Caramelized Apple + Cheddar Cheese Soft Pretzels with Apple Cider Dipping Sauce {Guest Post}
ShareA recipe for soft homemade pretzels, stuffed with caramelized apples and cheddar cheese. These sweet and savory pretzels are paired with a sweet apple cider dipping sauce. A great snack for a Fall day.
GUEST POST: Caramelized apple and cheddar cheese soft pretzels with apple cider dipping sauce by Half Baked Harvest
Hi Everyone,
I’m Tieghan from Half Baked Harvest and I could not be more excited to be included in Rachel’s Apple A Day Party! Especially since I honestly eat at least an apple a day.
No joking around, I love apples!
So much so that I had a hard time deciding on just one recipe. I mean come on, I have to choose only one? I have like a million and two ideas.
In the end though, I wanted to create something that I knew everyone could enjoy.
Originally, I had a breakfast all planned out, but then I wanted to go the sweet and savory route. If you read my blog, then you know how much I love combining sweet and savory. Â These pretzels are the perfect example!
The combo of the savory caramelized apples and cheddar cheese is out of this world good, but then stuffed into a giant salted soft pretzel? Oh my gosh, winning combo! Oh, but wait, it gets better. The sauce.
The apple cider dipping sauce that you have to drizzle over these guys is so good. It is almost caramel-like, but with a tad less sweetness. It is the perfect pairing!
If you find it hard to roll the pretzels into their twist don’t worry. Just roll the dough as directed and form either a circle or rectangle. Then add a little of the filling and pinch the seams together to enclose those apples!
Then just boil, bake and eat!
The filling is most likely going to break through the dough a bit and ooze out during cooking, don’t freak, I promise they are still going to be awesome. There is nothing wrong with a little cheese oozing out!
Oh and these are the perfect thing for serving at the big game or better yet for a fun after school snack on a crisp fall day. Your kids will love them… and you!
Caramelized Apple + Cheddar Cheese Soft Pretzels with Apple Cider Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
Whole wheat pretzels:
- 3/4 C warm water
- 1 Tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/4 C unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
- 2 1/4 C whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
- Canola oil to grease bowl
- 3 quarts water for boiling the pretzels
- 2/3 C baking soda for boiling the pretzels
- 1 large egg beaten, for brushing the preztels before baking
- Coarse sea salt
Filling:
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 large apples
- 1/2 Tbsp light brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 C sharp cheddar cheese shredded
Dipping sauce:
- 1 C apple cider
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 C light brown sugar
- 1/3 C heavy cream
Instructions
- To make the pretzel dough, combine the water, brown sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the melted butter, salt and whole wheat flour to the mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.
- Coat a large bowl with canola oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size. This will take about 1 hour.
- About 10 minutes before you're ready to roll out the dough make the filling. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, chopped apples, brown sugar and pinch of cinnamon. Cook about 5 minutes or until the apples are soft and caramelized. Remove from the heat and let cool while you roll out the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Divide the pretzel dough into 4 equal balls and roll each out into a rectangle (about 11x3 inches). Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons of cheddar cheese along the length of each piece and then sprinkle on the caramelized apples. Very lightly brush one of the long sides with a little egg wash. Then starting with the opposite side, roll the dough up into a log, enclosing the toppings inside. Pinch the seams together and then very gently roll the dough with your hands to form an even cylinder and fully enclose the filling.
- Take the two ends of each filled cylinder and form into a circle that is overlapped by a couple of inches of dough on either side, twist the ends and lay over the opposite side to form a pretzel shape and press to seal. Slowly add the baking soda to the boiling water. Boil the pretzels in the water solution, 2 at a time for 30 seconds, splashing the tops with the warmed water using a spoon. Remove with a large flat slotted spatula or a spider. Place 4 pretzels on each baking sheet, brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with sea salt. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until pretzels are golden brown.
- While the pretzels are baking make the sauce. Add the apple cider to a sauce pot and bring to a bowl. Simmer until the apple cider has reduced to about 1/4 cup, it should be syrupy. Add the butter, brown sugar and cream. Whisk until combined and simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened and looks similar to caramel. Serve with the pretzels.
- Remove pretzels from oven and let cool five minutes. Serve with the dipping sauce.
- Or if needed you can reheat the pretzels at 350°F for 15 minutes.
You can find Tieghan on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Be sure to check out these other delicious recipes from Tieghan:
Homemade naan, Everything bagel slider buns and Cajun BBQ cheddar chicken fingers.
Wow! This. Looks incredible. I agree, nothing wrong with cheese oozing. I must try this!
Oh my gosh, I’m loving these apple recipes! This might be my favorite yet!
It should be illegal with how good those look!! I am totally blaming you when I get fat from making and eating these! ;)
WHOA!!! What a crazy yummy combination!
Freaking out a little over these soft pretzels. :) I just made fall-inspired soft pretzels yesterday, but not apple. I have to try these next. LOVE apple + cheddar together! And that dipping sauce? Swoooon. Thanks Tieghan and Rachel!
A.MA.ZING.
I want to face dive right into those pretzels! Apples and cheddar is such a great combo–these look spectacular!
These look SO good!! Love!!
Whaaaaaaat?! Omg. These are just… incredible!
Wow, never thought of an apple and cheddar combo. And stuffed pretzels?! You are definitely one hell of a baker, Tieghan!
Brilliant!! These look amazing, and that dipping sauce…come on, fall, come to stay :)
Tieghan! You are killing me with these babies! I want to faceplant into them, they look and sound so absolutely amazing! I wish I could be your taste tester every day..
incredible! Stuffed anything is great, but I love this combo for fall.
this sounds insanely good but i think i’m too much of a coward to do the boiling thing. would there be another crust that the filling could be used in that you think would be nearly as good if not as fabulous as this?
If you’ve ever boiled pasta, there isn’t really anything to be scared of. :) Promise.
How many pretzels does this recipe make? I can’t wait to try them!
sorry, just noticed it said 4 lol
Not a problem! I hope you enjoy them! :)