It was a huge week for me. I directed my first live performances in over a year, I started to engage in my new role as the choir director in another district for next year, we had daily dress rehearsals after school involving two hundred people, and I ran out of coffee on Tuesday. Occasionally I would look up from my life last week and remember that I used to go at this pace all the time…how? Anyway, I have finally made it to the weekend, and I felt the need to bake something with flavors that are deeply comforting to me. What could be more comforting than apple and cinnamon? These Apple Cinnamon Pretzels are soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, and covered with a sweet caramel drizzle. The taste is amazing, but honestly they’re worth baking just for the amazing smell that will fill your house as the cinnamon flavor develops in the oven.
Take that savory favorite and give it a sweet spin!
Jump to RecipeI’ve explored soft pretzels before, and I think they are super fun to make. I’ve made plain ones of course, and I have a recipe published on this blog for bacon cheddar jalapeno pretzels that is perfect for game day, but I’ve never made sweet ones before. I knew I had to try it though, because I was craving some sweet treats from my childhood.
When I was a kid, I loved to go to Notre Dame football games with my mom and my grandpa. I associate a lot of great memories with those games, but one thing I remember clearly is the food. I had two treats I really liked: a cinnamon sugar soft pretzel, and a caramel apple. They did the caramel apples in a very strange way at Notre Dame Stadium: they would cut up a raw apple and then pour hot caramel and nuts all over it, give it to you in a bowl, and you would eat it with a fork.
This treat combines both of those stadium foods into a comforting and nostalgic treat.
Cinnamon Apple Pretzels: the elements.
This recipe starts with a basic enriched dough made with instant yeast, whole milk, brown sugar, butter, and flour. I wanted a slightly more complex flavor, so I included some whole wheat flour in this recipe. That also helps me rationalize my actions when I eat three of them in the middle of the night tonight. I need the fiber, right?
While it was rising, I prepared my filling. I was tempted to use all fresh apples, but I was worried about adding too much moisture to the dough. So, I supplemented with some dried apples. I tossed the apples with some cinnamon and other good things, and then worked it all into my pretzels.
After letting the dough rest again, I shaped it into six pretzels, gave them a little bath in some boiling water, and did an egg wash.
I stole that cinnamon crunch from Panera and I’m not sorry.
You know those “bagels” that they have at Panera that are basically just a cluster of sugar and cinnamon pretending to be a breakfast food?
I love those.
Also, they take something savory (ish), a bagel, and make it a dessert; this then gives you an excuse (if you feel like you need one) to eat dessert for breakfast. I personally have never felt the need to search for an excuse for that particular behavior. Do I regularly eat reeses cups for breakfast? Can neither confirm nor deny.
I wanted that effect for these cinnamon apple pretzels, so I jumped all the way into the deep end of this recipe and dumped cinnamon, sugar, and sea salt all over them before baking them. It definitely paid off, that cinnamon-covered exterior is the bomb dot com.
Last step for these cinnamon apple pretzels? Caramel, of course.
I was nervous about making any sort of caramel because I’m generally terrible at it, and I am pretty traumatized by having to clean pan after pan of crystallized or burned sugar.
However, I just had to have some sort of caramel element for this, so I sucked it up, briefly considered cheating by using a can of dulce de leche, gave myself a little talking-to, and made this (fairly foolproof, thank goodness) caramel drizzle.
It’s basically brown sugar, butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and sea salt.
I mean. It’s hard to imagine something tasting bad with that ingredient list.
Looking for another caramel apple recipe? Check out my caramel appletini cupcakes. They are arguably the most outlandish recipe on this site, but I really like them. They are super unusual.
Easy Apple Cinnamon Pretzels with Caramel Drizzle
Course: SnacksCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Intermediate6
pretzels30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalThis easy recipe has apples baked into a soft enriched dough, a cinnamon sugar crunch topping, and a creamy caramel drizzle to finish.
Ingredients
- For the dough:
1 cup whole milk
1 package of instant yeast
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
4 T unsalted butter, melted
1 t nutmeg
1 t salt
1 apple, diced
1/2 cup dried apple rings, diced
1 T ground cinnamon
1/8 t cloves
1/4 cup baking soda
1 egg for an egg wash.
- For the cinnamon topping:
2 T cinnamon
2 T sugar
1 t flaky salt
- For the caramel drizzle
3 T butter
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup cream
1 1/4 C powdered sugar
Directions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the milk, yeast, brown sugar, butter, nutmeg, salt, and flour. Turn on the mixer to low, and as it starts to come together, pour in your melted butter. Turn the mixer to medium, and let it knead your dough for at least five minutes. It should still be fairly soft.
- Pop your dough in a bowl smeared with oil or butter, turning the dough so that it is all coated. Cover and leave to rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, combine your apple, dried apple, cinnamon in a small bowl, tossing to combine.
- Turn out your dough onto a floured surface and work the apple mixture in, kneading it until it is all combined. Put it back in the bowl to rest for another twenty minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and boil a large pot of water.
- Turn out your dough onto a floured surface, and divide it into six equal portions. Roll out each portion into a rope that is approximately 18 inches long, and shape them into pretzels.
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray.
- Dump your baking soda into the boiling water, and then cook your pretzels in the water one at a time for approximately thirty seconds each, placing them on the baking sheet as they are finished. Brush them with a lightly whisked egg.
- Combine the ingredients for the cinnamon topping, and sprinkle liberally over the pretzels. Bake them for 15-17 minutes or until they are a dark golden brown color. Allow them to cook on a baking rack.
- Put your butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, and cook until smooth and combined. It will start to bubble a little. Pour in the cream, and whisk vigorously until combined and smooth. Remove from the heat. Add the salt and powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Put it in a piping bag and pipe ribbons of caramel drizzle over the pretzels. Allow to set for a few minutes, and enjoy!
