Layers of Happiness

To make the pretzels:
2 Warm up the milk in the microwave for 1 minute. You should be able to comfortably keep your finger in it. If it's too hot it will kill the yeast. Stir in the yeast and let it sit for about 3 minutes. Add salt, sugar, and melted butter; stir until fairly combined. Slowly add 4 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon (or dough hook attached to stand mixer) until dough is thick. Add 1/2 cup more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. If it is still sticky, add up to 3/4 cup more. Poke the dough with your finger - if it bounces back, it is ready to knead.
3 Kneed for about 5 minutes with a stand mixer, or by hand. Put it in a greased bowl and cover with greased cling wrap. Let rise for 1 hour in a warm place until doubled in size. I heat the oven to 170 degrees, turn off and place dough in oven for an hour.
4 Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
5 With a sharp knife, cut ball of dough into 6 sections. Roll the dough into six 20-inch long ropes. Cut the rope into 1.5 inch pieces to make bites.
6 Boil 4 1/2 cups of water with 1/3 cup of baking soda in a medium pot. Drop 8-10 pretzel bites into water and let sit for 20 seconds. Remove with a spatula and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7 Brush beaten egg whites over each pretzel bite. Bake batches for 8-9 minutes each, or until golden brown.
8 Remove from oven and using a slotted spoon, dip into melted butter, toss to evenly coat then lift and shake off excess. Transfer to a plate and allow to rest 2 minutes.
9 Meanwhile in a small mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and cinnamon until well blended. Dip butter coated pretzels into cinnamon sugar and toss to evenly coat.
To make cream cheese dipping sauce:
11 In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer, whip cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Stir in powdered sugar and Nutella and mix until combined. Add milk and whip until fluffy, about 2 minutes longer. Serve immediately with pretzel bites or store in refrigerator in an airtight container.
12 Pretzel bites remain fresh for up to 3 days in an airtight container, though they will lose some softness. Pretzel bites freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat in the oven at 300F degrees until warm.