Pretzel Hot Dogs

What an exciting weekend!  NES and I got to celebrate with NL and DJL (formerly DJR) on their wedding day!!

In one of my favorite places in the whole world.  This was my view for working on my paper this morning.  Not too shabby.

Not too shabby at all.  

DJL and company did such a great job -- everything looked amazing!  And we even ate NL's lobster for dinner!

It was such a fun day.

And as sad as it will be to leave this lovely place and all the friends (MF, JA, JG, MW and many more!) visiting tomorrow, I only have a little over a week of classes left!  I'm getting there!  Now if only my 3 page paper would magically expand to 15 . . . 

Last Sunday afternoon, I decided to be daring.  I decided to make NES pretzel hot dogs.

So, you have to understand, about a month ago NES went to a convention and ate some sort of hot dog with a pretzel bun while he was there.  He has been talking about it ever since.  He is ready to pick up any night and drive back and get another one.  So I decided I'd do my best.

Actually, the idea originally came from pizza pretzel buns.  I saw these on Pinterest (where else?!) and realized that they were making the "pretzel" part using pizza dough.  That got me thinking.  

I had some extra pizza dough in the freezer.  

So, I used that.  And it worked!  Using pizza dough, pretzels are actually pretty easy!  Good to know.  

It's apparently all about the baking soda and boiling them.

And even though they weren't exactly what NES was talking about (and they didn't stop him from wanting to go back to the restaurant), they got his stamp of approval.  

Pretzel Hot Dogs

adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Pre-made, unbaked pizza dough (I used approximately 1/3 of the amount for an average pizza and it covered 2 1/2 hot dogs)

2-3 hot dogs

10 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Kosher salt (for topping)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

Bring the water and baking soda to a rolling boil in a 8-quart pot.

Divide the dough into 2-3 pieces and roll into a rope, approximately 1-1 1/2 feet long.  Wrap each piece around a hot dog, starting at one end, and pinching the ends to seal.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Two at at time, place the hot dogs into the boiling water for 30 seconds.  Remove with a slotted spatula, and return to parchment paper. 

Brush the melted butter over the hot dogs and sprinkle with the salt. 

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until browned.  Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.