Pretzel Twisting, Anyone?

It’s yet another cold night and with some extra time on my hands, I decided to try a pretzel recipe that my friend Amber shared with me. However, I wanted to be a little more adventurous and add a healthy sweet spin.

Here’s my recipe for honey wheat apple cinnamon pretzels:

Dough:
1/8 cup hot water
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
4 cups whole wheat flour

Baking soda bath:
4 cups water
4 tablespoons baking soda

Cooking spray
Melted butter
Cinnamon sugar for topping

– Prep your baking soda bath by adding ingredients to a 3-4 qt pan and letting it come to a gentle boil.
– Prep another baking sheet with cooking spray, being sure it is fully greased.
– Preheat your oven to 475 degrees.

– In a large bowl, combine hot water & yeast. Stir until dissolved.
– Add warm water, brown sugar, applesauce, honey and cinnamon. Stir until combined.
– Slowly add 4 cups of whole wheat flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a dough that doesnt stick to the sides of the bowl.
– Lightly flour counter or a large baking sheet and also your hands.
– Knead the dough until it is stretch & smooth. Push dough down and away from you with the palms of your hands, turning the dough as you work.
– Divide the dough into 8 equal sized balls. Using the following 4 steaps, shape each dough balls into a pretzel shape:
1. Roll the dough into a 14″ long rope as thick as your thumb. Bend the dough into a U shape.
2. Cross one ends of the rope over the other one. The ropes should cross about 3″ from the tips.
3. Twist the crossed ends, making a full turn. Fold ends back, towards the middle of the U.
4. Open the ends slightly to form a pretzel shape. Press ends into the dough firmly.

– After you’ve made your pretzels, your baking soda bath will be ready.
– Using a pancake turner/wide slotted spatula, immerse one pretzel into the water and allow it to come up to the surface. It will float when its ready – about 30-35 seconds.
– Place pretzel onto your greased cookie sheet, shaking off excess water.
– Spray the tops of your pretzels with cooking spray and bake for 8-10 minutes.
– Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.
– Brush with melted butter and top with cinnamon sugar.