As one of our first projects in my 6th grade English class, my teacher assigned a decorated “Dreams Sheet” for homework, where we wrote down a few short- and long-term goals and colored the paper with crayons, to hang up for Back-to-School night. While filling out the bottom right corner, the idea of baseball popped into my head.
I walked up to my dad when he arrived home from work that night and revealed my big plan: I wanted to visit all 30 MLB stadiums around the country with him. He smiled and immediately responded, “So where do we start?”
I laid out a short list of rules (keep ticket stubs, stay for at least 5 innings, cheer for the home team—unless they were playing the A’s or Giants!), and we began traveling around the country during the summers. Some years we only visited one or two ballparks, one summer we hit five in 7 days, and last year, we decided to skip the airplanes and tried out season tickets for our home team instead.
We always arrive early to each game to watch batting practice and walk around the entire stadium while snapping photos from every level and angle to put in my MLB scrapbook. We also spend part of that unofficial tour scouting out the different food options.
Most ballparks offer something regional and fun: BBQ brisket in Arlington, sushi in Seattle, cheesesteaks in Philadelphia. Although we usually attempt to sample the more interesting options, sometimes the classic just sound good, which means a sausage or hot dog for Dad and a big salted pretzel with mustard for me.
Sometime during my early teenage years, Dad and I discovered the ice cream sundae helmet: chocolate, vanilla, or mixed soft-serve swirled into a small cup shaped like a helmet and stamped with the team’s logo. I became obsessed on the top and now search for the sundae helmets in every park we visit. My stack of 15+ at home constantly threatens to topple over!
Since MLB Spring Training starts this week (April and the regular season can’t come soon enough!), I decided to create a snack that combined my favorite ballpark treats of sweet ice cream and salty pretzels: these Caramel-Filled Pretzel Bites! They’re soft little pillows that are way too easy to sneak. Whenever I walked through the kitchen, I popped one, then another, then another until… Wait, half the tray disappeared?
We’ll use yeast to make the pretzel bites light and airy. Don’t be afraid! Yeast doughs are much easier than you think. Similar to baking powder or baking soda, we need the yeast because it creates air bubbles that lift the dough and give the pretzels their tender texture. Regular active dry and instant yeast both work.
For the sweet centers, I cut caramel candy into quarters—small enough to wrap the dough around, but big enough to give a buttery burst of caramel in every pretzel. They start to melt a little in the oven, turning gooey and sticky and even more irresistible. I highly recommend eating the pretzels while they’re still warm!
These wouldn’t taste like pretzels without the iconic baking soda bath, but I make mine a little differently than traditional recipes. As a klutz, I don’t like the idea of dipping dough into boiling water, so I heat water in the microwave instead, pour it into a bowl, and simply dip the pretzels into that. It’s much safer with fewer chances of burns!
Because of the high oven temperature and their small size, these bites bake really quickly, so don’t wander off! Pull them out when they’re starting to turn golden brown, and let them cool for a few minutes so you don’t burn your tongue on the caramel.
I think I lasted about 4 minutes before sampling the first one seven… How long did you manage to wait?
| Caramel-Filled Pretzel Bites | | Print |
- for the pretzels
- ½ c (120mL) warm water (about 100-110°F)
- 1 tsp (4g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp canola oil
- ¼ tsp (2g) salt
- 2 ¼ tsp (7g) yeast
- 1 ½ - 2 ½ c (180-300g) all-purpose flour
- 8 caramel squares (such as these)
- for the wash
- 2 tbsp (10g) baking soda
- 1 ½ c (360mL) hot water
- coarse sea salt
- To prepare the pretzels, stir together the water, sugar, oil, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the yeast, and let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes or until frothy. Mix in the flour, ½ cup at a time, until a dough forms that begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead for 3-5 minutes or until the dough springs back most of the way when you gently press your index finger into it. Let the dough rest while completing the next step.
- Line a baking sheet with foil, and generously coat with nonstick cooking spray. Slice the caramel squares into quarters.
- Evenly divide the dough into 32 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll it into a ball, flatten, and place a caramel piece in the center. Fold the dough over the caramel, pinch to seal, and roll into a ball. Place the dough onto a well-floured surface while filling the rest of the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. To prepare the wash, add the baking soda to a medium bowl, and pour in the hot water. Stir to fully dissolve the baking soda.
- Working with 2-3 pretzel bites at a time, place them onto a slotted spatula or spoon, and briefly dip them into the wash. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
- Bake the pretzel bites at 400°F for 7-8 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on the pan for at least 5 minutes.
{low fat, low calorie}
More pretzel bite recipes from other food bloggers…
♥ Auntie Anne’s Copycat Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites by Cooking Classy
♥ Pumpkin Spice Sugar Pretzel Bites by A Zesty Bite
♥ Cheese Stuffed Pretzel Bites with Rosemary Salt by In Salt Monkey Slippers
♥ Pumpkin Pretzel Bites by Something Swanky
Just made these. Have a house full of people and everyone loved them!! They were gone in less than 3 minutes and now I am making a double batch at everyone’s request! Thank you for sharing such a creative recipe!
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them Bex! That’s quite the compliment if they disappeared that quickly — thank you for sharing that! 🙂
I made this recipe 2x’s. The first time I followed your recipe exactly, and they were ok. The second time I doubled the recipe- made 32 bites ( a little bigger) used a whole carmel and raised the oven temp to 450. I baked them for about 12 minutes. I like them much better that way. They were crusty on the outside and still soft on the inside. I also like having a little more carmel to taste.
I’m glad you were able to tweak the recipe to fit your tastes Brooke! 🙂
Looks delicious! I can’t wait to try them. I know you said either yeast would work, but which one did you use? I want the best results possible (I’m making these for a dinner party) Thanks in advance!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Cacey! That means the world to me that you’d want to make these for a dinner party! 🙂 I almost exclusively use Red Star Yeast’s quick rise yeast, and that’s what I used for these pretzel bites as well. I can’t wait to hear what you think if you try making them!