Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzels
Anyone else having a case of the Mondays? Dessert was extremely necessary tonight- hence these cinnamon sugar pretzels.
This was my first attempt at making a pretzel and I’ll be honest, shaping them is not the easiest, but they are very fun to make. They are a bit time consuming and will definitely take your mind off of work or whatever your mind is hung up on- and they taste super yummy!
This recipe came out of Chrissy Teigan’s cookbook, Hungry For More, which was a gift from one of my best friends. I highly recommend the purchase and giving all of Chrissy’s recipes a try- you won’t regret it.
Ok, let’s get to work…
Pretzel Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature.
- 1 packet instant or rapid-rise yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces, at room temp
- 3 cups hot tap water
- 1/4 cup baking soda
Topping Ingredients:
- 1 stick (4 ounces) butter, melted.
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions:
I did not have a stand mixer at the time, so I mixed this all by hand. It is do-able, but if you have a stand mixer I would go with that option instead.
Using a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, mix together the milk, yeast, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
Add the flour, two teaspoons of the salt, & the butter. Mix until the dough starts to come together, about 2 minutes with the mixer. About 5 if you’re doing this by hand.
Increase the speed to medium and knead the dough for about 5 minutes.
Gather the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl. Cover bowl with plastic and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size- about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 425 & line two baking sheets with parchment paper
In a shallow bowl or pie dish, stir together the hot water and baking soda. Set aside.
Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface and cut the dough into 6 equal pieces.
Now for the fun part!
Working with one piece of dough at a time, covering the rest with a damp dish towel, roll out the dough into a long rope
Lift the dough to create a U-shape, cross the arms twice, and lower the ends back down toward the bottom and press them slightly together to make them stick. I got the hang of it by the last one.
Dip the pretzel into the baking soda bath and place it on one of the baking sheets. repeat with the rest.
Sprinkle the pretzels with with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and bake, turning occasionally, until golden brown. 10-15 minutes.
Transfer the pretzels, on the parchment paper, to a cooling rack to let cool completely.
Meanwhile set up your work station with a shallow dish of melted butter and another shallow dish of granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
Dip each pretzel into the butter, then coat on both sides with the cinnamon sugar.
Enjoy!
