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OMG. Yes!
Homemade Soft Pretzels, generously sprinkled with sea salt. And to top it off? Buffalo Cheddar Cheese Sauce! Yes, I know. Wow!
Can I just say that this might be the best Super Bowl snack there is? Well, actually I don’t know the Buffalo “Fried” Goat Cheese is pretty amazing too. But I mean pretzels, buffalo sauce and cheese! Maybe we’ll call it a tie?
It is the Super Bowl, so you do need lots of snacks!
Originally, I was just going make soft pretzels. Just for a fun snack to have on a Sunday afternoon and then enjoy throughout the week.
But then while the dough was rising I set out for a hike. Oh, those hikes. Oh the yummy things I come up with while hiking.
Buffalo Cheddar Cheese Sauce! Creamy, spicy and the best cheese sauce to compliment a soft pretzel.
The pretzels alone are just so good. Salty, soft, dough, dreamy. Just so good. Tear um, bite um, dip um.
Homemade Soft Pretzels with Buffalo Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Servings: 8 pretzels
Calories Per Serving: 354 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
- 4 1/2 cups to 5 all-purpose flour
- 3 quarts water
- 2/3 cups baking soda
- 1 whole egg beaten
- Coarse sea salt
Buffalo Cheddar Cheese Sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 2/3 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup franks red hot sauce
Instructions
- To make the pretzels: combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the salt and 4 1/2 cups flour to the mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.
- Coat a large bowl with canola oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size. This will take about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope. To shape into pretzels, take the right side and cross over to the left. Cross right to left again and flip up. Slowly add the baking soda to the boiling water. Boil the pretzels in the water solution, 2 at a time for 30 seconds, splashing the tops with the warmed water using a spoon. Remove with a large flat slotted spatula or a spider. Place 4 pretzels on each a parchment lined baking sheet, brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with sea salt. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until pretzels are golden brown.
- Remove pretzels from oven and let cool on a wire baking rack.
- To make the Buffalo Cheddar Cheese sauce: While pretzels are baking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, and once it’s melted and bubbly add the flour. Whisk together to create a roux and cook for 1-2 minutes until mixture gets a bit golden in color. Add milk, stir and turn down heat to low. Continue stirring until milk thickens. Add in cheeses and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in buffalo wing sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour into one medium size dip bowl or a few bowls to scatter for dipping.
- Serve hot with the pretzels!
Soft, doughy, salty pretzels…..with cheesy, buffalo sauce! Snack time anyone?
I am a bit confused.. when it calls for the water is it the 1 1/2 cups or the 3 quarts? TIA!
Hey Brittlee,
You want to use 1 1/2 cups of water. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
My daughter (6) loves to make these and they are always a hit. So good fresh out of the oven. We make them exactly as the recipe is written.
Thank you Holly! So happy these turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Hi, so I was just wondering I am using instant yeast do I follow the exact same steps as the recipe using the instant yeast, or do I combine it in a different way?
Hey EK,
If you are using instant yeast you can just add that right in with the flour. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Looks delicious, however, do I melt the butter or is it softened?
Hey Elhamk,
You can melt your butter in the microwave:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Tieghan, I just read past reviews and saw others had problems with the pretzels sticking, even to parchment paper. Do you think it could be the timing of boiling the pretzels? Maybe if they are over/under boiled, they stick? Just troubleshooting so I can avoid this next time. Love any insight you have.
Made the sauce and pretzels-so good!!! The only trouble i had is that I used parchment paper. Don’t do it!!! The pretzels totally stuck. I had to slice the bottom of the pretzels off ☹️
Hi Jenna! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! xTieghan
These look amazing. I only have instant yeast and was wondering if I could use this instead of active dry yeast? I am new to baking with yeast so please let me know!: ) Thank you!
Hi Kat! Yes, you can use instant yeast for this! I hope this turns out amazing for you! xTieghan
Should the butter be soft or melted when you combine in the first step?
We took it right out of the fridge and it’s not combining well.
Thanks!
Hi Bailie! It will work better warmed or at room temp! Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! xTieghan
I just made the pretzels and cheese and they are delicious. The pretzels are super easy to make. They tasted very much like Auntie Anne’s pretzels, soft and buttery. I brushed them with melted butter and sprinkled a little more sea salt on after pulling them from the oven. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much Marlo! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! I hope you are doing well! xTieghan
Will you please change the recipe so that readers know the butter is melted? I had to scroll through all the comments to find the answer. Thanks so much. I’m making the pretzels right now and can’t wait to snack on them.
Hi Marlo! I apologize for that, but I am glad you found the answer! I hope these turn out amazing for you! xTieghan
I suggest not using parchment paper. The paper sticks to the pretzels when baked. I had a whole batch ruined because of this.
Hi Julie! I am sorry to hear that, but I did not have the same result! Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! xTieghan
No mention of the egg. I’m assuming it goes in with the first wet ingredients….yes?
Hi Kelley! It is used to brush on the pretzels before baking! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made these and substituted Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel seasoning for the topping. Flavor was perfect and the dough was nice and tender, however the bottoms completely stuck to the parchment paper! Next time I will try heavily greasing the paper before putting pretzels on. Anyone else have this problem?
Hi Madi! I am so glad these turned out so well for you! Thank you for trying! xTieghan
Would it be possible to make the dough ahead of time after the 1 hour rise and put in the fridge then roll out a day or two later?
Hey there,
You bet, that would work just fine for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Are you supposed to melt the stick of butter when you combine it with the warm water and yeast and brown sugar? Or beat it first?
Hi! Yes, you should melt the butter. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Hi, is the butter to be cold, cubed; soft at room temp; melted? Also can I make these if I don’t have a stand mixer?
HI! The butter is melted. and yes, you can make these in a regular bow, just will need to use a little elbow grease. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan