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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?
Such tasty pretzels. I tried 1/3 c baking soda this time, which gave a slightly lighter pretzel flavor, but worth trying if you are short on baking soda!
Hey Sean,
Fantastic!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and sharing your review:)
Hi! I LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it several times now. New years, now March madness! I recently did long pretzel sticks since I was too lazy to make the shape of the pretzel. Turned out great! My butter is always soft at room temp and it doesn’t combine well with the yeast/water and the dough hook, but once I mix the flour in it always seems fine. Do you think I can make the Buffalo cheese sauce a day ahead of time and refrigerate it and then heat it up the day of the party?
Hey Jennifer,
Happy Friday!! ☘️🌈 So glad to hear that this recipe always turns out well for you, thanks so much for making it so often! Yes, I think that would work well for you! xT
These are so delicious! Mine are quite chewy near the center and I’m assuming they are just chewy and not undercooked lol… any way to ensure it’s cooked evenly and not too doughy in the middle?
Hi Jillian,
Happy Monday!!🌞 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! You would see the raw dough if they were under cooked. xx
How far in advance can you make these? Or can they be made and frozen?
Hey Chelsea,
Sure, you could make and freeze these or make a couple days in advance and keep in an airtight container. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
Ok yes, I think it was just chewy and delicious (not raw). These are the best pretzels I have made. Cheese sauce puts it over the top!
Thanks again Jillian!
Honestly, this is the best soft pretzel recipe I’ve found. Great texture both inside and out and the flavor is on point. Didn’t change anything about the recipe, using room temperature butter. Hands down will be making these for super bowl weekend along with her garlic parmesan sweet potato fries!
Hey Ashley,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you:)
I gave this recipe a test run before the super bowl this weekend. The flavor is good, but my dough didn’t double in size, and the pretzels are dense and chewy, not very fluffy. I used Instant Yeast, would that make the difference? I also used cold butter, which I’m seeing in some previous comments may be a downfall as well.
My kids and husband are gobbling them up regardless!
Hey Kate,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! I would use room temp butter next time and really give the dough a chance to rise in a warm spot in your kitchen. That should help! xT
Fabulous!!
I had to make some tweaks because I am Celiac, so I made pretzel rounds with GF flour. Any tips on specific GF flour you like? The taste was INSANE! I haven’t had a soft pretzel in years, thank you Tieghan!
Hey Sarah,
Happy Friday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was delish! I like Bob’s Red Mill gf flour:) xx
These were so tasty! My pretzel-folding skills leave something to be desired =) but I paired these with the broccoli and cheddar soup that I saw on her IG and it was amazing!
Hey Jessica,
Happy Friday!!⛄️ Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was a hit! xx
Going to be making these soon and wondering if it’s ok to pre make the dough a day before baking?
Hi Jules,
Yes, that will be just fine for you to do! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
These taste great! Any tips for getting the pretzels not to stick to the parchment paper?
Hey Alison,
Happy Wednesday!!❄️ Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, I am so glad it was a hit! Try to make sure all of the excess water drips off of the pretzel before adding to the parchment paper. xx
My 3 1/2 year old grandson loves to bake with me but is allergic to eggs. Is there a substitute I could use to brush on top before salting?? Thanks!
Hey Angela,
Sure, you could do a brushing with some melted butter! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it’s a hit! xT
I dusted the salt on while the dough was still damp and that worked to stick the salt too!
I’m very excited to make these! QQ- should the butter be melted or soft when going into the pretzel dough?
Hi Tara,
The butter can be at room temp. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Would I do everything the same but just shape differently if I wanted to make pretzel sticks instead?
Hey Cait,
Yes, that would be just fine for you to do! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
#1 in the directions should be updated to “warm water” not just water. I put the 3 quarts in and had to start over *face palm*
Thanks for sharing your feedback Coll, so sorry about this! xx
I made these and they were fantastic!!
Actually we made them twice in one week bc they were so good!
Question, if I were to make the dough a day or two ahead of time, could I do the boil in baking soda part, put onto a cookie sheet all twisted up and salted, and then put in the fridge for a day and bake later?
Or would you store in the fridge as one lump of dough, and then twist and boil right before baking?
Thanks!
Hey Shelly,
Happy Monday!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well! You could twist and have them ready to go on the baking sheet and then boil and bake when you want to make them:) xT
Recipe looks great and I can’t wait to make these! Just wanted to clarify, I’m assuming the 3 quarts of water is to boil and not to add to the dough?
Hi Alicia,
Yes, that is correct:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT