recipe: soft pretzel bites

We all know how addicting Pinterest is.  I browse and pin while I'm feeding Callan, when I can't fall asleep at night, or when I am bored during down-time and don't feel like working on any of my many in-progress projects.

There are so many mouth-watering images {and recipes} floating around on Pinterest - sometimes I just can't pin fast enough.  You know how it is. 

'Fall is coming...fall flavors...mmm...pumpkin!  Pumpkin cupcakes, PIN.  Pumpkin muffins, PIN.  Pumpkin cinnamon rolls, PIN.  Pumpkin....'

Yea, that's seriously how it goes. 

Anyways, I love soft pretzels - especially the big ones you get at a stadium.  So Yum.  When I found this recipe for soft pretzel bites, it was only a matter of time before I got to pretzel-making in the kitchen.

{ source and recipe }

Here's, pretty much, my pretzel making experience.  In pictures.

{ dough, before rising for an hour }

{ dough, after rising for an hour }

{ dough rolled out into 1" ropes and cut into bite-sized pieces }

{ lightly salted pretzel bites }

{ cinnamon and sugar pretzel bites }

They turned out quite tasty!  I modified the original recipe minimally.  Instead of using 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, I used 1 1/2 c. all purpose, and 1 c. whole wheat.  (I'd probably stick to the original recipe next time, though.)  These were best still warm, where they had a bit of crunch to the outer layer and a soft, chewy center.  A few of these bites were a delightful afternoon snack!