Salted Caramel Pretzel Bites

These Salted Caramel Pretzel Bites are so good for those sweet snacks craving. The salted caramel glazed over the soft pretzels is my favorite!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword pretzels recipe

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 25

Total Time 1 10

Servings

Calories 397kcal

Author sanna

Large Baking Pans perfect for putting 40 pretzels bites in each pan (affiliate link)
Large metal strainer for dipping the pretzels in the soda bath (affiliate link)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, about 1 tsp of the brown sugar and ¼ cup of the warm water. Let this sit for about 5 minutes, until thick and frothy.
Add the remaining brown sugar and water, the butter, and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Add 3 cups of the all-purpose flour. Using the dough hook attachment, start to mix the dough using low speed, then increasing gradually until all the flour has been mixed in.
Add 1 cup of flour. Knead until the dough starts to clean the sides of the bowl, about 6-9 minutes.
If the dough is still sticky, add more flour gradually in small amounts. The dough is ready when it cleans the sides of the bowl, and you can stretch it thinly without breaking right away (aka the windowpane test). Do not add too much flour. The should be soft, elastic and smooth, not dry.
Allow the dough to rest for 10-20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 ℉. Line 2 large baking pans (affiliate links) with greased parchment paper or silicon mats. Meanwhile, prepare your soda water bath.

Combine water and baking soda in a large pot. Bring it to a boil over medium heat and maintain a steady simmer.

Turn the dough over onto a very lightly floured surface. Divide it into 4 portions. Roll each portion into a 23-25 inches long rope. Cut 1 ½ inches portions from each rope. You can make about 70-80 pieces.
Place 10 pretzels in a metal strainer like this one. Dip the strainer into the water bath for 10-15 seconds. Then lift and drain. Put the pretzels pieces into 2 large baking pans that are either lined with silicon mats or parchment paper. These ones are perfect for putting 40 in each (affiliate link).

Bake the pretzels (probably one pan at a time), for 12 minutes, or until golden and puffy. When baking one pan at a time, cover the other pan with plastic film or a lint free towel.

In a small or saucepan, add the sugar. Melt the sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it turns into amber colored liquid. I like to use low to medium heat here, so the sugar melts uniformly and not too dark. Add the butter and stir immediately. The mixture will sizzle so much so be careful. The oil may start to separate for a while, just lower the heat even more and stir until there are no clumps.
Add the heavy cream in a slow steady stream while constantly stirring. This will bubble up, like really big bubbles. Allow it to cook for about half a minute, turn off heat then stir in the salt until dissolved. This will be a runny liquid at this point but it will thicken up as it cools.
Transfer the caramel to a spouted container. You can either drizzle it over the pretzels or keep it on the side as a dip. I prefer the drizzle option if you are serving to a crowd. If you have potential for leftovers (serving just at home) then use the caramel as a dip.

Leftovers. Keep glazed pretzels in a covered container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Refrigerate for longer storage.
Re-heating. To re-heat, pop them in the microwave for 8 seconds or so.
Freezing/ Make Ahead. You can freeze the pretzel dough after the kneading. Wrap it in plastic film then in foil, or in freezer bags. To use, thaw completely and allow to come to room temperature. Proceed by starting with the shaping and soda bath step.