Soft Pretzel Bites with Champagne Honey Mustard Dip
These Soft Pretzel Bites are chewy, pillowy, and absolutely addicting. They’re also the perfect dippable size for the sweet and tangy Champagne Honey Mustard Dip.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The bite-sized soft pretzels are a fun way to serve up a party food everyone loves!
- The champagne honey mustard dip is sweet and tangy and the caramelized shallots add a unique twist to a familiar dip.
- It has champagne in it! I mean, come on.
Recipe Ingredients
Pretzel Bites – The dough for the pretzel bites is simple and easy to put together. The key is allowing it to mix long enough to form the gluten structure so that you end up with perfectly chewy pretzel bites. You can knead by hand but a stand mixer with a dough hook will make things much easier.
Shallots & Garlic – These aromatics add flavor and bulk to the dip. Caramelizing the shallots in some of the champagne deepens the flavor of the entire dip.
Honey – Honey and mustard just go together like perfect companions. In general, I prefer to use local honey but any honey will do.
Dijon Mustard – Dijon Mustard adds the much-needed tang and it rounds out the flavors. It also adds richness to the dip.
Champagne – This is the fun ingredient! But, it also serves a purpose. When caramelizing the shallots it will help to deepen the caramelization and speed it along. Then, after the shallots are caramelized, the champagne can be used to deglaze the pan and get up all those flavor morsels stuck to the bottom of the pan.
I buy the small 187 ml-sized bottles of California Champagne for this recipe. The size of one bottle is just about right for how much is needed.
How To Make Soft Pretzel Bites with Champagne Honey Mustard Dip
Note: Full list of ingredients, their amounts, and instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
Step 1:
Add the yeast and sugar to the warm water and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes until it becomes frothy.
Step 2:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, sugar, and salt and mix together. Add the yeast water and melted butter and stir on low for 5 minutes. The dough should be tacky but not sticky. If it is too sticky to handle, add a bit more flour.
Step 3:
Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Place it into a lightly oiled bowl. Rotate the dough ball all around until the entire surface is lightly coated. Cover with a towel and place somewhere it can rest undisturbed for about 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
Step 4:
Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 8 roughly equal pieces and shape them into balls. Allow them to rest for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, move one of the racks in the oven to the center position and the second rack to 2 levels below it. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Also, begin heating the water in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat.
Step 5:
Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
Roll one of the dough balls out into a roughly 16-inch rope. Cut the rope into 1-inch sections. Lightly flour the dough pieces and toss, then move them to one of the parchment-lined baking sheets. Continue until all of the dough is cut into pieces.
Step 6
Once all of the dough is cut and the water has come to a gentle boil, pour the baking soda into the water. Then, dump some of the dough pieces in and boil for 30 seconds. You’ll want to work in batches so that the pretzel pieces aren’t in the water too long which can result in an odd flavor.
After 30 seconds, move the pieces out onto the second parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue until all of the dough pieces have been boiled. You’ll want there to be a bit of space between each pretzel bite so you’ll need to spread the pieces out onto both baking sheets to bake.
Step 7:
Using a pastry or silicone brush, brush each piece with the egg wash. Then, sprinkle each one with coarse kosher salt or pretzel salt.
Step 8:
Place one baking sheet on each rack in the oven. Bake for about 8 minutes then rotate which rack the baking sheets are on and bake for another 7 to 8 minutes or until they are deeply golden brown.
Step 9:
While the pretzel bites are baking, begin making the Champagne Honey Mustard Dip. Heat the butter in a pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Then, add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Step 10:
Then, pour in 1/4 cup of the champagne to deglaze the pan and help caramelize the shallots. Continue cooking for another 10 minutes, stirring often, until the shallots are deeply browned.
Step 11:
Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the rest of the champagne. Then, add the honey and the mustard and stir it all together.
Step 12:
Serve and enjoy!
Items You May Need
Stand Mixer
Baking Sheets
Steel Scraper
Steel Spider
Tips & Tricks
- Allow the dough plenty of time to rise and rest. This will make it much easier to work with.
- The baking soda water is the key to getting that “pretzely” taste without having to use lye so it is a crucial step.
- However, make sure you only boil each batch for about 30 seconds. If you cook the bites in the baking soda water for too long, it can result in an odd taste.
Storage & Reheating
Store the pretzel bites in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
To warm them back up place them on a baking sheet and bake for 3 to 5 minutes in a 300 degree F oven.
Keep the honey mustard dip in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
The dip can be reheated on the stove over medium-low heat until warmed through. It can also be microwaved but it should be done in short 10 second bursts and mixed between each one.
Other Appetizers You’ll Love
Sweet and Savory Ham and Gruyére Puff Pastry Twists
Crispy Oven Fried Zucchini Chips
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Soft Pretzel Bites with Champagne Honey Mustard Dip
Equipment
Ingredients
Pretzel Bites
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast one packet
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups warm water 110 degrees F
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour spoon and level
- 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 10 cups water
- 1/3 cup baking soda
- 1 large egg beaten
- Coarse Kosher salt or pretzel salt
Champagne Honey Mustard Dip
- 5 shallots minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup champagne divided
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup dijon mustard
Instructions
Make the Pretzels
- Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar to the warm (110 degree F) water. Mix and set aside for about 5 minutes or until it becomes frothy.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flour, salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Add the yeast water and melted butter.
- Mix the dough for 5 minutes. The dough should be tacky but not sticky to touch. If it feels sticky, add a bit more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Scoop the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and rotate all around to coat the entire thing in oil. Cover with a towel and leave to rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- Once the dough has risen, move one of the oven racks to the middle position and the other rack to 2 spots below it. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and begin heating the water in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat.
- Deflate the dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 8 roughly equal pieces. Allow the dough to rest for another 10 minutes.
- Then, roll one dough ball into a rope until it is about 16 inches long. Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to cut 1-inch sections. Lightly toss the pieces in flour and transfer them to one of the lined baking sheets.
- When all of the dough has been cut into 1-inch pieces and the water has come to a gentle boil, pour the baking soda into the water. Then, working in batches, add some of the pretzel dough pieces to the water and boil for 30 seconds. Do not over-boil!
- Remove the pieces to the second lined baking sheet and continue until all the dough has been boiled. Spread the pretzel pieces to both lined baking sheets so that there is room between each piece.
- Brush each piece with the egg wash. Then sprinkle each one with some of the coarse kosher salt or pretzel salt.
- Bake with one baking sheet on each rack in the oven for 8 minutes. Then, rotate the sheets and bake another 7 to 8 minutes or until the pretzel bites are deeply golden brown.
Champagne Honey Mustard Dip
- While the pretzels are in the oven, begin heating the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute.
- Pour in 1/4 cup of the champagne and stir to combine, scraping up any bits off the bottom of the pan. Allow the shallots to sauté another 10 minutes, stirring often, until they are deeply browned.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the second half of the champagne.
- Then, add the honey and the dijon mustard. Stir until it all comes together.
- Serve the pretzels and dip warm or at room temperature.
I made this as a side for a pretzel party – all I could find in the 187 mL bottles was brut. I hope that works ok? Do you use a specific champagne type?
Ooh, a pretzel party sounds wonderful! I typically use Korbel California Champagne which is a brut so that would be just fine to use in this recipe.
I love that you convert the serving size recipe for me in advance. There is nothing worse than messing up the measurements on recipe ingredients when attempting smaller or larger batches.
Thank you!!
Oh, so glad to hear that’s helpful!!