Chewy Soft Pretzels and Hot Chorizo Cheese Dip

Soft and chewy delicious! Don't over-salt like we did! 

This is a recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (turned out looking more like knots) that we love to serve with her Hot Chorizo Cheese Dip. We served these at Dallas's graduation party with queso, little smokies in BBQ sauce, chips and salsa, potato bar, drinks like bottled OJ, chocolate milk, sodas, and waters, buttermints, and a variety of ice-creams.

DOUGH:

•  2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
•  1 teaspoon sugar
•  2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
•  1 cup (8 ounces) very warm water

TOPPING:

•  1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water
•  2 tablespoons baking soda
•  Coarse salt (optional)
•  3 tablespoons butter, melted

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix to just combine. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour, as needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth and quite slack. The goal is to get a really soft dough that isn’t overly sticky. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a lightly oiled bowl; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes or up to 60 minutes (see pictures below).
2. Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn’t, it will make your pretzels splotchy. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the baking soda completely dissolved, so I just lightly stir up the mixture right before adding each pretzel.
4. Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (anywhere from 14 to 22 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
5. Bake the pretzels for 7 to 9 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Bake one sheet at a time – it won’t hurt the other pretzels to chill out for a little longer.
6. Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you’ve used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that’s what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

Hot Chorizo Cheese Dip

•  1 tablespoon butter
•  1/2 cup minced yellow onion
•  8 ounces chorizo, casings removed and diced
•  2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
•  1 1/2 cups milk
•  8 ounce cream cheese, softened
•  1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) medium cheddar cheese, grated
•  1 small can diced green chiles
•  1/2 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the diced chorizo and cook, breaking up the chorizo into smaller pieces if you like, until it is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Pour off all but one tablespoon of fat from the pan.
3. Add the flour and stirring constantly, cook for 1-2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk and combine well. Cook over medium heat until the sauce is thick, about 4 minutes.
4. Add the cream cheese to the pot in tablespoon-size pieces and stir to combine as the cream cheese melts. Reduce the heat to low and add the cheese 1/4 cup at a time, stirring until each addition is melted before adding more. Stir in the green chiles and the salt.
5. Serve warm in a bread bowl or with tortilla chips.