Appetizer: Soft Cheddar Pretzels

Soft Cheddar Pretzels

The other day I got an email from my old college roomie Crystal! She had sent me this wonderful pretzel recipe that looked delicious and super easy! I couldn't stop thinking about them and you know I HAD to make them! So, the other night I was feeling ambitious and made two batches of these little guys! That night I went to sleep and woke up with the idea of putting the cheese on TOP!! So the next morning I made one more batch just to try it out! I LOVED how they turned out and I hope you guys love them too! I ended up with 1 batch of plain pretzels, a batch with cheese just inside and the 3rd batch had cheese just on top! I probably shouldn't even tell you how badly I wanted to dip these into a jar of processed cheese...but I did!!! The Tostitos con queso was PERFECT! :)

This pretzel recipe is pretty basic and there are soooo many things you can do to make these JUST the way you and your family prefer! Add Jalapenos & cheddar to the dough! Dust them in a sugar/cinnamon mixture before baking for a sweet treat, top them with Parmesan instead of the cheddar, add sun-dried tomatoes to the dough! The possibilities are endless and they are always going to be yummy, soft and delicious!

Soft Cheddar Pretzels
Adapted from the French's Dijon Soft Pretzels recipe

1 2/3 c. warm milk (it needs to be warm, not tepid, but not hot either, or it will kill the yeast)
1 pkg. (or 1 1/2 tsp.) active dry yeast
1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese*
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 c. all purpose flour (or less, just until dough is pulling away from walls of the bowl and isn't sticky!)

Into large warm bowl, measure warm milk. Sprinkle in yeast; stir until dissolved.

Stir in cheese, sugar salt and enough flour to make a stiff dough.

Knead on floured surface until smooth, about 8-10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down.

Divide dough into 16 pieces. Roll each into a 20 in. rope. On lightly greased baking sheet, shape into a pretzel. Brush tops with egg whites (Or just top with additional grated cheddar cheese) and then cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place 15 minutes.

Bake in a 375 degree (190 C) oven 12-16 minutes until golden brown.
Cool on wire rack.

Note: dough may be shaped into 2 long loaves (baguettes); cover, let rise 1 hour. Bake 20 minutes.

* If you simply want to make plain soft pretzels just leave out the grated cheddar in the dough mixture and then just top with egg white wash & bake.