Hello friends!

Can you believe it’s already Friday?! No seriously: I know I right that every Friday but where on earth is 2013 going?! It’s already mid-February?? There’s one month exactly until my last Spring Break ever?!

WHAT IS GOING ON?!

In order to not fall off the deep end, I’m going to focus on these pretzels…

which are delicious…

but were sort of super hard to make.

I’m so relieved that they turned out tasty, because rolling them into teeny skinny ropes to shape was one of the most frustrating moments of my week. How on earth do those people at Auntie Anne’s make it look so easy?

But, my desire for salty snacks won out in the end; and I can officially cross pretzels off my why-haven’t-I-baked-these-yet list. And now that’s it’s off the list, I think I’ll stick to buying Auntie Anne’s glorious little pretzel bites whenever I hit the mall.

And no one even mention Wetzel’s Pretzels. It only wishes its pretzels were worthy of Auntie’s seal of approval. My mother is currently shaking her head in disapproval, but I’m an Auntie Anne’s Gal for life.

However, if you feel adventurous and avoid the mall at all costs because it’s full of mall rats, go ahead and try out these pretzels! Particularly lazy today? Just make little pretzel bites and avoid the hot mess of attempting to be a pretzel pro.

I picked this current recipe out because it seemed like it would be quite simple. Too simple apparently. They bake up great but the dough is weirdly dry, so I suggest throwing in some extra water if you feel it’s needed.

I’m off to make homemade pop tarts with the Rutgers Student Bakers, so I’ll see you all next week!

Happy Baking!

Rosemary & Sea Salt Soft Pretzels

Recipe Source: Will Cook for Smiles

• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 cup water (like I said, it was really dry, you may want to do 1 1/4 cups)
• 3 cups AP flour
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tbsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
• 1 tbsp sea salt

egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp of water

1. Combine yeast, salt, sugar, and water in a small bowl, whisking until sugar dissolves. Let sit until foamy, 5-10 minutes.
2. Combine flour and cayenne pepper in large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers, cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Carefully pour yeast mixture over flour mixture, and stir to combine. Gather dough together with your hands and turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead until no longer sticky, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes.
4. Cut dough into 12 pieces, and roll each out into thin ropes (she said 18 in, I got to 10 in and called it close enough).
5. Form a u-shape with one rope, then twist ends together before pressing gently onto bottom of pretzel loop. Repeat with remaining ropes of dough and place all on an oiled baking sheet.
6. Let rise for 20 minutes. In the meantime, bring a medium pot of water to a boil and preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
7. Once the water is boiling, add the baking soda. Working with 2-3 pretzels at a time, gently lower them into the boiling water and boil until slightly puffy, about 1-2 min per side. Remove pretzels to piece of paper towel to drain and repeat.
8. Place pretzels back onto baking sheet.  Brush lightly with egg wash, then sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt.
9. Bake at 450 for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown.

All Photos And Writing Copyright © 2013 Jessica Gonzalez | On Sugar Mountain