March 08, 2011

Pretzels

Cinnamon and sugar and lot's of LOVE!
I have been wanting to make homemade pretzels since I saw the recipe for it in my Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook. There it sat, right in between the Bialy's and Montreal Bagels recipe's.  Since I have been a bagel making fool lately, I was running across this little recipe quite a bit and it was pleading for me to try it out.  Today, I did just that.  I swear the page is smiling at me.  If not, I know for a fact that my family was smiling after they tried them hot out of the oven!  My hubby has been very lovey dovey since I brought one down to him.  I made two different versions, one with salt and one with cinnamon and sugar.  Here's the link for the recipe: Homemade Soft Pretzels



For the cinnamon and sugar pretzels that I made, instead of sprinkling salt over them, I sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar.  Easy as that!

I rolled it out to about 21 inches long
Shaped it into a U shape and twisted the ends
Let them rest for about 20 minutes, covered loosely with wrap

I set up my pretzel station
Simmer for 2 minutes on one side and flip and let simmer for 1 minute more
When you pull them out of the water, lay them on a lightly floured towel
Fresh out of the oven, probably could have let them go a little longer.  Next time!
Sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar
Sprinkled with salt
 Feeling saucy or sweet?

Cheddar cheese sauce - try this on your salted pretzels.  If you don't want to go through the trouble of making a sauce, but you need a little something extra.  Try mustard!

Ingredients:
½ Tablespoon unsalted butter
½ Tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup milk
8 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:
For the cheese sauce:
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the Cheddar cheese until smooth and all of the cheese is melted.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Source: two peas and their pod

Cream Cheese Frosting - for the cinnamon and sugar pretzels

Ingredients:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use. 

Source:  Allrecipes

4 comments:

  1. Proud of you Dee, You sure have come along way from what you did when you helped me as a little girl. Do you want me to share!!!!

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  2. Lol! If you share, I won't share my goodies with you anymore!

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  3. Pretzels are one of those things that I really like but have never attempted to make myself. You may have just changed my mind. They look really good!

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  4. My personal favorite was the cinnamon and sugar but the hubby really liked the salty ones. You should give them a try, they were pretty easy.

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Comments make me smile! Thank you for your love :)