My all time popular post on my blog during this season are these bunny shaped pretzels recipe. The other day I happened to come across the recipe so by the end of church I was craving pretzels. No, I’m not pregnant but sometimes when I get something on my mind that I want to cook, I don’t rest until I’ve made it.
When we got home from church I went straight to the kitchen to make some. My husband asked me what I was making and when I replied with pretzels he immediately said, “No meat.” Ha, that’s a man for you. So I decided to make some Pepperoni Pizza Pretzels so that some meat would be included. We ate it with a delicious salad and we were good to go plus we had plenty to enjoy for lunch again during the week.
I used my all time favorite soft german pretzel dough recipe to make this cheesy yumminess, bursting with pepperoni in every bite. It’s better than the stuff you get in the mall.
Homemade Pizza Pretzels
- 2 cups Water
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 envelopes active dry yeast 4 tspn
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
- 2tbl baking soda for the water-bath dipping part
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water
- salt
- 1 tbl italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup pepperoni diced
- 2 tbl parmesan
- In a large bowl, stir the brown sugar into 2 cups of warm water until dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vegetable oil and 3 cups of the flour. Knead in the remaining 2 3/4 cups of flour; the dough will be slightly sticky.
2. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead until silky, about 3 minutes; if the dough is very sticky, knead in up to 1/4 cup more flour. Transfer the dough to a large, oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. See image #1 above.
Preheat the oven to 450°. Line 3 large cookie sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper or I used foil and it worked fine.
3. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a floured work surface. Add the cheese and pepperoni. I used cheddar because I ran out of mozzarella.
Shaping the dough: Knead the dough lightly, and pinch off dough the size of a golf ball.
Roll each piece into a 9-inch stick/snake about 1/2 inch thick. See image #2 above. You can make them as thick and as long as you like. I made mine the size in picture and I was able to make 18 medium sized pretzels.
Then shape it to look like image above. A circle with bunny ears. Then fold over to resemble a heart. See image above.
4. Now you need to set up your pretzel station See #4 image above. You’ll need 3 bowls: baking soda bath, egg wash and seasonings bowls.
- Prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cps of warm water and 2 tbls of baking soda in one bowl. Stir it often. Dip the pretzels in the water. Transfer the pretzel sticks to paper towels to drain, then return them to the cookie sheets, spacing them evenly.
- Brush or dip the pretzel in the egg wash (1 large egg with 1 TBL water) in another bowl.
- Final station is seasonings bowl. We used salt, italian seasoning and parmesan. Or you can leave it plain. Dip egg wash pretzel in seasonings bowl. Place on the baking sheet.
- Bake until browned, about 10-12 minutes.
The baked pretzels can be stored overnight in a plastic bag. You can eat them cold or reheat before serving. Perfect for snacking or lunch!
