Holy yum, Batman. These are insanely good. They’re so good I’m having a hard time trying to think of what to write about in this post, other than how amazing they are. I’m almost at a loss for words. Everything that I love is wrapped – or twisted – into these amazingly doughy, soft pretzels. Doughy bread with a crusty exterior? Check. Fresh rosemary? Check. Sea salt? Check. Gooey, melty brie cheese? Check, big time.
I remember, back in the day, there was this pretzel stand at the mall. My mom and I would spend a day at the mall and plan our ‘route’ based on where we’d end up in relation to this pretzel stand, making sure we found our way there by snack time. They sold big, chewy soft pretzels covered in any kind of topping you could imagine, and it was the only reason I was actually excited to go to the mall.
Unlike my love of soft pretzels, the pretzel stand has long been gone. I was devastated when I first found out, until last year when I stumbled upon a recipe and saw that they really weren’t as hard to make as I thought.
Ever since, I’ve had a batch of soft pretzels in my freezer at all times. They’re easy to make and easy to freeze, meaning those spontaneous late-night cravings for doughy, salty, soft bread never get ignored.
One night I was sitting on the couch, pulling apart a steamy pretzel fresh from the oven and thought: “Nothing could possibly make these better. Well, maybe cheese. Cheese makes everything better. Hey, why don’t I try stuffing these with cheese?” And so I did, singing “working on my night cheese” the rest of the night.
The key to stuffing these with brie is to wrap the cheese in the dough completely so none leaks out while boiling. First, make the dough as directed. Divide into 8 pieces and roll each piece into a 17-inch rope, then flatten so it’s more of a long rectangle. Add some brie in the middle, then roll the strip up, pinching the overlap so that it seals the cheese in completely. Form into pretzels (use this handy guide!) and continue with baking or freezing.
I promise, if you have a stash of these in your freezer you’ll be craving them every night, and they only take about 20 minutes to boil and bake. They don’t taste like they’ve been frozen, they taste like they’re fresh out of your local bakery. Yum!
| Brie-Stuffed Soft Pretzels with Rosemary & Sea Salt | | Print |
- 1½ cup warm water
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2¼ tsp instant yeast
- 4½ cups flour
- ½ stick (2oz) butter, melted
- 220g brie cheese, sliced
- 8 cups water
- ½ cup baking soda
- Olive oil, for brushing
- Sea salt
- Fresh rosemary, for garnish
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together water, sugar, salt and yeast; let sit for 5 minutes until frothy. Using the dough hook, add the flour and butter, mixing on low speed until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, approximately 5 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into an 18-inch rope, then flatten rope so it's more of a long rectangle. Place brie cheese in the center, then roll dough back into a rope shape, pinching the edges to ensure all the cheese is completely encased in the dough. Shape into pretzels.
- When ready to eat, preheat the oven to 425°. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- Bring the water and baking soda to a boil in a pot.
- Using a flat spatula, drop the pretzels into the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds. Depending on the size of your pot you may need to boil one at a time. Remove pretzels from the water, drain and place on the baking sheets. Brush the top of each pretzel with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh rosemary. Bake until golden and puffed, 12-14 minutes. If the pretzels were frozen, bake for an extra 1 to 2 minutes. Serve warm.
*Soft pretzel recipe adapted from Smells Like Home
I’m seriously drooling right now! I’m definitely going to make these! Ohhhh yum! 😀 Great pics and great recipe idea! And did I mention…great job? 🙂 Your pics are amazing. Especially when they make you feel like you could just reach into your computer and grab one (or three or six…lol)!
These look delicious! I have a question: Step 1 mentions butter, but butter is not mentioned in the ingredient list. How much do you use? Thank you!
Hi Doriana, thank you for bringing this up!! I’ve amended the recipe – you’ll need half a stick of melted butter (about 2 oz). If you make these, let us know what you think!
Possibility to make with out a mixer?
You can definitely make these without a stand mixer! Combine water, sugar, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl, as directed, letting it sit until frothy. Add flour and butter and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is combined. Transfer to a lightly floured countertop and knead dough by hand for about 10 minutes until a tacky and elastic dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap, and continue with the recipe. Check out this handy guide to kneading dough by hand.
These were so delicious and so easy! A very impressive appetizer to serve to guests. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Great to hear they were a hit, AM!
Can I bake them without using the parchment paper directly onto the sheet?
I just made these and they were delicious! I used cheddar, garlic, and rosemary for my filling as I didn’t have brie, but the dough turned out so well and was the best part of it ! Half the batch gone within 20 minutes! Thanks for the recipe it was very easy to follow, which is good because I’ve never made any sort of bread before 🙂
Is it possible to make in there entirety, then reheat?. Thinking of bringing them to someone’s house, so I don’t want to be doing step 3 and 4 right before serving.
Thanks.