Cooking for you, for me.

Mini Soft Pretzels!

Yes, we all love them. We all crave them. And sadly enough, the only ones that satisfy my cravings for these delicious twists of salty goodness are those from the NYC pretzel carts. I live in Florida. That’s a problem. Well my friends, not anymore! Here is a really simple, really fun recipe that will hold any NYC pretzel lovin’ foodie over until their next visit!

Pour 2 c. of warm water (about 100 degrees F) and 1 tablespoon sugar into bowl of electric mixer fitted with a dough hook (or you can do this by hand) and mix on low. Sprinkle with one packet of active dry yeast and let sit for 10 minutes. After ten minutes of sitting you will notice the yeast looks all foamy. Add 1 cup flour to yeast mixture, and mix on low until combined. Add 1 TBSP salt and 4 more c. flour, and mix until combined, about 30 seconds.

Beat on medium-low until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add another 1/2 cup flour, and knead on low 1 minute more. If dough is still wet and sticky, add 1/2 cup more flour (this will depend on weather conditions), if it is super dry and the flour is still not incorporated add a tiny splash of warm water.

Transfer to a lightly floured board, and knead about ten times, or until smooth.

Pour 2 TSP of canola or vegetable oil into a large bowl; swirl to coat sides. Transfer dough to bowl, turning dough to completely cover all sides with a little bit of the oil from the bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel, and leave in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size.

Punch down dough to remove bubbles. Transfer to a lightly floured board. Knead once or twice, divide into 32 equal pieces, then wrap them in plastic wrap to keep them contained, or space them out on a board where they are not touching eachother. Take one piece at a time and roll it out into a long strip (rolling out is easier when surface is not floured). Twist the long piece into a pretzel shape and set aside on parchment paper. Continue until all dough is twisted into pretzel shape. Let pretzels rest for a total of 15 minutes to allow for them to rise again, the first few pretzels you twisted should be ready by the time you finish all 32 (unless you are a pro pretzel twister…)

In a large pot, fill with two inches of water and bring to a boil. Add 1/4 c. baking soda (and quickly step back- it foams up really fast) and 2 TBSP sugar. Reduce to a simmer. Drop three-four pretzels in the pot at a time and poach, one minute per side. Then take out and repeat until all are done.

Preheat oven to 450 degree F. Beat one egg with 1 TBSP water, brush the poached pretzels with the glaze- this will give them that nice golden color! Sprinkle with coarse salt (or desired topping- I also used sesame seeds upon request. If you want to do cinnamon sugar, wait until they are out of the oven). Bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Pretzels are best when eaten warm! But they can stay good for a few days.

If you want to do the cinnamon sugar topping, now is the time to do it. Melt a few TBSP of unsalted butter, brush the warm pretzels with the butter on both sides and then dip in a bowl with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Don’t forget if you made the salted pretzels, serve with some yummy mustard on the side!

This is a great recipe to do with kids, they’ll love twisting their own pretzels! To be honest, my mom was very skeptical over my plans to make these soft pretzels, but once she saw me twisting them she jumped right in!

*Recipe came from the fabulous Smitten Kitchen