Oh baby. I love carbs. What better way to carbo load than with a nice warm soft pretzel? It’s like squeezing six pieces of bread into one delicious, bread bomb. Wonderful. We’re mixing it up a bit today and making pretzel knots for no reason other than to mix it up.
I like these particular pretzels for a couple of reasons.
- They are dinner roll sized so they make for a fun twist on the classic dinner rolls
- They are sprinkled with sea salt and sea salt is the best kind of salt (in my opinion).
- They come with a cream cheese ranch dip and those are my four favorite words.
- They only have to rise once which saves me precious time
I always think of the mall when I eat a soft pretzel. If I’m going to eat one that’s usually where it is. Because, of course, you need a ton of extra energy to shop right? I do. Shopping DRAINS ME. I don’t mean walking around browsing and window shopping. The kind of shopping where you need something specific or you’re birthday or Christmas shopping. That takes energy and brain power my friends
Ok, enough of my rambling. Go and make these pretzels and tell me what you think!
Pretzel Knots with Cream Cheese Ranch
Ingredients
Pretzel Knots
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast or one packet
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup scalded milk
- 4 tablespoons melted butter plus more to brush on top
- 4 1/2-5 cups all purpose flour
- 5 cups water
- 1/3 cup baking soda
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons coarse sea salt
Cream Cheese Ranch
- 1 8 oz package cream cheese
- 1 ranch seasoning packet
Instructions
Pretzel Knots
- Mix together warm water, brown sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast over the top of the mixture and let sit for 10 minutes
- Using the dough hook attachment, slowly mix in the milk, flour and butter until everything is well combined
- Allow the dough to knead in the mixer for 5 minutes or until it pulls away from the side of the bowl as it spins
- Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a dish towel, and let rise for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees
- Prepare two cookie sheet with greased parchment paper or cooking spray
- Combine water and baking soda in a medium sized pot and bring it to a boil
- While the water is coming to a boil divide the dough into twelve equal pieces.
- Form the dough into a knot by making a snake (think play dough), twist it, and then curl it into a circle (or however you want to shape it)
- When the water is boiling submerge each pretzel knot in the water for 30 seconds, then place it on the cookie sheet one at a time
- Crack egg into a small bowl and whisk it until foamy
- Brush the egg wash over the top of the pretzels
- Bake the pretzels in the preheated oven for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown
- Remove from the oven and brush with butter and sprinkle with coarse sea salt
Cream Cheese Ranch Dip
- Mix together cream cheese and ranch packet. That's it
