Since I realize I need to live a much healthier lifestyle (starting tomorrow!) I decided I wanted to go out with a bang! None other, than with my friend Auntie Anne. She makes these AMAZING pretzels. They are to die for. She even gave me her recipe, so I thought I would try making them myself.
I have always wanted to make them and do the whole fancy twisty thing, and they actually turned out quite nice. But the looks of these were totally deceiving because Trav and I didn't care for them (which is probably a good thing). Because even though I made them out of the official Auntie Anne's Box from Walmart, they don't even compare to the real thing. In fact, the knock-off recipe that I have is actually a lot better. So the only good thing that came out of them was that the box came with a buy one get one free pretzel inside!
If you have a weakness for these babies like I do, click here to use the recipe that I like or just keep reading...
Auntie Anne's Pretzels: Copycat Recipe
2 cups milk
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
6 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons fine salt
1/3 cup baking soda
3 cups warm water
Coarse salt or cinnamon sugar, or BOTH =)
8 tablespoons butter, melted in a shallow dish
Warm up the milk in the microwave. You only want it lukewarm. Stir in the yeast and let it sit for about 3 minutes. Add the butter and sugar. Gradually add the flour and then add the fine salt. Knead for about 5-10 minutes with a stand mixer, or by hand. (I do not have the luxury of having a KitchenAid so I have to do this by hand, but it's not so bad, you just get a good arm workout ha ha). Put it in a greased bowl and cover with greased seran wrap. Let rise for 1 hour in a moist, warm place until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 450ยบ. Punch down dough and divide into 12 lumps (I like to divide it in half, then divide each half into three, and then divide each remaining one in half again). Roll them all out as thin as you can. Combine the warm water and baking soda in a wide bowl. Form the dough into pretzel shapes***, then dip in the baking soda water. Place on a greased baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt. BUT, if you are wanting to make cinnamon pretzels, just skip the sprinkling salt part. Bake for about 7-11 minutes or until browned. Dip each in the melted butter while hot. Now if you want cinnamon sugar, sprinkle it on AFTER you have dipped them into the butter. Otherwise, serve with cheese sauce. The recipe for the cheese sauce is below.
***To make them like Auntie Anne's, take the long dough strand and shape them into a big "U" shape, take the ends and cross them over, then cross them again. This gives it the twist look. take the ends bring them towards you, and place them at the bottom of the "U".
For Garlic Cheese Sauce:
(A Yammie original)
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cloves minced garlic
1 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
a pinch cayenne pepper
8 oz. block cheddar cheese, shredded
In a saucepan, combine the butter, flour, and garlic over medium heat. Whisk until lightly browned. Whisk in the milk, paprika, and cayenne pepper and continue whisking until thickened. Add the cheese and whisk until melted. Can be reheated in the microwave.
