What's better than Gluten-Free Soft Pretzels with a delicious Whiskey Cheese Sauce? This recipe really has it all!
Jump to RecipePretzels Have Never Tasted So Good!
I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I had a pretzel. Even before I was gluten-free, pretzels weren't a common snack I enjoyed. But, sometimes you just crave one.
These Gluten-Free Soft Pretzels with Whiskey Cheese Sauce might just be one of my new favorite recipes. And, yes, I do say that about a lot of recipes that I make. But these pretzels are different. Unlike a lot of my other recipes, these gluten-free pretzels are definitely no walk in the park when it comes to making them. That being said, the result is SO WORTH IT.
Did I mention that the Whiskey Cheese Sauce is the perfect dipping sauce? Together, these pretzels and sauce are a match made in heaven! Check out the recipe below for step-by-step instructions.
How to Make Gluten-Free Soft Pretzels
Let's jump right into how you make these classic baked snacks. Start by adding brown sugar to a medium sized bowl. Then, you're going to warm almond milk in the microwave for roughly one minute. While warm water or whole milk is often used to make sourdough pretzels, almond milk is a great substitute here. You want the almond milk to be lukewarm, because if it's too warm than the yeast won't activate. Once the almond milk is warm, pour it into the bowl with the brown sugar and add the active dry yeast. Set the bowl to the side for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate. You'll know it's activated when you begin to see foamy bubbles forming on the surface.
Next, we're going to combine our dry ingredients in a large bowl. For the flour, we're using a mixture of tapioca flour, gluten-free all purpose flour, and 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. Combine these flours, then add in the xanthan gum to act as a binder. Next, add the sea salt and cream of tartar to give the pretzels their signature flavor. Mix the dry ingredients together, then pour in the milk and yeast mixture. Finally, melt ¼ cup of unsalted butter and pour the melted butter into the bowl. If you have a kitchen aid, use the dough hook attachment to combine the ingredients and knead the dough. Or, if you're like me and still haven't invested in a kitchen aid or stand mixture yet, use your hands to combine the ingredients. The dough shouldn't be sticky, but slightly wet. Once you have your dough, knead it for 4-5 minutes until thick.
After Kneading the Dough...
Next, take a tea towel or plastic wrap and cover the bowl. Let the dough rise for at least one hour, preferably 90-120 minutes. After the allotted time, cut your pretzel dough into 16 even wedges. To make the classic pretzel shape, take one wedge and roll it into a rope on a flour dusted work surface. This rope should be ½" thick and 16-20" wide. Make the rope into a large U-shape, then take the ends of the dough and twist them together two times. Next, you're going to fold the twisted ends over the bottom of the U-shape.
Once you have all of your pretzels, preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Then, add 8 cups of water to a large pot with ⅓ cup baking soda. This baking soda bath will gelatinize the outside of the pretzel, to give the pretzel its' signature chewy exterior while keeping the interior fluffy. When the water is boiling, place each pretzel on a large spatula and lower it into the baking soda bath for about 20 seconds. After 20 seconds, place the pretzel on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat this process with each pretzel. Once each pretzel has a been submerged in the baking soda bath, whisk two eggs whites together and brush the egg mixture over each pretzel. Then, garnish with coarse sea salt and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, generously cover each pretzel in parmesan cheese and bake for another 5 minutes. Finally, allow the pretzels to cool for 10 minutes before enjoying.
Let's Breakdown the Whiskey Cheese Sauce
After the pretzel recipe, this whiskey cheese sauce is a breeze! Start by adding olive oil to a large saucepan, then sweat half a diced white onion over medium heat for five minutes. After 5 minutes, add cheddar and parmesan cheese, cream cheese, almond milk, whiskey, dijon mustard, garlic powder, pepper and salt. Whisk the mixture together until combined, then reduce the heat to low and allow the cheese sauce to simmer for 10 minutes.
That's it! This Whiskey Cheese Sauce is rich, decadent and yet so easy to make. If you still have this cheese sauce leftover after enjoying the pretzels, place the sauce in an airtight container for up to five days. After five days, you can freeze the sauce for up to 3 months.
Gluten-Free Soft Pretzels with a Whiskey Cheese Sauce
Course: RecipesDifficulty: Difficult16
servings20
minutes20
minutes90
minutesNow you can have soft pretzels with cheese sauce whenever you want!
Ingredients
- Gluten-Free Soft Pretzels
1.5 cups of almond milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
1 ¼ cups tapioca flour
2 ¼ cups gluten-free all purpose flour
½ cup 1:1 gluten-free baking flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
8 cups of water
⅓ cup baking soda
2 egg whites
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Coarse sea salt, for finishing
- Whiskey Cheese Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ white onion, diced
2 ½ cups of cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups of parmesan cheese, grated
8 oz. cream cheese
¼ cup almond milk
3 tablespoons bourbon whiskey
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Directions
- Gluten-Free Soft Pretzels
- Warm the almond milk in the microwave for 1 minute
- Next, pour the almond milk into a medium bowl with the brown sugar
- Add the active yeast, stir with a fork, and wait 10 minutes. The yeast will cause the milk mixture to become foamy.
- In a large bowl, combine the tapioca flour, gluten-free all purpose flour, 1:1 gluten-free baking flour, salt, xanthan gum, and cream of tartar
- After it's been 10 minutes and the milk mixture is foamy, pour it into the bowl with the dry ingredients
- Then, melt ¼ cup of unsalted butter and add it to the bowl
- Use your hands to mix the ingredients until combined, then knead the dough for 4-5 minutes
- Place a tea towel over the bowl, then allow the dough to rise for at least one hour (preferably 90 minutes)
- After waiting the allotted period, the dough should have doubled in size
- Cut the dough into 16 wedges, then take each wedge and plus it on a cutting board or countertop that's been dusted with gluten-free flour to prevent the dough from sticking
- To make the pretzels, take each wedge and roll it into a rope-like shape that's roughly ½" wide and 16-20" long
- Make a large U shape with your rope, then twist the ends of the rope together two times
- Pull the twisted ends down to the bottom of the U shape, then press firmly to make the signature pretzel shape
- Once all your dough is shaped into pretzels, preheat your oven to 450 degrees and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners
- Next, boil the 8 cups of water and ⅓ cup baking soda in a large pot
- Once boiling, place each pretzel on a large spatula and submerge it in the baking soda bath for roughly 20 seconds, then place on a prepared baking sheet
- Mix the eggs together, then brush each pretzel with the egg wash and top with sea salt
- Cook for 15 minutes, then cover the pretzels in parmesan cheese and cook for another 5 minutes
- Once the parmesan cheese has melted and pretzels are golden brown, remove them from the oven
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving
- Whiskey Cheese Sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, then add the diced onion
- Sweat the onion for five minutes over medium heat
- Next, add the grated cheddar and parmesan cheeses, stir to combine
- Then, add the cream cheese, almond milk, whiskey, and seasonings
- Turn the heat to medium-low, and stir to combine all of the ingredients
- Once combined, reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
- Refrigerate the homemade rosemary simple syrup up to 10 days
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