This copycat recipe for soft pretzels is inspired by Auntie Anne’s soft pretzel nuggets. They make a great after school snack and are a fun way to start cooking with kids.
One of our favorite things at the mall are the Auntie Anne’s soft pretzels. We’ve enjoyed many of the varieties, but my kids’ favorite is the pretzel nuggets. I decided to try making them at home and have my kids help me. Vanessa was really excited, but Zack was hesitant to do it with us, but once we got going he really enjoyed it.
First, dissolve 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in 1 ½ cups warm water
Stir in 4 cups of flour. I used my Kitchen Aid and dough hook.
Knead until smooth and elastic. I let my mixer do the work but this could also be done by hand in the traditional way.
Place dough in a well oiled bowl and turn to coat.
Cover and let rise for one hour until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Turn dough onto floured surface.
Pat down and cut into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and cut into small sections.
Dissolve ¼ cup of baking soda in 2 cups of warm water.
Dip pretzel pieces into baking soda solution.
Place on a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle pieces with kosher salt.
Bake for 7-8 minutes until golden brown.
Dip each nugget in melted butter and they are ready to eat! We tried sprinkling on additional kosher salt, but it was too much. The kids also tried sprinkling on cinnamon and sugar which they thought was delicious as well!
I quickly folded a paper cup and the kids ran some pretzel nuggets over to our neighbor. Everyone thought they were delicious and my kids keep asking to make them again.
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 4 cups flour
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 2 cups warm water
- Kosher salt for topping
- Melted butter
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Dissolve yeast, sugar and salt in 1 1/2 cups warm water.
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Stir in flour.
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Knead until smooth and elastic.
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Place dough in a well oiled bowl and turn to coat.
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Cover and let rise for one hour.
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Preheat oven to 425°F.
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Turn dough onto floured surface. Pat down and cut into 12 pieces.
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Roll each piece into a rope and cut into small sections.
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Dissolve baking soda in 2 cups warm water.
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Dip dough pieces into baking soda solution.
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Place pieces on a greased cookie sheet.
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Sprinkle with kosher salt.
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Bake for 7-8 minutes until golden brown.
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Dip each nugget in melted butter after baking.
recipe inspired by Mall Pretzels
Looking for other after school snacks?
Try making Baked Mozzarella Cheese Sticks or Mini Fruit Pizza
Hi, I'm Tonia, a lover of food and photography! Fill a gunny sack with delicious ingredients, tie on an apron and let's get cooking!
Oh my goodness. Delicious. Made these yesterday- made the dough in my bread machine and then popped the bites in the oven. So so yummy. I’ll be making these again. Thanks for sharing!
If I wanted to par bake a batch of these, freeze them, and finish them off a handful at a time, what would you suggest?
I would bake them completely and then warm them up as you want to eat them. Like the soft pretzels in the freezer section of the grocery store. ~Tonia
These look great. Did you use all purpose flour or bread flour?
Hello Beth, I used all purpose flour. Happy Baking! ~Tonia
Thank you Tonia for sharing this recipe! I made them this weekend for my boys and they were absolutely fabulous. My son did the same thing and filled a cup full of them and ran them across the street to share them with his little friend because they were so delicious. We are making them again this weekend for some friends coming over for a play date.
I worked at Wetzel’s Pretzels back in high school and this is exactly how we made them (minus dumping the risen dough on a floured surface– I think our counters were nonstick somehow). I can’t wait to make these and compare the flavor and texture! I loooooove soft pretzels.
I’ve never tried Wetzel’s Pretzels but the last time I was at the Mall of America they were building one! I can’t wait to try them!
Loved your receipe, so easy and delicious., great options for older kids. Thank you for sharing, our little 11/2 year old can have a nutritious and fun snack too. Joan
So if you want to use cinnamon and sugar instead of salt do you still put it on before you put it the oven?
No, I skip the salt! 🙂 Here is my Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzel Recipe: https://www.thegunnysack.com/cinnamon-sugar-soft-pretzel-sticks/
These look delicious! Can they be stored and had later? Have to try these soo….i was craving these when i got back home from the USA
They can be but they are best when eaten fresh.
These are awesome lady!
Thanks Julie!
These look amazing! Stumbled 🙂
I love being able to make them at home!
We made this recipe and LOVED IT! It was so easy and delicious. They disapeared quickly. 🙂
I’m going to add them to my christmas giveaway treat bags this year!
Thanks!
These are so good; we’ve made them twice this week! We brush them with olive oil instead of butter to make them vegan. Great recipe!
Thanks Crystal! I love hearing that. I am planning to make these this week because it has been too long since we’ve had them!
