Soft Pretzels

Ryan and I wanted to bake something together for a little date-night at home and this was a fun process. You can be really creative with toppings too -- think of all they put on bagels -- anything's game.

stir together:
3 c. flour
1 T. sugar
2 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
2 t. yeast
add:
2 T. soft butter
1 c. warm milk

knead until smooth (will be a weird dough at first), cover in greased bowl until doubled.
boil large pan of water -- add 1-2 t. baking soda to the water for pretzel chewiness if you want
shape the pretzels (if you're not sure how there are online picture intructions)
can let rise, but not required
slip into boiling water- just until they float
bake on greased pan at 400 for 10-15 min.

(before baking you can brush with an egg-wash for a golden-brown crisp and then put on course salt or cinnamon and sugar mixture. we skipped the egg wash and brushed melted butter on hot pretzels and sprinkled with cin/sugar. we also made a yummy cheese dip (below).)

nacho cheese sauce (from adrienne's kitchen)
8 oz. Velveeta
3 oz. cream cheese
1-2 T. milk
melt in microwave - stirring frequently
makes 1 1/2 cups
(we only made a tiny bit -- a little goes a long way)