Description
Delicious homemade mozzarella-stuffed pretzel bites with a perfectly golden crust, featuring soft pizza dough wrapped around melted mozzarella cheese. These bite-sized treats are boiled in baking soda water before baking to achieve the classic pretzel texture and are served warm with marinara sauce for dipping.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Pretzel Bites
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1 lb. store-bought or homemade pizza dough, room temperature
- 8 mozzarella cheese sticks, frozen and halved crosswise
- 1 large egg, beaten to blend
- Pretzel or flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
For Serving
- Marinara sauce, for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare boiling water: Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Fill a large pot with 10 cups of water and stir in the baking soda. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil over high heat to prepare for boiling the pretzel bites.
- Roll and assemble pretzel bites: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pizza dough into a 15-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Use a pizza cutter to divide the dough into 12 even rectangles. Place a frozen half mozzarella stick in the center of each rectangle. Wrap the dough securely around the cheese, crimping and pressing to seal it well to prevent leakage during cooking.
- Boil the pretzel bites: Working in batches, carefully drop the stuffed dough pieces into the boiling baking soda water. Boil them until they float to the surface and start to puff up, approximately 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the boiled pretzel bites onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Brush and season: Brush each pretzel bite with the beaten egg wash, then sprinkle generously with pretzel or flaky sea salt to enhance flavor and texture.
- Bake to golden perfection: Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake the pretzel bites until they turn a beautiful golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Allow them to cool slightly before serving.
- Serve: Arrange the pretzel bites on a platter and serve warm alongside marinara sauce for dipping.
Notes
- Ensure the mozzarella sticks are frozen before wrapping to prevent cheese from oozing out during boiling.
- Sealing the dough tightly around the cheese is crucial to avoid bursting in the boiling water.
- Use baking soda in the boiling water to achieve the traditional pretzel crust texture and color.
- If you prefer, substitute marinara with your favorite dipping sauce like mustard or cheese sauce.
- Let pretzel bites cool slightly before serving to avoid burns from hot melted cheese.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 pretzel bites
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 500mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 9g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
