Hot Soft Pretzels Filled With Cream Cheese Food

PRETZELS WITH CHEESE FILLING

Steps:

• In large bowl, stir flour, yeast, salt and sugar with whisk. Add 1 cup warm water; stir to combine, slowly adding additional water as necessary to make dough easy to handle.
• Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with oil. Place dough bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray; let rise in warm place about 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
• Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together all of the filling ingredients.
• Heat oven to 425°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Using floured rolling pin, roll to 16x12-inch rectangle. Using pizza cutter, cut dough crosswise into 8 (2- x 12-inch) strips. Spoon cheese mixture down center of each dough strip. Press dough over filling, pinching edges and ends to seal. Gently press or roll each rope to 15-inch length.
• To make pretzel shape, form each rope into U shape. Twist ends twice. Overlap twisted ends to form X shape; press together where dough touches. Pick ends up and place on rounded portion of U shape. Tuck one end under dough; place other end on top of dough.
• In medium microwavable bowl, microwave 2 cups water on High 2 minutes or until hot. Add baking soda; stir until dissolved. Dip each pretzel, one at a time, into water mixture. Immediately remove from water with large pancake turner; place on cooling rack. Let stand at room temperature, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir egg and 1 tablespoon water with fork. Brush pretzels with egg mixture; sprinkle with sea salt. Carefully transfer to cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on cooling rack, about 10 minutes. Serve warm or cool completely.

HOMEMADE SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
• Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
• In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
• Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

ALMOST-FAMOUS SOFT PRETZELS

Steps:

• Make the pretzels: Warm the milk in a saucepan until it's about 110 degrees; pour into a medium bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let the yeast soften, about 2 minutes; stir in the brown sugar and 1 cup flour with a wooden spoon. Dice 2 tablespoons butter and soften; stir into the mix. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and the fine salt to make a sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if needed, until smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and grease a large baking sheet. Punch the dough to deflate it, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. (If the dough seems tight, cover and let rest until it relaxes.) Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Roll and stretch each piece with the palms of your hands into a 30-inch rope, holding the ends and slapping the middle of the rope on the counter as you stretch. Form each rope into a pretzel shape.
• Dissolve the baking soda in 3 cups warm water in a shallow baking dish. Gently dip each pretzel in the soda solution, then arrange on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with the coarse salt. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Prepare the sauce: Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, brown sugar and vinegar in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.
• Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in a shallow dish. Dip the hot pretzels in the butter, turning to coat; place on a wire rack to let excess butter drip off. Serve the pretzels warm with the sweet mustard sauce.
• Illustration by Jason Lee

DISNEY WORLD SOFT PRETZELS WITH CREAM CHEESE FILLING RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• Pretzel Dough Directions: Place hot water and sugar in a small bowl. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Mix in the yeast and let sit 5 minutes. Combine the salt and flour in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the yeast liquid. Mix on low for 30 seconds with an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Continue to beat on medium speed until sides pull away from the bowl. If dough is still sticky, add more flour (1 tablespoon at a time). Transfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth. Place into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put it in a warm area and let rise until doubled. Punch dough down and divide into 16 even pieces. Roll one piece of dough at a time into 18-inch strips. (If you wish to make cream cheese-filled pretzels, stop here and follow the instructions below before proceeding.) Twist into a pretzel shape. Fill a large pot with 2-inches of water. Stir in baking soda and heat on medium-high. Place pretzels into water and poach 1 minute. Remove from water and place onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush pretzels with beaten egg and sprinkle on toppings. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven. Serve hot with mustard or cheese dip. Filling Directions: Mix with electric mixer until creamy. Spoon filling into a gallon-size freezer bag and snip off the corner to make an icing bag. To fill pretzels, follow dough directions above until you have an 18-inch strip of dough. Roll the strip flat with a rolling pin until it is 1-inch wide. Squeeze a thin strip of icing down the center of the dough strip. Fold the ends over each other to seal in icing. Twist into pretzel shapes. Continue with the poaching step as shown above in the directions.