Hurray for Friday! This is also the very last Friday of summer then we will officially be celebrating autumn and I can openly discuss Halloween plans completely guilt-free. Who else is with me?
To celebrate it being Friday and still summer, I made these super awesome, super sweet funfetti soft pretzel sticks for us to enjoy during the weekend. I've mentioned it before, but I will say it again: I am a complete pretzel addict. It's true. I was the lady who would go to the pretzel shop on a regular basis and buy 25 pretzels all at once and eat about 5 of them in a day.
By the time I was pregnant with my daughter, the people who owned the shop knew me so well they'd actually throw in a few pretzel dogs and mini pretzels and dips in the bag for me. I could have married each and every one of them when they did that. I think my perfect husband would be a German man whose family runs a quaint pretzel shop in Frankfurt. Have you ever been to Frankfurt? It is such a gorgeous city. I miss the multi-colored houses and karaoke night at the local pub where strangers would sing each other love songs and 70's Motwon hits. The mix of history and modern-day luxury intertwine so well in that small city. You can accidentally bump into Anne Frank's house on your way to the mall if you weren't looking. And as you walk around the Center City area you will find pretzel stand after pretzel stand. I would love to settle down in Germany one day.
These funfetti pretzel sticks are a perfect combination of sweet and salty and are 100% fun. They are the kind of pretzel I picture served wrapped up in a white paper bag at a carnival right next to the cotton candy guy.
The pretzels dough is very easy to make and very forgiving should you make any mistakes. I added in ¾ cups of sprinkles, but the dough may be easier to work with if you used only ½ a cup as I ran into a couple of issues with the dough ripping from being overstuffed with funfetti (what can I say, I wanted super colorful pretzels!). I also tested the icing using two different methods: (powdered sugar, extract, and milk and a buttercream version). I think they are both delicious, but the buttercream method is richer in flavor. If you don't have pretzel salt around, you can substitute with kosher salt or coarse sea salt.
Now, get in the kitchen and whip up a batch of funfetti pretzel sticks and enjoy your weekend!
If you don't have time to make these yummy pretzels now, pin the recipe for later!
Recipe Card
Funfetti Soft Pretzel Sticks
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups 375 mL very warm water (about 110 degrees F)
- 1 tablespoon sugar or other natural sweetener
- 1 package 2 ¼ teaspoons quick rise yeast
- 4 ½ cups 563 g all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ½ - ¾ cup sprinkles plus extra for sprinkling
- 10 cups 2500 mL water
- 1 cup 209 g baking soda
- pretzel salt
- 2 cups 240 g powdered sugar
- 3 - 4 tablespoons milk
- 1 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (optionally in place of the milk))
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add the water, sugar and yeast together and mix. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and kosher salt. Create a well in the middle of the flour and slowly add the yeast mixture. Mix well until a dough forms, then add in the butter. Knead for 5 minutes. Add in the sprinkles, gently working them into the dough. You can also add the sprinkles in when forming the dough, but I find this method prevents the sprinkles from bleeding into the dough.
- Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a tea towel and leave it to rise in a warm, dry place for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
- Deflate the dough (don't punch it) and break the dough into 12 large pretzel sticks, or 24 smaller pretzel sticks. Do not add flour to your surface when rolling out the pretzel sticks. The friction, helps form a smoother pretzel. Bring down the water to a simmer and add the baking soda. Be careful! The baking soda will bubble up! Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Boil the pretzel sticks 3 - 4 at a time for about 30 seconds on each side and set aside on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle each of the pretzels with pretzel salt.
- (Optional) Place the pretzels in the fridge for about an hour to form a skin. If you do this step, you can skip adding the salt until after your chill the dough. Make an egg wash (1 egg, plus 1 tablespoon of water) and brush the tops of the pretzels then add the pretzel salt.
- Bake the pretzels for 12 - 14 minutes. They should be a nice medium-dark brown. While the pretzels are baking, make the icing.
- Drizzle icing on the pretzels and top with more sprinkles.
Catherine says
These did not turn out for me at all. I followed the directions exactly. They turned out grayish colored & not very pretzel-like. More like a cake texture. The only thing I can think that I may have done wrong is possibly overcrowding the pan when baking. I may try these again & spread them out more on the baking sheet.
Louise says
The pretzels look great and I can’t wait to try them. Just a heads up - Anne Frank’s house is in Amsterdam.
Joanne says
Hi there, just to clarify, if I skip step 6, does that mean that after I boil the pretzel sticks and sprinkle them with salt, they are good to go into the oven? Meaning there is no need for an egg wash?
Amanda says
That is correct, the egg wash is because the pretzels will need something to adhere the salt to the pretzels
Melanie | Melanie Makes says
Such a great idea! These would be awesome at a bake sale as well!
Amy @ Amy's Healthy Baking says
These are way too cute! Those funfetti sprinkles... They get me every time. 🙂 I love soft pretzels too; I used to order one at every baseball game we went to! And since my dad and I are on a mission to visit all 30 MLB stadiums, well... That's a lot of pretzels. If only theirs came with sprinkles instead of mustard!
Marye @ Restless Chipotle says
Thee are so cute! Perfect party food.
Beth @ The First Year says
Amanda, these are so adorable! I love this recipe in stick form, so much easier than figuring out that crazy twist technique!
Christie - Food Done Light says
Love your salty sweet partnership in these.
Broma Bakery says
Sweet and salty is my jammmm. And these look like they could make anyone smile!
Ala says
Whoaaa--talk about an awesome color blast! I love it--I don't understand why my friends always eye such bold desserts with a skeptical eye because this seems perfect to me. Great share!
Amanda says
Skeptical eyes begone! These pretzels are the shiz! Bright sprinkly things forever! 😉