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Caramelized Apple + Cheddar Cheese Soft Pretzels with Apple Cider Dipping Sauce
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So I have a little secret.
I have a disclosure for this post.
These photos you see here, while they were taken by me, they were totally inspired by Bev. You know Bev, right? You better know Bev because she is kind of awesome… and hilarious… and totally pregnant with two little what I am sure will be adorable twins. Twins that make her talk about diapers and cribs all day long, which in my opinion is the cutest thing ever.
Her posts are most likely going to make your morning, trust me on this one. The girl is a bad ass cook and she’ll make you laugh while doing it too!
Here’s the thing, I have a love hate relationship with food photography.
I love it when the food wants to look good and my camera is acting nice, but when the food just looks plain ugly and my camera decides to freak on me I kind of hate it.
To be honest, I mostly love it, but in no way do I think of myself as a food photographer. Like no way, I am just not there.
So when I am having a hard time shooting a particular food I grab my computer and start googling. I google something similar to the food I am photographing and then pray. Pray that there is a pretty photo to inspire a better way for me to style the day’s food to give it just what I am looking for, even though I may not know what that is yet.
Occasionally I come up totally flat, which sometimes ends up fine. I simply proceed to spend the next hour styling my shoot until it looks right and I love the photos, but I just will not stop until the photos are to my liking. Which can really be a huge time suck, but to me it is worth it. I have come to really appreciate a good photo!
Anyway, these cute little strombolis were giving me a rough time. So I googled and came up with notta, but then I Â remembered these strombolis and Bev’s gorgeous photos. Thanks God.
Or better yet, thank Bev! Thank you for inspiring these photos!
Ok, disclosure over.
On to the food!
These strombolis are so good.
Caramelized onions people. Yeah, they make everything that much better. They are buttery, sweet and just so good. Plus, they remind me of fall, french onion soup, football and comfort food. Which is a little weird considering I did not grow up with onions at all and only had french onion soup for the first time when I made it a year ago, but now that’s pretty much all my brain thinks about is food, food combos and food seasons. Caramelized onions just scream comfort and fall to me.
Actually, caramelized anything screams fall to me. There has been a whole lot of caramelizing going on over here and it’s so good!
I made these personal size for two reasons.
One, personal anything is always more fun and two, I have never had any luck with a giant stromboli. The filling always spills out and the inside never gets properly cooked. In the end it just turns into one giant lump of cheese. Although, no one complains, they still taste good, but these personal ones are a little easier to work with in my opinion.
Oh and did I mention they are also stuffed with Gouda cheese? Because they are, and it is kind of insane.
Love it.
Caramelized Onion + BBQ Chicken and Gouda Cheese Strombolis
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 601 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 1 cup warm water 100-105 degrees
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons honey divided
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Toppings
- 1 vidalia onion thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small head broccoli chopped
- 1 large cooked chicken breast chopped or shredded, or 2 small
- 3/4 cup of [your favorite BBQ Sauce | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/homemade-barbecue-sauce-just-like-sweet-baby-rays/] plus more for dipping
- 1 cup shredded gouda cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- To make the dough, in a large bowl, combine water, yeast and honey. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in 2 1/2 cups flour and olive oil stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but is still sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and work the additional 1/2 cup flour into the dough, kneading it on a floured surface for a few minutes. You can also do all the mixing and kneading in your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1 1/2 hours.
- About 30 minutes before you are ready to roll out your pizza dough start the onions. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the brown sugar and cook, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan frequently, until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the onions and place on a plate, set aside.
- To the same pan add a drizzle of olive oil and the broccoli. Cook about 10 minutes or until the broccoli softens slightly. Remove from the heat.
