Tate’s dad loves a good football Sunday, and as a result, a number of amazing game day appetizers have been created over the years in the spirit of feeding the inhabitants of the man cave. He is famous for his homemade pretzels, but the epitome of the Tuck & Tate dream team came when we mixed his homemade pretzels with our kale and artichoke dip. This, people, is what appetizer dreams are made of. 

This pretzel recipe originally came from Pinch of Yum– a food blog that we have obsessed over for a few years now. We tweaked her recipe to fit our football needs and present you with this crossover version below. 

Homemade Pretzels
Makes: 24 pretzel bites 
Prep Time: 20 minutes   Inactive Time: 60 Minutes   Total Time: 95 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 package quick rising yeast
• 3 tbs brown sugar 
• 1 cup whole milk (warmed)
• 2 tbs melted butter
• 1 tsp salt 
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 4 cups warm water 
• 1 egg, whisked in a small bowl 
• Everything Bagel seasoning 
• Kale and Artichoke Dip (or your favorite dip to bake in the center) 

Directions:  

1. Put the warm milk, sugar, and yeast in a standing mixer bowl. Let the mixture set for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the yeast begins to bubble. 
2. Add the melted butter, salt, and flour to the yeast mixture. Use a dough hook to blend the mix until a dough forms. Most of the dough should be balled together- this will take approximately 3 minutes on low speed.  
3. Sprinkle extra flour onto a flat countertop. Remove the dough from the mixer and knead with your hands a few times- until it is a ball. Clean the original mixing bowl, grease it with cooking spray, and put the dough into the clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 60 minutes. 
4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 
5. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place on a floured surface. Divide the dough into 24 balls (we divide the dough in half, divide each half into 3, and each 3 into 4 to get this without our brains exploding). 
6. Combine the baking soda and 4 cups warm water. Dunk each of the pretzel balls into the baking soda/water mixture and place in a ring in a cast iron skillet. You will have too many pretzels for the skillet; any extra can be placed on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 
7. Brush the pretzels with the whisked egg and top with everything bagel seasoning. (Carefully) pour your dip of choice into the center of the pretzel ring and bake for 12-13 minutes. Let the pan sit for a few minutes after it has finished cooking before serving.