perfectly poppable pretzel bites;

It’s been a crazy week, guys, and sometimes you just need some comforting pretzel bites to snack on. I work full time as a software engineer and I’ve been working on getting a release out. There’s been a lot of hard work put in by myself and my team, and also a lot of stress that comes with it. I enjoy the logical and productive side of coding, for sure. But I also love the creative side that I get to showcase in the kitchen and on this blog! And I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen this weekend because I have some fun things planned for the blog. I won’t give it all away, but…

First up — new recipe cards! The new format is easier to read, and you might have noticed that little handy“jump to recipe” button. It’s at the top of the page if you missed it, and it’ll take you right to the good stuff.

To provide a little background — the format of the original recipe cards was for printing and storing into postcard plastic-sleeves. I kept the sleeves in binders for easy organizing and flipping through. Fast forward a few years, and I find I honestly use the site more than my physical recipe binders now. But check out the new and improved recipe card for these poppable pretzel bites at the bottom of this post!

I still love the organization system I came up with for my binders, but let’s be real. I haven’t been consistently printing recipes out for a while now. Who’s got a printer, ink, and that much time? And the biggest turnoff is shuffling all the cards to get them in alphabetical order whenever I print a new one. Each plastic sleeve holds 4 recipe cards, so that’s a lot of shuffling — not quite as easy as the traditional recipe card box.

But I do like having the recipes in sleeves to help keep them safe from baking spills and splashes! These days when I or my partner make dinner, we pull the recipe up on our tablet or phone and that’s the truth. So I wanted to make them easier for you — and me!— to read.

This new format lets me expand on some things I haven’t had space to. Separating prep/cook/wait times, and quick and easy pin buttons if you want to come back to the recipe later. But of course, there’s still a print option because I know some people like to print and have physical copies! I’m usually one of those people, but surprisingly I’ve found it matters less and less to me these days. Plus I think the new format is pretty. =] Of course there are a lot of recipes to convert … so please bear with me while I work on updating them all!

How are you all doing at home? Since coronavirus is here to stay for a while, we’ve adjusted to our new norm, but it can still get me down sometimes. And when I need comfort, my go to is pretty much carbs. And pretzels are one of those things that sometimes I just CRAVE. There’s nothing quite like a fresh baked chewy pretzel.

Anyone notice the mall pretzels getting more and more expensive? But , after making these guys a couple times, I kinda get it. You have to make the dough, let it rise, and then — boil AND bake them to get the chewiness. I don’t begrudge anyone who wants to skip those steps and jump straight to the deliciousness.

But if you have some patience and are willing to provide a little elbow grease, you can make delicious pretzel bites at home. Which has the the added bonus of no crowded malls! (Speaking of which, have you been to a mall lately? We recently stopped by a typically packed mall to grab takeout and the emptiness was super eerie.) Besides, now that I’m home more, I don’t mind the waiting time for rising as much.

Plus, sometimes pretzels are just a vessel for cheese sauce — I’ll be sharing a cheese sauce recipe soon! The two make the perfect pair, although you can serve pretzels with whatever dipping sauces you like. If you can’t wait, just use mustard or ranch or blue cheese, or beer! Okay, beer isn’t a sauce, but pretzels and beer do go together 🙂 Or just go with tasty pretzel bites themselves. Can’t go wrong no matter what you choose!

Looking for some amazing sauces or dips to pair these pretzels with?

• These pretzel bites would go amazingly with Caramelized Onion Bacon Dip to make a hearty appetizer.
• We served pretzel bites with this Cheddar Pepper Popcorn at our beer tasting housewarming party back in the day. Check out the link to read more and grab the recipe.
• Check back later – I’ll be sharing a white cheddar cheese sauce recipe soon!