- Add the shredded or chopped chicken to a medium size bowl. Add about half of the bbq sauce and toss the chicken with the sauce.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Now grab the pizza dough and divide it into 4 balls (or 8 smaller balls for appetizer size). On a large floured work surface, roll out each pizza ball until you get about an 8-inch circle (or about a 6 inch circle for the appetizer size). Spread each circle with a little bit of BBQ sauce and then sprinkle with equal amounts of gouda and cheddar cheese. Top with equal amounts of the shredded BBQ chicken, broccoli, and then sprinkle with cilantro and parmesan. Tuck in the two sides of the dough and then roll up into a log, sealing the edges together by pinching the dough with your fingers. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, and continue until all 4 (or 8) are complete.
- Brush the tops of the strombolis with the egg wash. Now take a sharp knife and cut about 3 slits in the top of the dough to create steam vents.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 450, then reduce the heat to 375 and bake another 20 to 30 minutes or until the dough is cooked through and golden brown on top.
- Serve with BBQ sauce for dipping.
I mean who could not?!
So excited to have found your blog Tieghan! Ah, just read your feature over at Rachel’s blog and I immediately had to head over here. Gorgeous photos. Beautiful words. Love everything about the recipes, too!! Will be following you from now on! These strombolis look perfect, by the way! xx
Awe, thank you so much!! I am so happy to have you as a new reader! I hope I inspiring you to try some recipes!!
Thanks again!
I agree Bev is pretty much awesome. She cracks me up whenever I read her posts! I have the same issue with some food sometimes, I think how can that possibly ever look good. I get frustrated and google too. Sometimes it helps sometimes it doesn’t. It definitely worked well for you because these are gorgeous lady! And anything caramelized onion I am so in.
Thanks Des!!
I always liked such unique and easy at the same time dishes. I think it would be great to add some mushrooms into this dish. I think it is a good thing to cook when your guests are about to come.
Mmm! Mushrooms sound great! I am so adding them in next time!
You did good, Tieghan! we all have mental blocks and food photography is a learning curve. Especially when many of us have no formal education about it. The sauce on meat looks awesome!
Thank you so much!
You crack me up! Your photos always look beautiful and the recipes are just amazing. Thanks for always posting something that looks so tasty. You remind my stomach that it is lunch time just by seeing you pics!
Ha! Thanks Chelsea!
Gorgeous. Loving that golden crust, lady.
Thank you so much, Shaina!
Love the way your photos turned out and I’m totally craving one of these now – major yes to the caramelized onions!
Thank Laura! I love caramelized onions!
First, I can’t imagine you having an off day with your photos, they are always gorgeous.
Second, Bev rocks hard.
Third, so does this stromboli.
Trust me, I feel like they happen way to much!!
Yes, Bev rocks!
And thank you!
Seriously I have NO words for how amazing these look!!! 😀
Thanks Annie!
FEED ME!!! I adore anything with barbecue and chicken:)
Haha! Thanks Lauren! We live so close you would think we would actually have had a dinner together or something by now! LOL!
Soon!!
I love strombolis! This combo is awesome and I’m all about BBQ flavors.
We tend to be our own worst critic, I’m the same way with my photos…hardly ever happy with them. I ALWAYS love your pictures. 🙂
Thanks Tina!! I am totally my own worst critic!
My husband would go gaga over these!!!
Haha! I think all guys would!
Holy cow…these look amazing! And I think your camera (and your eye) caught every little flavor and morsel perfectly.
Thank you so much, Dara!! That means so much coming from a pro like you!
I LOVE me some Bev, and she’s definitely a great source of inspiration when it comes to food photos and writing! Your photos turned out great, so your inspiration-finding-sesh certainly worked out! These strombolis…there are no words. I want to shove a whole one in my mouth. End o story. 😉
Thanks Julia!! I wan that whole salad you posted today! INCREDIBLE! Love curried shrimp!
I agree, girl, personal sized is always best. It goes back to my childhood love of personal pan pizzas at Pizza Hut, where I thought I was a badass for getting my own little box of doughy pizza 🙂 Personal sized strombolis (with all that delicious caramelized onion!) are a huge, huge improvement on Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas, I assure you.
LOL! I remember those!! Love them!
Thanks Ruthy!