Satisfy all the requirements for perfect appetizer food with Bacon and Cheese Pretzel Bites. These soft pretzel cheese bombs will be the hit of any sports themed parties.
Compensation was provided by Gallo Family Vineyards via Sunday Supper, LLC. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Gallo Family Vineyards.
The Big Game is only a week away and folks, it’s really time to stop slacking off and get your menu planned. I know it’s a day full of eating appetizer based food and seriously what can be better than that? However the same dips, chips and wings year after year can get pretty boring. It’s time to spice things up, change your game, and bring your favorite stadium food home in a fancy version.
For the second year in a row #SundaySupper is having our “Supper Bowl” with Gallo Family Vineyards. Since I convinced you last year that wine does belong at the table with finger foods, I don’t really need to do it again, do I?
No, I didn’t think I did. Wine is just as important part of the experience as other beverages. I mean, we all know how well the crisp white wines like Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio go with spicy food – which tends to show up on game day menus. In case you didn’t, white wines have that nice fruity acidity that calm down your taste buds when you accidentally grab a wing from the triple xxx fire batch instead of mild. I promise your taste buds will thank you.
Wine also goes with cheese and so clearly it’s a natural pairing.
It’s rare for me to attend live sporting events but when I do there are two smells that always seem to take over – those giant soft pretzels and that horrible fake bright yellow nacho cheese.
You know what I’m talking about – mustard is good and all but dipping those pretzels in some gooey nacho cheese sauce is what hits the spot. I thought to myself what if we combined the two (except with real cheese) into a bite sized pretzel cheese bomb?
It’s the best surprise ever! What you think you’ve got is a soft pretzel but hidden inside is melted cheese and bits of bacon – because everything is better with bacon!
The pretzels take work to put together but the payoff is worth it and it’s customizable to your cheese of choice and that bacon can be left out if you have vegetarians in house.
Also because I adore you so, I’ve given you the “I don’t want to put so much effort into it” version with big bacon and cheese pretzels! Not so bite sized but still the same great taste. Did I mention that everything can be made ahead of time? These guys are great toasted up if you want to bake them a few days ahead of time or you can even freeze the extras.
Are we all set for the Big Game now? Just in case my Bacon and Cheese Pretzel Bites and all the #SundaySupper recipes today don’t do the trick Gallo has you covered for Football Finger Foods over on their blog and tips for hosting the big game!
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoons pure cane sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 ounces melted butter
- 1 1/4 cup warm water
- 6 slices cooked bacon, finely chopped
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
- water
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
- coarse sea or pretzel salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook combine the flour, sugar, salt and instant yeast. Mix on low to combine.
- Add the melted butter and turn the mixer on low speed pouring in the warm water. The dough should start to come together and form into a ball. Increase the speed to medium. If the dough is still dry, start to add more water about 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Knead the dough on medium speed for about 3-4 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be elastic and smooth.
- Remove from the bowl and form into a ball. Coat the mixing bowl with oil and add the dough ball back in. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a draft free warm spot for an hour or until it doubles in size.
- While the dough is rising, in a small bowl mix together the bacon, shredded cheese and cream cheese. Set aside.
- Once the dough is risen, punch it down and place on a well floured surface.
- Using a bench scraper, cut off about 1/8 section of the dough and roll into a rope 6 inches long. Using the bench scraper cut the rope into 6, 1 inch pieces.
- Roll each pieces into a ball and press an indent in the center with your thumb, place 1 teaspoon of cheese mix in the center of the ball, seal it up and roll it into sealed round with the palms of your hands. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Continue with remaining dough.
- While making the pretzels bring a large pot of water to boil with 2/3 cup of baking soda.
- If you want to make large pretzels instead of pretzel bites, take the 6 inch rope of dough and press it flat, fill it with cheese and then fold over to seal close. Form a U with the rope and then bring the ends over to make the pretzel shape.
- Once the water has come to a boil, drop the pretzels in (no more than 4 at a time for the small ones and 1-2 for the large ones) and boil for 30 seconds.
- Heat the oven to 450 degrees and brush the tops of each pretzel with a beaten egg yolk. Sprinkle sea or pretzel salt on top.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the pretzels are golden brown.
- There's a chance some cheese might explode and spill out but you can just push it back in or serve it with the cheese bubbling out.
Don’t forget to visit Gallo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and their website. Plus you’ll need their store locator to pick up your wine for Game Day!
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- Kicked Up Texas Caviar by Ruffles & Truffles
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- Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
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Just pass me the bucket so I can have all those cheese filled bites. Yum!
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Forget waiting until the big game, I want one of these NOW!! They look amazing!
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I can not get over how delicious this stuffed bread looks. I just died and went to bacon and cheese heaven. Pinned.
Pingback: Buffalo Chicken Loaded Baked Sweet Potato Fries - Cupcakes & Kale Chips
I seriously need these in my life! They look SO good!
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These are amazing, I would have a hard time not devouring every last one, bacon and cheese in the pretzel sounds divine!
Pingback: Spicy Stuffed Mushrooms #SundaySupper - Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
Oh, boy, I’d be hovering around that bowl of cheesy deliciousness! What a fantastic appetizer!!!
O-M-G! I think I am in love! Everything I love wrapped in a pretzel! Amazing!
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I just made homemade pretzels for the first time over the Fall and they were soooo good, and I paired with homemade cheese dip…but stuffing with bacon and cheese? OHMYGOSH, what a great idea!
There were so many delicious appetizers today, but I have to admit that yours is one of my favorites! Three cheers for stuffed pretzel bites!
I love love LOVE soft pretzels. I suck at making them but am a pro at eating them.
Ohhhhh yes! I love big soft pretzels with nacho cheese! I could eat that whole bucket of bites and then go after the big guy!!
I love this recipe! What a perfect gameday finger food!
Soft pretzels are the only thing I ever crave at any sporting event. Now as long as you promise to make some sans-bacon, our next brunch date must include these!
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If that doesn’t say game day I don’t know what does!
Oh man, we love soft pretzels in our house. I often serve them with cheese but my husband would drool over these bacon adn cheese pretzels.
These are the ultimate game day eats!
Oh my oh my oh my! These have earned a place on my OMG Food! Pinterest board!
These bad boys look insane…as in insanely GOOD!!!!
Pinned. Because I MUST have these!
A pretzel cheese bomb! Yessss! I always *think* I want a soft pretzel at sporting events, and then when I get one, I realize they are kind of crap. I’m spoiled with a friend who makes homemade soft pretzels, and really, nothing can bet homemade. I’m passing along this recipe to my friend to see if I can convince her to make me some of these. I’ll even provide the cheese 🙂
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