Pretzels

I'm not sure if it's the excitement of "Pretzel Day" from the Office, but our family LOVES pretzels. Especially the soft kind. When I found this book, I couldn't resist, and being the last copy I just HAD to have it THAT DAY!

I had some setbacks before I could actually start making my pretzels. First, I kept forgetting to buy Yeast. After I finally found Yeast, and discovered that Target doesn't carry the pouches, I bought the jar. On my way home, I realized I already had that same jar of Yeast and didn't recognize it. Ironically, the Yeast I already had was purchased to make (failed) pretzels with some friends for our own Pretzel Day in a celebratory marathon of the Office.

The basic pretzel recipe from this book was super easy. I didn't even need my mixer....Than I realized that kneading pretzel dough was a bigger workout on my forearm than scooping Dacquiri ICE from my Baskin Robbins days. I disappointedly needed to chill overnight. I had to work the next morning, so my dough was overchilled, I think, and hard to work with. My mutant pretzel bites were still delicious, though, along with my homemade Honey Mustard dip from the same book.

The next day, my desire for making pretzels wasn't satisfied, so I found an easier recipe online (Joythebaker.com/blog) and the best part was, I only had to wait 45 minutes before delicious pretzels. I decided to master the dough before trying the shape. I was running out of pan space, so the last bit of dough, I tried a fancy twist.

Both recipes were delicious, and since I knew exactly what was going into my pretzels, I didn't have the weighty feeling from Fast Food Guilt afterwards. Even though it's a lot of starch and carbohydrates, I think (homemade) pretzels are a good and healthy (sorta) snack for everyone.