Pumpkin Spice Pretzels

Pumpkin Spice Pretzels

These adorable, pumpkin-shaped, deliciously coated in sugar and spice pretzels are the perfect treat for a chilly fall day! With a little baker’s twine and my favorite pretzel dough recipe, these come together quickly without any rise times. It’s finally time again to enjoy all the fall flavors. Happy fall!

INGREDIENTS:

Dough Ingredients:
1.5 cups warm milk
2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Pumpkin Spice Topping Ingredients:
4 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves

DIRECTIONS:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm milk and yeast. Give that a quick whisk and let it sit for 5-10 minutes to activate.
2. When the yeast is active, whisk in the brown sugar, salt, and softened butter. Add the flour and bring to a shaggy dough with your hands. Change to a dough hook attachment and knead the dough on the lowest setting for three minutes.
3. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for ten minutes. Preheat the oven to 400F and prepare two aluminum baking sheets lined with wax paper. Prepare 24 pieces of oven-safe baker’s twine, each should be about 12″ long.
4. Lightly flour your hands and a work surface. Turn out your dough and divide it into eight equal pieces with a floured pastry knife. Shape your pumpkins by bringing a piece of dough to a ball, pinching any seams at one end. Seams side down, roll the ball of dough around on the counter with the palm of your hand to get a perfectly round shape. Place four pieces of prepared baker’s twine flat in a star shape. Place the dough ball, seams side down, in the center of the star, and tie all the pieces together at the top to create the lines of a pumpkin. Cut off the excess string at the top and place on the wax paper. Repeat for all eight pretzels.
5. Bake on the middle rack at 400F for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are nicely browned. Let cool before carefully removing the baker’s twine.
6. Melt the topping butter in the microwave and set aside. In a separate bowl, stir together the pumpkin spice ingredients until well blended. Brush the pretzels generously with the melted butter and toss in the pumpkin spice blend. Repeat for all eight pumpkins and finish with pieces of a stick for the decorative stems. To keep the pretzels fresh, I only top the ones I plan to eat right away and store the rest without their butter and sugar coating. When I’m ready to eat them, I heat them up for a few minutes in the oven before adding the toppings.