Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Homemade Pretzels

One of the great things about participating in a co-op preschool is getting to be a part of your child's preschool education, including the snacks that they eat.  Each day a parent is in charge of snack for the day, and at Taylor's preschool, the teachers encouraged us to serve a snack that was not only interesting, but encouraged involvement from the kids in preparing the snack.  Your typical cheese and crackers was sort of poo-pooed upon if I'm to be totally honest here.  While this could often cause a pressure cooker type of environment for the moms, it often resulted in some pretty cool snack options for the kids.

Case in point, homemade pretzels.  These were such a hit with the kids that they were prepared quite often.  We whipped up a batch today and I was amazed at how easy and fun they were.

Your ingredients:
1 package Rapid Rise Yeast
4 c flour (Better for Bread flour preferred)
1.5 c warm water
1 egg for egg wash
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
Kosher salt for sprinkling on top 
In a bowl mix together yeast, sugar, salt and warm water
Add in your flour
Stir it up
Knead the dough until as soft as possible on a lightly floured surface
Form pieces of the dough into any shape you want, such as turtles
Unicorns
Sneak in a bite of the raw dough when you think moms not looking, 
because no matter how gross it tastes, kids must always test out raw dough of any kind.
Brush on your egg wash
Sprinkle on your Kosher salt
And make silly faces while your pretzels bake in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until browned
When done, marvel at your yummy accomplishment!
And enjoy!  I like mine with classic yellow mustard, while Taylor prefers hers nice and simple.
"Look mom!  I bit off my unicorn's tail!"
Have you baked up anything fun this summer?  If so, please share.  
My sous chef is always looking for a new recipe to try!

19 comments:

  1. This reminds me that I need to put pretzels on our list. We love to do this, and it's so dang easy!

    Our goal is to try one new smoothie recipe every Sunday night. So far no home runs, but it has been fun!

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  2. We are so baking these this summer. Thanks for easy recipe. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

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  3. Very fun! I NEED a bigger kitchen (and another pair of hands!) but I think I will attempt these with the boys this summer. They look super yummy.

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  4. So no boiling, hus? The recipe I have requires boiling like my bagel recipe. Although that is not hard, one less step is always appreciated. I think I'll try this one.
    Thanks!

    Oh, ad we just made awesome smoothies the other day and turned them into popsicles too.
    Frozen, wild blueberries
    Strawberry Keefir
    Ground flax seeds
    Milk
    A touch of honey
    Total home run!

    Love from,
    Greta

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  5. yum - we'll try these for sure!

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  6. Yum! These look great! And you have adorable little helpers too. :) Recently I made some chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons and they were amazing! Maybe not appropriate for preschool, but definitely for home! The recipe is on epicurious.com

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  7. Thanks for the recipe! They actually look like they are easy enough to do with my nephews! My boys are all grown so they wouldn't find this as much fun! ( : can't wait to try this out. Maybe tomorrow. Have a pretty day, Kristin

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  8. Will definitely have to try to adapt this recipe as a gluten-free one for Matty...will have to skip the eggwash as well. Been in total cooking/baking mode, too. We made our own granola bars that were super tasty! Will pass on the recipe when I get the chance.

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  9. Hi there,
    Thanks for stopping by my blog to say hi! "Hi" right back to ya!:)
    And thanks for this great easy pretzel recipe.
    We may need to try these next week!
    Your kitchen is gorgeous!
    Enjoy the day

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  10. yum! we've been wanting to make pretzels but i haven't taken the plunge cause i didn't have an easy recipe. now i do!!! thanks girl!
    p.s. unicorn shaped pretzels are my favorite :)

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  11. yes, I will be making these soon. very, very soon. I love pretzels! thanks for sharing!

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  12. Thanks for all the comments ladies! I can assure you that these are as easy to make as they look. Let me know if you try them!

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  13. I am So scared of yeast! ha ha!
    but If I can make Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls ... I can make these! and I will as soon as my kids get home from their weekend away (I get to stay home alone! *bells*) =) My kids would love them with cinnamon sugar too ~ have you ever tried ?? they do it in the pretzel stores... =) hm...
    So excited to try them ~ thank you!

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  14. Hey Andrea - thanks for another fun recipe to try. I was at Target for diaper and random things yesterday afternoon, and they had BOTH the rapid rise yeast (on clearance!) AND the better for bread flour. I was impressed Target carried these - might make them now with the kids! Have a great weekend!

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  15. Yum!! We are totally going to try these soon! Thanks!

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  16. I'm so excited there is so much excitement about pretzels! And I LOVE the cinnamon/sugar idea! YUM! Jodi, I too got my ingredients at Target too! I bought a few packs of the yeast since they were on sale :) Great minds think alike!

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  17. Thank you for sharing!
    It's 8 am and I am craving pretzels!!

    I shall attempt these this weekend with my two little sweeties!

    Have a great day!!!

    Jill Marie

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