yeast for a moment. If you are using quick-rise yeast, half an hour should be plenty of time to rise. If you are using active dry yeast, somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour usually works best for me.

For the topping, you need:

1/2 cup warm water
1 tbsp baking soda
non-stick spray
coarse sea salt for sprinkling, if desired
2-3 tbsp butter, melted

Whisk the warm water and baking soda together and place in a cereal bowl. Spray a pan, and heat the oven to 450 F.

Lightly spray the countertop to help keep the dough from sticking. Take the dough out and use a pizza cutter to divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each section into a long rope and twist into a pretzel shape.

Now, believe me, it's a whole lot harder than it sounds! Easiest thing to do is to double it over, twist it together about a third of the way from the bottom, and roll the ends over. Just play around with it for awhile, you'll get the hang of it. And make sure to ask your sweetheart to try it too - it makes for a lot of laughs!

Dip the pretzels in the soda wash and place them on the sheet. Sprinkle with salt, if desired. Honestly, we find we don't really need it, they're good without, but it's up to you. Let them rest for 10 minutes.

Bake for 8-9 minutes until nicely golden brown. As soon as you take them out of the oven, brush with melted butter. Try to hold off eating them until they are cool enough to touch. Mmmm.