Soft Pretzels & Dips

Forget the street vendor--now you can make chewy, delicious soft pretzels at home! Serve them on their own or with our tasty dips. They'll be a big hit at as a rainy day activity or for your child's next birthday party.

Your child's favorite shows are on Nick & Nick Jr.

Ingredients

• Butter for greasing
• 1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (about 110°F)
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tsp. sugar, divided
• 4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling on top of pretzels
• 3 tbsp. butter, melted
• 4 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 cup hot water
• 2 tbsp. baking soda
• 1 cup heavy cream (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese (optional)
• Paprika (optional)
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard (optional)
• 1/4 cup honey (optional)

Directions

1. Step 1

   Grease a large bowl with some butter; set aside. Place the warm water into a glass measuring cup. Add 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Sprinkle the top of the water with the yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Step 2

   Meanwhile, mix together 4 cups of flour and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture and melted butter to the flour mixture and mix until it forms a dough.

3. Step 3

   Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until smooth, adding some of the additional 1/2 cup flour if necessary, about 8 minutes. Place the dough into the buttered bowl and turn once to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

4. Step 4

   Punch down the dough. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

5. Step 5

   Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 12 inches long. Shape the rope into a pretzel knot by making a "U" shape with the rope and crossing the ends back over the bottom of the "U" shape. Continue with the remaining dough pieces.

6. Step 6: Make the cheese dip (optional)

   While the pretzels bake, you can mix together the dips. For the cheese dip, heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer. (Keep an eye on the cream--if it should boil it may boil up and over the sides of the pan.) Remove from the heat and stir in the grated cheese until just melted and smooth. Pour into a small bowl. Sprinkle the top with some of the paprika.

7. Step 7: Make the honey mustard dip (optional)

   Mix mustard and honey together in a small bowl. Pour into a serving bowl.

8. Step 8

   Once the pretzels are baked, transfer them to a wire rack and allow to cool. Then, serve with the dips.

Nurtition Facts

• Calories: 215
• Total Fat: 3g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Cholesterol: 8g
• Sodium: 442mg
• Total Carbs: 41g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 9g
• Protein: 5g