Buffalo Ranch Soft Pretzels
Get ready for game day with a big batch of these Buffalo Ranch Soft Pretzels!
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Football is back! I’m personally more of a college football kind of guy, but I still enjoy catching NFL games on Sunday afternoons. It’s kind of hard to be addicted to both college and pro football. Sure, one is on Saturday and the other on Sunday…but there are chores to get done, too!
How is that lawn going to get mowed if I’m watching football all day on Saturday and Sunday? It’s not gonna mow itself…although I really wish someone would invent that! C’mon Amazon…you can have drones deliver packages, but you can’t make a lawn mower that runs by itself? Of course, if your kid left the frisbee or a soccer ball in the yard, then things could get ugly fast. Ok, maybe that’s not the next $1 million dollar idea.
This weekend, I decided I needed some delicious snacks to munch on during the football games. I’m a huge fan of buffalo sauce, and I love making homemade pretzels…so why not combine these? Yup, that happened. These Buffalo Ranch Soft Pretzels were the perfect football food! These bad boys were tangy, spicy and chewy all at the same time. Needless to say, that tray of pretzels disappeared pretty quickly.
I can’t believe there was a time when I didn’t love buffalo sauce. It’s true. I had issues with anything that tasted like vinegar. I suspect it was because my mom used big jugs of white vinegar to clean the floors when I was a kid. And to this day, the smell of warm vinegar still makes me think of shiny floors. (And just for the record, the smell of warm vinegar is pretty darn potent. Don’t believe me? Heat up some vinegar in the microwave and take a big whiff. But don’t say I didn’t warn you!) Now I’m making up for lost time with the buffalo sauce. These Buffalo Ranch Soft Pretzels are my latest obsession…especially on game day!
Wondering how to twist pretzels into that classic shape? Click here to see a picture!
Looking for another buffalo-inspired game day snack? Try this Easy Buffalo Popcorn!
Buffalo Ranch Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ Tbsp brown sugar
- 2¼ tsp active dry yeast
- ¾ cup + 2 Tbsp warm water
For the Soaker
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 Tbsp baking soda
For the Ranch Seasoning
- ¼ cup buttermilk powder
- ½ Tbsp dried parsley flakes
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the Buffalo Sauce
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup hot sauce
- 2 tsp white vinegar
- ¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
For the Ranch Seasoning
- Combine all of the ingredients for the Ranch Seasoning in a medium bowl. Stir until well combined; set aside.
For the Buffalo Sauce
- Using a small saucepan, add all of the ingredients for the Buffalo Sauce. Place over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until butter melts. Set aside.
For the Pretzels
- Using a countertop mixer with the dough hook attached, combine all of the dough ingredients (flour, salt, brown sugar, yeast, and warm water). Mix on medium speed for 6 minutes.
- Transfer dough to an oiled bowl. Cover and place in a warm (85°F) location for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the soaker by combining the boiling water with the baking soda. Mix until baking soda is fully dissolved, and set aside to cool.
- Once dough has risen, divide it into 8 pieces of equal weight (~2.5 ounces each). Allow dough to rest uncovered for 5 minutes, then roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope about 24” long. Twist each rope into a pretzel shape. (Click here to see how to shape pretzel.)
- Place each pretzel in the Soaker mixture for 2 minutes (spoon water over the top of the pretzel if it is not fully covered by the water). Transfer the pretzels to an unlined baking sheet. (I recommend spraying the pan with olive oil or pan spray first, though.) Let the pretzels rest uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Bake at 475°F for 8-9 minutes, or until pretzels are golden brown in color.
- Remove pretzels from oven and dust tops with the Ranch Seasoning. Either drizzle the Buffalo Sauce across the pretzels, or serve the Buffalo Sauce on the side as a dip for the pretzels.
I love buffalo sauce too! These look so good!! I think they will hold up well during shipping because I’m quite sure I will not be making them. 🙂
Wait! Why aren’t you making them, Tamara? They’re the perfect football snack!! Now is the time to conquer your fear of yeasted breads…and these really are super easy! (Just make sure to use plenty of cornmeal on the baking pan.) I want to hear how you made these and they turned out great…haha!
Okay. I accept the challenge & will report back!
Fair enough! Pretzels are crazy easy (and delicious). The main trick is to make sure to generously pan spray or cornmeal the baking sheet…otherwise they will stick and you’ll end up with just the top half of all your pretzels! (I speak from experience…haha.)
Wait, wait, wait… HOLD THE PHONE…. BACK UP THE TRAIN….. There was a time when you didn’t love Buffalo sauce?! *sniffle* It’s like I don’t know you at all, Dave. Well, you were clearly just young and uninformed as to the awesomeness known as Buffalo flavoring 🙂 I love you anyway xo
I KNOW! Can you believe it, Becca? I was clearly young and uninformed. But don’t worry…I think I eat enough buffalo sauce now to make up for my younger years. Oh, I was such a lost youth…haha!
I am not a fan of football or any other sports. But I do love football food lol. I can imagine myself munching on these while being bored at a football gathering….munching away. Love spicy, so maybe a little extra cayenne for me hehe. Pinned!
