everything bagel bombs
If you’re into food novelties, these are for you.
Also, if you like convenient party food, these are for you.
I can’t remember when I first spotted pictures of bagel bombs floating around the web…maybe it was during my intensive research on social-media-cult foods (and we very well may have Christina Tosi to thank for this playful food invention too!)…or maybe it was when these novelties started becoming mainstream and were increasingly to be found at coffee/bakery chains like Starbucks. Either way, I saw them, and I knew I wanted to make them.
I didn’t do much internet research when I began. The concept seemed fairly straightforward: balls of bagel dough wrapped around a cream cheese center. So I simply took a reliable bagel recipe—the one we have shared on this blog—tweaked it a tad for easier handling, divided the dough into smaller portions, shaped these portions into balls surrounding a spoonful of cream cheese, and then boiled and baked as usual.
And it worked, perfectly!
Bagel Bombs take marginally longer to shape than regular bagels, but that’s about it. They don’t seem to last as long or stretch as far as a batch of classic bagels, and I’m guessing it’s because of their sheer irresistible convenience. It’s far easier to pop a bagel bomb to two throughout the day than commit to toasting and cream-cheesing an entire bagel.
And like I mentioned above, these are a real hit at parties. Kids and adults alike love the novelty of cream cheese on the inside. Bonus, they are a perfect finger food.
Everything Bagels are my favorite, and an all-time classic for a reason, but I’ve also included a variation for a cinnamon-crunch topping below. Happy bagel baking!
Everything Bagel Bombs
makes 24 bagel bombs
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
22 oz (about 4 cups) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
12 ounces (24 tablespoons) cream cheese
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon of water, for egg wash
Everything Bagel Seasoning (I like the convenience of buying it premixed from Trader Joe’s or Costco, but you can easily mix up your own of equal parts sesame seed, poppy seed, and dried minced onion, and one-half part of coarse salt)
Directions:
Dissolve the yeast in the water in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook. Stir in sugar.
Add 20 oz (about 3 1/2 cups) of the flour and the salt. Stir on low speed until dough comes together - this will take a few minutes and the dough will look pretty scrappy. Increase speed to medium and knead, adding as much of the remaining flour by the tablespoon as you can, until dough is smooth and quite stiff, about 6-8 minutes. (Bagel dough should be stiff and you want to incorporate as much of the flour as you can, but I find that depending on the humidity I can incorporate more or less of the total flour. In SW Florida—higher humidity—the dough can take more flour, while in Colorado—very low humidity—the dough can’t take quite as much flour before it becomes unmanageably stiff.)
Shape dough into a ball, place into a lightly greased bowl turning once to coat surface, cover bowl with a towel or plastic wrap, and lest rest/rise for 20-30 minutes to relax the dough.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Set a large pot of water on to boil.
Shape Bagel Bombs. Divide dough into 24 equal portions (you can use a scale to do this more accurately, or just eyeball it and get slightly uneven “rustic” results, like I usually do!). Flatten a portion of dough into a roughly 2-inch round. Place a tablespoon (1/2 oz) of cream cheese in center. Pull up edges of dough around the cream cheese and pinch together to seal tightly. Roll gently into an even ball and set aside, covered loosely with plastic wrap or a towel to prevent drying. Continue to shape remaining bagel balls.
When the water is boiling, drop the bagels in carefully a few at a time. Boil on one side for about 30 seconds to a minute, then the other side for 30 seconds to a minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and let drain on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining bagel balls.
When all the bagels are boiled, transfer to two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with Everything Bagel Seasoning. Bake about 15 minutes or until golden. Let cool before eating, or you will have severe burns from the molten cream cheese filling. Trust me here.
notes
filling spilling out: depending on how well you sealed the dough, some of the filling will spill out during baking. When the bagels are cool enough to handle, you can usually tuck most of the cream cheese back into the crack that it oozed out of.
storing/reheating: once baked and cooled, these can keep at room temperature for an hour or two before food safety dictates putting them in the fridge for longer storage. They reheat like a dream, and I actually prefer them reheated because the cream cheese stays slightly chilled while the bagel is warm and toasty. Simply pop one or two in a toaster oven for a minute or two, or reheat the whole batch on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes.
make ahead: you can make & shape these in advance and bake them fresh for the morning. Prepare following the recipe above all the way through filling and shaping into balls, then place on baking sheet, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, take the bagels from the fridge. Set the oven to 450. Fill a large pot about halfway with water and bring to a boil. Continue with recipe as above.
Cinnamon Crunch Topping Variation: if you’d rather a sweet bagel treat, then skip the egg wash and top each bagel with a small spoonful of a mixture of 4 tablespoons melted butter, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon.