Hot Soft Pretzels Filled With Cream Cheese Recipes

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.

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.

Steps:

• For the pimiento cheese: To the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, add the cheese, mayonnaise, pimientos, relish, onion powder, a pinch of salt, pepper and a few dashes hot sauce, if using. Blend until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a bowl and set aside or cover and hold in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• For the pretzels: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Roll out the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface into an approximate 14-by-12-inch rectangle. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut lengthwise into 2 1/2- to 3-inch strips. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the pimiento cheese down the center of each strip. Brush the strips on both sides of the pimiento cheese with the egg wash. Bring the sides of each strip up around the spread and crimp it closed using the tines of a fork. Tie each strip into a pretzel-shaped knot and place them on a baking sheet. Place in the refrigerator until ready to boil.
• Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Very slowly add the baking soda and stir until dissolved. Using a spider or slotted spoon, dip each pretzel in the boiling mixture for about 30 seconds each, then place on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Once all the pretzels are dipped, brush them with the beaten egg and sprinkle them with salt.
• Bake until the pretzels are a deep golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with spicy mustard.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. In small bowl, mix Filling ingredients; set aside. Line large cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. Unroll dough onto lightly floured surface; roll into 14x12-inch rectangle. Using pizza cutter, cut dough lengthwise into 4 strips.
• Spoon about 1/4 cup of the filling onto long edge of each dough strip. Stretch dough over filling; brush edges with water, and pinch to seal. Pick up ends of filled dough, and stretch to make 24-inch rope.
• To make pretzel shape, form each rope into U shape. Twist ends twice. Press down where dough overlaps in an "X" to hold shape. Pick up ends and fold over so they rest over bottom of U shape.
• In medium microwavable bowl, microwave 2 cups water uncovered on High about 2 minutes or until hot. Add baking soda; stir until dissolved. Dip each pretzel, 1 at a time, into water mixture. Immediately remove from water with large pancake turner; let stand about 5 minutes. In small bowl, beat egg and 1 tablespoon water with whisk; brush pretzels with egg mixture.
• Place pretzels on cookie sheet; sprinkle with salt. Bake 11 to 15 minutes or until tops of pretzels are dark golden brown. Serve with salsa.