{inspired by} mall trips & procrastination

Something I really miss about my high school days is Auntie Anne's at the mall. I'd justify the unhealthiness of a cinnamon sugar pretzel by...well, more walking. (or shopping) Now that I do most of my shopping online, I no longer spend entire afternoons at the mall. Today I was being awfully slow with my readings, so I decided to procrastinate by making some homemade whole wheat soft pretzels. While the recipe looks ambitious, I assure you, it is definitely not difficult. And if you liked play-doh as a child, you will love making pretzels. Also, I calculated the calories, including extra toppings & liberally dipping, each of these babies are less than 100 calories each. Yeah, I know.

Servings: 24 small pretzels (approx. 1/2 the size of the kind at the mall)

Ingredients:

Dough:

yeast- 1/4 oz (1 packet)

whole wheat flour- 3 cup

skim milk- 1 cup

lemon- 1 zested & juiced

maple syrup (I prefer grade B)- 2 tsp

greek yogurt- 3 tbs

Boiling mixture:

water- 4 cup

baking soda- 5 tbs

Toppings:

cinnamon

poppyseed

granulated sugar

coarse salt

Dip:

red wine vinegar

dijon mustard

maple syrup

sugar

Directions:

1. Heat milk until very warm, approx 60 sec on high in the microwave. Dissolve yeast in milk. Let sit for 5 min.

2. Meanwhile, zest and juice lemon, mix with greek yogurt and maple syrup.

3. Mix ingredients from step 1 and 2 with the flour. Knead until dough's formed.

4. Place dough in a large bowl coated with olive oil, cover with saran wrap. Let sit for approx. 30 min, or when dough doubles in size.

5. Break the dough into even pieces. If you want larger pretzels, feel free to make less.

6. Form the dough into pretzel shapes & place on greased cooking sheet. If you have trouble, a quick search on youtube should be helpful.

7. Preheat over to 450 degrees.

8. Bring the water/baking soda mixture to a boil.

9. One or two at a time, put the pretzel doughs in for 30 seconds. Place them back onto the cookie sheet.

10. Sprinkle liberally with your favorite topping or leave them plain. I made some poppyseed, some cinnamon sugar.

11. Bake in oven for approx. 10-12 minutes until the outside's golden brown.

12. Meanwhile, heat vinegar, maplesyrup, mustard & sugar in a pan on medium. Adjust the portions to taste. Let simmer for 5 min. 

If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible! :) Happy baking!