Stuffed Chicken Jalapeno Popper Pretzel Puffs

Spicy, Buttery, Goodness!

I love spicy food, I love spicy food, I love spicy food! Yes, it deserves three praises...lol...but really I do love spicy food. When I say spicy,  I mean spicy in two ways. I want it flavored with lots of great spices but I also want some heat.

Not extreme heat, like I eat raw habaneros, but the kind of heat you get when you bite into your food and you say, oh this is not that bad, then the heat hits you and you get little beads of sweat on your face and you feel instantly warm. 

That's the spice I need in my life. These Pretzel logs accomplish that and more! 

I took my favorite pretzel recipe and decided I wanted to stuff them full, until they puffed, with  cheese, chicken and of course, a spicy jalapeno mixture.

The pretzels are stuffed full of goodness and basting them with a nice amount of butter, right out the oven, didn't hurt these babies at all. Let's EAT!

Stuffed Chicken Jalapeno Popper Pretzel Puffs

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings:

Ingredients:

1 cup shredded chicken, roasted or smoked
1 8oz. pack Philadelphia cream cheese
1 1/2 cups jack cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 jalapenos
2 Serrano
2 cloves garlic
extra virgin olive oil
pretzel dough (recipe below)
butter
sea salt

For the Pretzel Dough

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup warm water
butter
salt to top (optional)

soaking bath:

2 tbsp. baking soda
1 cup boiling water.

Directions:

In a mixer with a dough attachment, mix all ingredients well then knead for 5 minutes. Place dough in a lightly floured freezer bag and allow dough to rest 30 minutes.

Mix baking soda with boiling water in a large flat bowl allow to cool while dough rest.

Remove dough from bag and on a lightly greased surface roll dough out.

Preheat oven to broil.

Place peppers and garlic on a pan, coat with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for about 5-7 minutes are until the peppers have blackened slightly. Remove from oven and remove seeds if desired.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place roasted peppers, garlic, chicken, cream cheese and 1 cup each of sharp and jack cheese in blender. Mix well. Fold in remaining grated cheese.  Roll pretzel dough out on a lightly greased surface, dough should be like a thin crust pizza but semi square.

Spread cheese mixture on  dough, roll dough into a log. Place dough in water bath and soak for two minutes basting dough as it sits. Remove dough from water bath.

Cut dough into logs around 2 inch wide. Place bites on a greased cookie sheet and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Bake pretzel logs at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and baste with butter and sea salt if desired.