Hot Buttered Fluffy Pretzels

Have you ever waited in one of those really long lines at the mall…you know…the ones for Auntie Anne’s, or Wetzel’s Pretzels?

You just can’t help it right?

You can smell that darned cinnamon sugar and butter wafting over from like 100 feet away.

Well try these at home, and you’ll never buy those mall pretzels ever again.

There’s just no reason to anymore, because these taste better and cost like $1 to make a whole tray.

I know, I’m a sucker for those cinnamon sugar ones too. But all you have to do is toss these in cinnamon sugar and you’ve got the exact same thing that you can buy from the kiosk.

Let me walk you through the process:

Yield: 8 pretzels

Dough Ingredients:
12.5 oz all purpose flour (2.5 cups)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2.25 tsp instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup lukewarm water (the amount used depends on the humidity in your kitchen)

Topping Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
1 tbsp baking soda
vegetable oil for greasing the sheet pan
coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
Combine all the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, and mix with the paddle attachment until somewhat combined (or just mix by hand with a wooden spoon).  Change to the dough hook and knead on medium low for 5 minutes.  The dough should feel soft and smooth, not sticky.

Lightly dust the dough with flour, then place in a ziploc bag and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.  Lightly grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil.

Remove the dough from the bag and place onto a lightly oiled countertop.  Cut the dough into 8 pieces, and let rest for 5 minutes.  Look at all the lovely yeast bubbles!

In the meantime, whisk to combine the warm water and baking soda and cook in the microwave for 1 minute (fyi it probably won’t dissolve completely).

Roll each piece into a long rope, and shape into a pretzel.    Make the first loop:

Then take the other end and pull it through the first loop:

Dip each pretzel into the soda wash and place onto the greased baking sheet.  Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, then let rest for 10 minutes.

Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until the pretzels are golden brown.  Brush the pretzels with the melted butter while they are hot out of the oven.

Enjoy while they are hot, and keep in mind these don’t taste as amazing the next day.  Eat up!

Click here for the printable recipe.

Recipe adapted from Glenda’s Hot Buttered Pretzels.