homemade soft pretzel |

The smell of Auntie Anne’s wafting through the mall always gets me. After our recent trip to Peck & Bushel and my new crop of Honeycrisps, I was inspired to combine apples with my favorite mall treat.

If yeast intimidates you, don’t let it! Using yeast for homemade dough is really very simple. You just need a little extra time for the dough to rise (I use that time to clean my kitchen!)

Cinnamon Apple Soft Pretzels

1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 C warm water
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 C cake flour
1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 large apple, peeled and finely diced (about 1 cup)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 TBSP baking soda
2 C hot water
4 TBSP melted butter
1/2 C sugar

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir until fully dissolved. Add brown sugar and salt and stir. One cup at a time, add cake flour, stirring well until incorporated. Add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Slowly add AP flour, until soft dough forms. Knead dough with hands in bowl for 5 minutes, until smooth, making sure all flour is incorporated into the dough.

Place dough in a greased bowl, turning over to coat. Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Punch down dough. Split into about 10-12 balls. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 12-15 inch strip.

In a bowl, mix hot water and baking soda until dissolved. Dunk each strip into the baking soda water and dab dry with a paper towel (the baking soda will give the pretzel a golden, crispy crust!). Grab the dough by each end and twist the corners inward, crossing them over each other to form a pretzel shape. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Melt butter in microwave. Mix sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon in a bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush pretzels with butter. Using a spoon, shake cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the pretzels. Shake to remove access topping.

Serve warm.