Sweet Pretzels

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Mine involved multiple lady dates. Friday was all about garlicky shawarma sandwiches and hummus downtown. Saturday involved sharing a pitcher of margaritas and fajitas for two with this lovely lady.

My weekend totally involved these sweet pretzels too. They are made from the sweet dough in the April issue of Bon Appetit! It’s brioche-esque and buttery. And with the sugar on top these are like eating a bagel/donut combo. I’m into it.

Oh! And if you bake these lovely pretzels, do me a favor. While they’re warm, slice (at least) one in half and make a jam and goat cheese sandwich. I promise, you’ll love it.

Let’s just eat sweet sandwiches always, ok?
(Like this one too!)

Sweet Pretzels (makes 12)
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2012

Ingredients:

sweet dough –

• 2/3 cup milk
• 5 T sugar, divided
• 1 3/4 t active dry yeast
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (+1/2 cup, maybe)
• 1 t kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

toppings –

• 1 egg white + 1 t water = egg wash
• 1/4 T sugar divided
• zest from 1/2-1 lemon
• 1/2 t cinnamon

Directions:

1. Heat milk in a 2-cup measuring cup on the stove or in your  microwave until warm, but not hot. (I heated mine in the microwave for about a minute at 20-second bursts.) Whisk in 1 tablespoon of sugar and yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes, or until foamy. Whisk in eggs.
2. Combine the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar, flour, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook*. Add milk mixture, and with the mixer running, add the butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Knead on medium-high speed until dough is soft and silky. Add up to another 1/2 cup of flour to make the dough more manageable. It should be pulling away from the side of the bowl.
3. Spray a medium bowl with cooking spray or brush with melted butter; place the dough in the bowl turning once to coat. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm area until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.
4. Preheat your oven to 375°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces, rolling each into a 17″ long rope. Form the rope into a pretzel shape and place on the prepared pan. Repeat with all of the dough. Cover with a tea towel for 30 minutes.
6. Rub lemon zest into 2 tablespoons of sugar, in a separate bowl stir the cinnamon into the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Brush each pretzel with the egg wash and sprinkle half with the lemon sugar and the other half with the cinnamon sugar.
7. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack. Eat as is, or make sweet sandwiches!

YAY! Click HERE for a printable pdf of the recipe above.

I just love them both in different ways!