Me, too, Kim! The spicier the better…at least up to a point. I try to keep the recipes fairly “normal” here on the blog, and then I turn around and add more cayenne for me. Although my wife has accused me of trying to burn her face off before. Either way…I am a huge football fan, but if I had to pick between the game and the snack table, then it might be a tough decision. 🙂
So ironic you post these today – my daughter has a slight gluten sensitivity and most times I make GF stuff for her – but every now and then we decide to take a walk on the wild side! The other day we passed an Aunt Annies and she gave me this woebegone look and well, we stopped and before we knew it there was half of a salty pretzel in each of our hands…ooh…let me just say, we all know drvn and txtn is bad, but drvn and eating a salty pretzel is a whole lot worse! 🙂
Your ranch dressing and buffalo sauce takes pretzel enjoyment to whole other level! Btw, where did you happen to get that buttermilk powder from, David?
Haha! We both must have been channeling some soft pretzel deliciousness this past weekend, Shashi! These things are dangerous…and by dangerous, I mean they disappear very fast. I hope the pretzel didn’t cause any issues for your daughter. 😛 Oh, and buttermilk powder is amazing! I always seem to need a little bit for a recipe, but I never keep whole containers of buttermilk around. I know you can do the milk/vinegar trick, but I much prefer the powder. I’ve seen it in several of our grocery stores around here…always in the baking aisle. I believe the brand I see the most is Saco. I always keep a stash of it on hand now. (Oh, and store it in the fridge when you aren’t using it.)
Thanks so much David – my daughter was ok – she isn’t totally intolerant of gluten – she just harbors a sensitivity to it so she can get away with eating a little once in awhile or so – now a whole pretzel everyday might have her complaining! I found Saco – but it has 12g of sugar (seeing sugar in dairy = lactose content) I had to put the Saco back on the shelf and back away ever so gingerly! I wonder if coconut milk powder would work instead of saco…nothing ventured, nothing gained – eh?! 🙂
Ah, I didn’t even think about the dairy thing. I forgot about that! Now I see why you were asking about it. I prefer the powder just because I don’t regularly keep buttermilk in the fridge. As far as the coconut milk powder, it might work? I’ve never used it! The buttermilk powder brings a “tangy-ness” to the ranch seasoning, and I’m guessing coconut milk powder doesn’t have the same tangy-ness. I just consulted the source of infinite knowledge (aka Google) and it seems like coconut milk is used in a lot of paleo ranch dressing recipes. Perhaps the powdered stuff would work for this then? I say it’s time to venture!!
oh wow oh wow oh wow!! This looks absolutely amazing!!!! Oh, how I could go for some good buffalo sauce right about now. When you say “hot sauce” for the buffalo sauce, is there a specific kind that will make it taste like, well, “typical buffalo sauce?” lol I’m an American who live abroad in Germany, and I LOVE living over here, but I really miss my favorite foods from back home, and buffalo sauce is definitely one of them. If I could make it myself, oh I’d be so happy 😀 😀
Hey Dana! Greetings from back in the States. 🙂 I am so jealous that you are living in Germany, but I can see how you would miss some of your favorites. I bet those German pretzels would go great with some buffalo sauce! As far as hot sauce, I typically use Frank’s Red Hot, although any other hot sauce would probably work, too. I’m not sure is hot sauce is available in Germany, but I hope you can find something that works!! 🙂
Hi David! Thanks so much for writing back! I know Frank’s Red Hot…they don’t have that here, but they do have a few others, so I’ll try them out one by one. I’ll let you know how it goes 😀
Awesome! I’d guess that any of the hot sauces will work, Dana, so I hope you discover one that you like for this recipe. This is our go-to recipe for buffalo sauce, and I gotta say that it tastes just like the stuff you get in restaurants. Of course, you can play with the amount of cayenne depending on your preference for spiciness. Oh, and don’t leave out the Worcestershire (assuming you can get that in Germany). It’s not much, but it adds a nice layer of flavor in there!
I might soon start following college football as well David.
Giants suck so bad this year it’s painful to watch (just like last year btw!) We have scored just 14 points in each of the first two game: how bad is that?
I could definitely use a couple of those gorgeous looking pretzels to lift my mood; because Sunday against Houston we’re going to get our asses kicked, big time…
Yeah, Sunday vs Houston isn’t looking so hot for the Giants. I think Houston has figured it out, and they’re going to be good this year. I definitely recommend college ball! I enjoy NFL, but there’s something about the fervor and passion of college football. And may I suggest starting with the LSU-Mississippi State game this weekend. 5 of the top 10 teams in the country this week are out of the SEC West, so this is bound to be a good one! 7:00 Saturday night. Be there. With pretzels.
Feel free to ship some of these along with those apple fritters. Just write “wolfpack eats care package” on the box. I’ll know to tear right in. 🙂 #wolfpackeats
Haha! Fair enough, Chris. That would be the kind of package I’d want to rip into, too. Forget care packages to kids at college…they already have plenty of pizza to eat. Nope, we need to start the #WolfpackCares program. It basically involves shipping delicious foods to each other. I could get behind this one!