So be honest, how often are you walking through the mall past the pretzel shop and the smell is very tempting?   I know it is for me {and my kids}.  But, sometimes I just can’t bring myself to pay so much for something I can make myself for a fraction of the cost.  These pretzels are best fresh from the oven and IF they last longer than that they are still good.  I even just throw them in the microwave for just a few seconds to warm them back up.  This is a great one for the kids to help with.  My 5 year-old help roll out the “snakes”.  Isn’t it fun when you can play with your food? 😉

Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:

4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water
5 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbls. vegetable oil

1/2 cups baking soda
4 cups water

Toppings:

Experiment with the toppings.  These are what my family likes.  Try a couple of different kinds.  The amounts listed below are for an entire batch of one kind.  So if you are going to make a variety of kinds, you won’t need so much of each topping.

Cinnamon Sugar- 1/2 cup sugar & 1 tsp. cinnamon
Everything- 2 tsp. each: dry onions, kosher salt, poppy seeds & sesame seeds
Salted- use kosher salt
Cheese- 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (most any kind will work)

Directions:

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar into 1 1/2 cups warm water.  Let stand about 10 minutes.  (The yeast should become very active; becoming very foamy.)

In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt.  Make a well in the center, add the oil and yeast mixture.  Mix, using the dough hook attachment.  If the mixture is too dry, add 1-3 Tablespoons warm water.  Knead the dough until smooth, about 7-8 minutes.  {The dough is dense, but don’t worry it will rise and your pretzels will be delicious.}

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil.  Cover with plastic wrap or clean towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

After dough has doubled, divide into 12 equal pieces.  Let rest 5 minutes uncovered.  While dough is resting preheat oven to 450.  In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a rolling boil.  Turn off the heat and add 1/2 cup baking soda.

Roll each of the 12 pieces of dough into a rope {about 18 inches long} and twist into pretzel shape.  Once all 12 pretzels are formed, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solutions for about 5 seconds.  Place pretzels onto 2 greased baking trays.

Sprinkle any desired toppings and bake 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Once pretzels have come out of the oven, brush all but the cheese topping with melted butter and place on a cooling rack.