Improv Challenge: Pretzel Dogs with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Hey there! It's been quite some time since I've been able to participate in an Improv Challenge. The past couple of months have either involved not enough time to make a recipe or ingredients I wasn't fond enough of to try and make a recipe.

But when Lesa created the Facebook event reminding us that the ingredients were pretzels and mustard, I was more than ready to get back into the swing of things. More than anything, I wanted to make pretzel crusted chicken bites with a honey mustard dipping sauce, but as I've mentioned, I had my wisdom teeth out last week and I didn't want to take any chances with tiny bits of hard pretzel coating. So that recipe will be made as soon as I can eat crunchy foods again.

I needed a pretzel and mustard recipe that would be soft enough for me to eat. I've already made soft pretzels and soft pretzel bites, so that was out. As was pretzel rolls because I've done those before too. So what did that leave? Hot dogs wrapped in pretzels.

I'm sure there were a ton of other recipes out there I could have made, but as soon as I saw this one on Pinterest, I knew it was the winner. I recently found the Applegate all natural uncured beef hot dogs that are nitrate free. I've never been a hot dog fan, maybe eating two of them during the summer. But then I had those hot dogs and everything changed. They're delicious. (Probably because they're not full of creepy, unpronounceable ingredients)

Pretzel Dogs with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Servings: 8
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Ingredients:
for the dough:

• ¾ cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 ½ tsp. active dry yeast
• 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

for the pretzel dogs:

• 8 hot dogs
• 10 cups water
• ⅔ cup baking soda
• 1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp. water
• kosher salt (or pretzel salt)

for the honey mustard sauce:

• ¼ cup spicy brown mustard
• ¼ cup honey 

Directions:
for the dough:
1. Add the water, sugar and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer. Sprinkle the active dry yeast on top and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until it becomes foamy.
2. Add the butter and the flour to the bowl of the stand mixer and attach the dough hook. Mix slowly until a ball begins to form, then increase to medium speed and mix until the dough has pulled away from the sides and has formed a smooth ball.
3. Coat a bowl with butter or oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Toss once to coat and then cover with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm spot and allow the dough to rise, doubling in size, about 50 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 450. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and brush with oil or spray with a non-stick spray.
for the pretzel dogs:
1. Separate the dough into 8 equal sized balls. Roll each ball into a rope, about 12 inches long. Wrap each rope of dough around the hot dog, allowing the hot dog to peek out of both ends. Repeat with all ropes of dough.
2. Bring the 10 cups of water to a rolling boil, then carefully add in the baking soda (it will rise and fizz). Place the pretzel dogs into the boiling water one at a time (do not crowd the pot, do 4 at a time if it fits better) and leave in for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon, draining the excess water.
3. Place the pretzel dog on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pretzel dogs. In a small bowl, beat together the egg yolk and tablespoon of water. Brush the top of each pretzel dog with the egg wash. Sprinkle the kosher (or pretzel) salt on top of the pretzel dogs.
4. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool 5 minutes.
for the honey mustard sauce:
1. Stir together the spicy brown mustard and honey mustard together in a bowl. Adjust to taste. Serve with the cooled pretzel dogs.

While it still took me forever to eat them, they were delicious!