It’s that time of year again. No more family Christmas parties with your crazy Uncle Lou who makes inappropriate remarks after a few glasses of Granny’s homemade nog. The presents are opened & carols all sung. You’ve convinced yourself that the tree and lights can stay up while you do absolutely nothing for a few days. This is the magical time of year when pretty much the only thing on TV is football. College bowl games and NFL playoffs are kicking into high gear. It’s time for lazy afternoons parked on your caboose with friends who don’t care that you are wearing your ratty sweatpants. Friends who totally understand that you must wear elastic waistbands due to the obscene number of holiday treats you’ve been eating for the past month. No judging. Just more eating. And football. A great time of year indeed.
These little morsels of puffy heavenly goodness are perfect for watching the game. Make a couple batches cause they’re gonna go quickly. I realized as I was letting the dough rise that I needed to crank up my heat a little in the house for anything to happen. I know. I’m sick. What can I say? I’m my father’s daughter. Usually the house is between 65-67. I put on a sweater (and socks, and slippers, and possibly a hat) if I’m cold. Unfortunately, I can’t put a fleece or fuzzy socks on these little babies to make them warm up and get bigger so I had to crank up the thermostat. As an aside, why is it in April when it hits 55 folks head out in shorts? But those same people complain that my house is an arctic wasteland at a balmy 67 degrees?
Total tangent there. Sorry. Back to these pretzel bites. Roll these in cinnamon/sugar if you have a sweet tooth or in garlic salt and parmesan cheese if you’re a savory. I made both. Does that make me a sweevory? If you cannot find Rhodes frozen rolls, you could always make this with your favorite basic dough recipe. I just love love love how quickly these perfect bites come together using pre-made dough.
When they came out of the oven, it was all I could do not to eat both piles all myself. I let my kids help and they vanished in about 30 seconds. I can’t decide which kind I like better. They were both unbelievably good. Just typing this post makes me want to whip up another batch. Or lick my computer screen…possibly both.
PRETZEL BITES
(from get off your butt and bake)
Texas size Rhodes Frozen roll dough
*as many as you like – each roll makes four bites
coarse salt, parmesan, garlic, cinnamon & sugar
Vanilla glaze/Cheese Sauce/Marinara (optional)
Take a thawed roll. Cut it in four equal sections. Place dough bites on greased sheets. Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, and let dough rise until double in size. (about 35-45 minutes)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. When dough has risen, plop about 10 pieces into the boiling water, tossing gently for about 45 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon, and place bites on paper towels to drain slightly. Move bites to greased baking sheets, and bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until done and golden brown.
Brush bites with melted butter, sprinkle with garlic salt and toss in Parmesan cheese. For cinnamon sugar bites, make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar: About 1 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, and mix together well. After you butter the pretzel bites, toss in cinnamon and sugar mixture.
You can serve the Parmesan Pretzel Bites with a cheddar dip or marinara sauce and the Cinnamon and Sugar Pretzel Bites with vanilla glaze.
VANILLA GLAZE
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract.
Combine sugar, milk, butter and vanilla and mix well.
CHEDDAR DIP
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 1/2 to 2 cups of grated Cheddar Cheese.
Melt the butter in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir until blended, and butter has turned lightly golden brown. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thickened slightly. Remove from heat and stir in the Cheddar Cheese until smooth and all of the cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper. Shake a few red pepper flakes into sauce for added zing!
PRETZEL BITES
(from get off your butt and bake)
Texas size Rhodes Frozen roll dough
*as many as you like – each roll makes four bites
coarse salt, parmesan, garlic, cinnamon & sugar
Vanilla glaze/Cheese Sauce/Marinara (optional)
Take a thawed roll. Cut it in four equal sections. Place dough bites on greased sheets. Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, and let dough rise until double in size. (about 35-45 minutes)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. When dough has risen, plop about 10 pieces into the boiling water, tossing gently for about 45 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon, and place bites on paper towels to drain slightly. Move bites to greased baking sheets, and bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until done and golden brown.
Brush bites with melted butter, sprinkle with garlic salt and toss in Parmesan cheese. For cinnamon sugar bites, make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar: About 1 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, and mix together well. After you butter the pretzel bites, toss in cinnamon and sugar mixture.
You can serve the Parmesan Pretzel Bites with a cheddar dip or marinara sauce and the Cinnamon and Sugar Pretzel Bites with vanilla glaze.
VANILLA GLAZE
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract.
Combine sugar, milk, butter and vanilla and mix well.
CHEDDAR DIP
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 1/2 to 2 cups of grated Cheddar Cheese.
Melt the butter in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir until blended, and butter has turned lightly golden brown. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thickened slightly. Remove from heat and stir in the Cheddar Cheese until smooth and all of the cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper. Shake a few red pepper flakes into sauce for added zing!
Bakerlady 