Monday Munchies: Chocolate Covered Pretzel Donuts

It's a bitter cold Monday in Denver. Wishing I could stay home and make these donuts rather than going to work.

• 1 1/2 cups warm
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 4.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbs earth balance, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• Water for boiling
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• Kosher salt
• 0.5 lb semisweet chocolate

Directions

1. Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and kosher salt in a bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add the flour and earth balance, a little at a time,  to the yeast mixture. Stir until well combined.
3. Knead the dough, for 5 minutes, on a lightly floured surface.
4. Put 1 tsp of oil in a clean bowl and put the dough into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place an hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
6. Bring the water and the baking soda to a boil on the stove.
7. Put the dough onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide into 15 equal pieces.
8. Roll out each piece of dough so that it is about 5″ long.
9. Put  each piece of dough into a hole in the donut pan and push the dough down with your finger until it fills out the entire shape.
10. Use a fork to carefully lift the dough out of the pan, and 1 by 1, place it into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Take the dough out of the boiling water and put it back into the donut pan.
11. Once all of the donuts have been boiled and placed into the donut pan, sprinkle them with salt and stick the pan in the oven for 12 minutes, or until light brown.
12. Let the donuts cool completely.
13. Melt the chocolate in a bowl.
14. Dip the top of the donuts into the chocolate and set it aside to harden.