Happy New Year, Y'all!

Oh, 2012. What a year we have in store! Handsome Boyfriend’s graduation, the Mayan end of organic life on Earth and many hours of baking for us at Mademoiselles Miam.

This year I threw a Zelda-themed New Year’s Eve party. It was unintentional, but the boys played Zelda straight through the end of 2011 and bravely wielded the Master Sword in the face of the new 2012. 

This is Franklin, Handsome Boyfriend’s best friend and a prominent Zelda warrior. What can you do but feed a face like that?

And that, my friends, is exactly what I did. 

Let’s talk about party food. Particularly, let’s talk about party food for many hungry, wii-mote-wielding boys. Solution:

Mmm. Pretzel bites.

They take a bit of preparation, but they are soft, doughy, salty and delicious. And they were gone faster than you can say Skyward Sword. 

Ready?

Soft Pretzel Bites

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 package active dry yeast

3 ounces unsalted butter, melted

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt.

4 cups all-purpose flour

Vegetable oil

3 quarts water

3/4 cup baking soda

1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water

Coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. Combine the water, sugar, yeast and butter in a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer (dough hook) until combined.

2. Let sit for 5 minutes.

3. Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and knead the dough until it is smooth.

4. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a flat surface. Knead the dough into a ball.

5. Lightly coat the dough ball with oil and place in a bowl. Cover with a clean towel and let sit until the dough doubles in size, or roughly 1 hour.

6. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

7. Bring water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat.

8. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a large rope measuring roughly 22 inches and shape. 

9. Cut the dough into one-inch pieces to make the pretzel bites.

10. Add the baking soda to the boiling water.

11. Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches, removing them with a slatted spoon after roughly 30 seconds and placing them on a greased cookie sheet.

12. Brush the tops of the pretzel bites with the egg wash and season with sea salt. Make sure that the pretzel bites are not touching! Bake the pretzel bites in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.

— Alyssa