Everything Pretzel Sriracha Cheese Sticks

Everything Pretzel Sriracha Cheese Sticks

       

        You didn't come here to read my ramblings, and I actually remembered to take step by step pictures this time, so I'll just get on with the recipe. Besides, you don't need my to convince you that this is a good recipe. How could it not be good?

Le dough

Le cheese...Don't play with your food folks.

Le Sriracha

Cut into strips

Wrap strips around cheese sticks 

Look at the sweet little pigs, er...dairy in blankets. 

Boil them in the alkaline water (which it what makes them pretzels rather than, oh I don't know...breadsticks?). Egg wash, then sprinkle liberally with the everything spice mix.

 I couldn't stop taking pictures of the volcanic cheese.

 The finished product, just waiting to be torn open for the sake of food porn.

 Improved still by a homemade ranch to dip it in.

Everything Pretzel Sriracha Cheese Sticks

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 T brown sugar
• 2 1/4 tsps. active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2-4 T Sriracha
• 16 cheese sticks (I used 1/2 cheddar and 1/2 mozz, but you can use whatever kind you like)
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 egg

Everything Spice Mix

• 3 T toasted white sesame seeds
• 2 T poppy seeds
• 2 tsp dried onion
• 2 tsp granulated garlic
• 2 tsp coarse salt

Instructions:

1. Combine the water, brown sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Allow the yeast to bloom, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the melted butter, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and flour to the mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Increase speed to 2 and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 3-4 minutes.
3. Move the dough to a bowl coated with olive oil and turn over once to coat the dough ball. Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough in half and roll into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. 
6. Spread about 1-2 T of the Sriracha on the dough. Cut the dough widthwise into 6-8 strips about 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide. Wrap the dough around the cheese sticks with the sriracha side facing inward. Seal at both ends. 
7. Boil the pretzels in the baking soda water, 1-2 at a time for 30 seconds on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon an place on a greased baking sheet. Beat the egg with a fork, then brush the top of each cheese stick with it. Sprinkle each one generously with the everything mix.
8. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the pretzels are golden brown. Serve with ranch.

Ranch

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 T finely diced onion
• 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 T buttermilk
• 1 tsp dried parsley

Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix 'em up!

Levain-ish Cookies

Fat Dark Chocolate Cookies

      I don't know about you, but when I make cookies, I view the amount of chocolate chips the recipe calls for as a suggestion. If an extra two cups happens to fall in, no harm, no foul. Or sometimes, I just change what goes into the cookies completely. That's how I end up with cookies like these:

Caramel Cadbury Egg stuffed

Oodles of white chocolate chunks

And peanut butter stuffed Oreo stuffed...

      All of these have the same base recipe, what you add to your batch is up to you. 

Chocolate Cookie Dough

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups whatever kind of chocolate chip you prefer / Cadbury eggs / Oreos / Nutella / anything you want

1. Preheat oven to 410 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.
3. Slowly add in cocoa, flours, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt with the mixer on low. Mix just until combined. Gently stir in chocolate chips with a spoon or spatula.
4. Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes.
5. Place 4.5 oz dough balls on greased or parchment lined baking sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart.
6. Bake for about 10-11 minutes, or until the surface is dry and cookies look almost set. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.