Look great. How many do they make? I would like to make for my daughters first grade snack, but it is a very large class…28 kids.
Also have you made any good dips for them?
Hi Christie,
I would guess that it makes about 72 nuggets. It really depends on how small you cut the pieces. As far as the dip goes, my kids prefer cheese dip with their pretzel nuggets. I would suggest buying cheese dip that is made for chips because you don’t have to try to keep it warm for her class. If you are looking for something homemade you could try making my pizza fondue or Nutella fondue: https://www.thegunnysack.com/2012/12/family-meals-pizza-fondue-nutella-fondue.html Thanks for stopping by!
~Tonia
My grandchildren loooved these & I know I will be making them every time they come over!
Wonderful! I am so happy to hear that!
Just made these for an adult party and they were a huge hit!! Sent the website on to 3 different people. They were so delicious and I made a few dipping sauces to go with them. These are a total keeper! Thanks for sharing!
I am so happy to hear that! Thanks for stopping back to let me know. My daughter made them recently for a bunch of her friends and they love them too!
I just finished making these!! I put salt on them after I dipped them in butter, not before, and I put cinnamon and sugar on some of them too!! I must say I like the salt better! I was worried because I didn’t think the dough rose enough even though I left it for 1.5 hours, but they turned out *amazing*!! Thank you so much!! They were super easy 🙂
Just made these–so easy peasy! I’ll never pay $3.50 for a mall pretzel again! Thanks
Glad they turned out for you too!
holey moley made these over the weekend and they were a HUGE HUGE hit around the home and neighborhood. I highly enjoyed your step by step tutorial it helped tremendously. THANKS for a great new food in our home
Yay! I’m so glad you loved them as much as we did!
These were so wonderful!!! I topped them off with 3 options for my kids (and me). 1. Salt 2. Nacho Cheese 3. Cin-Sugar. I think #3 was my favorite. Great party or movie night treat!
P.S. The best thing is that I had everything to make them on hand…no extra trips to the store.
Those all sound like wonderful toppings! Thanks for stopping back to let us know you tried them!
I would love for you to link this up to my Tutorial Link Party today!!!
TUTORIAL LINK PARTY
http://www.thecreativeorchard.blogspot.com/2012/08/tutorial-link-party.html
I am going to try doing the dough on the dough cycle in my bread machine since my kneading is awful and I don’t own a mixer.
These seem doable! And they look amazing! Thanks for the great recipe!
YUM!!! I love pretzel bread so much!!!
Oh, I must make these! We’ve become a bit obsessed with these yummy nuggets on the last couple of trips to the mall – and I bet Caro would love to make some at home!
These look so good!!! I love pretzels from the mall 🙂
These were SO good! 5 stars! Have you ever tried to freeze to dough or the pretzel bites?
I am so happy to hear that you made these and that they turned out! Thanks for taking the time to stop back to tell me! I am sorry but I have never tried freezing the dough or the pretzel bites…we ended up eating all of them. 🙂
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Yumm-o! I {love} Auntie Anne’s, so I pinned this one for safe keeping 🙂 Thanks for sharing. Hugs!!
Tonia, you are not helping me here. I just (well, not just. It took a long time) lost about 10 pounds. I think I might eat that back in pretzel bites this week. YUM!!!!!
oh my – they look delicious! we love annies pretzles
I’ve never heard of these before but OMG Tonia. They look gorgeous! Yummo!
Anne xx
Holy…moly!! Drooling….
these seem like a great snack, and I love the way they look in the paper and string!
Ah! These are so cute! I love homemade recipes and the way you packaged them is adorable. Grr, if only I could remember how to fold a paper cup! I’ll have to google it 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing, I’m pinning this for later! I’d love if you shared this at my Throwback Thursday party. I hope to see you there! http://www.hubbymademe.com/throwback-thursday-no-7/
these look mouthwatering Tonia! I could pop them in my mouth all day! I love making homemade pretzels, but the bite-sized idea is great!
Yummy !! Gotta go see if I have the ingredients to make these if not look out store here I come !! Thank You
Okay, NOW I’m hungry. Just may need to try those.
Yum, those look amazing! We don’t have an Auntie Anne’s so I’ll have to try these out. 🙂
We love the Auntie Annes pretzels! These will go over well at my house!
Oh dear, dear Tonia. You are a woman after my heart. Soft pretzels are my weakness and I can never walk by an Auntie Annes withoutstopping! Delicious.
Great photos and the food sounds perfect. I am going to try these at my house soon. I think they’d be perfect for a kids’ playdate too– bite size and yummy!
These look fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing, the step-by-step pictures are so helpful. Looks like I am making pretzels tonight… 🙂