Buttery Soft Pretzels

These are better than Auntie Anne's or Pretzel Time!! My kids ate all 12 within 10 minutes - I couldn't believe how good these were !! I wish I had made a triple recipe. They all said they tasted BETTER than the ones at the mall - I agree ! And a lot cheaper making them yourself ! I was puzzled why the recipe called for them to be dunked in a baking soda and water mixture - if anyone knows why, please explain? I did it anyways. The changes I made = I used 4 cups of flour instead of 5. I used organic pure cane sugar and All Natural sea salt and instead of vegetable oil (I used super healthy 'Organic Virgin Coconut Oil by Tropical Traditions') and also used that to grease the bowl the dough was to rise in. After putting the pretzels in the soda/water mixture, I put them on parchment paper which I sprayed with Olive Oil spray (instead of greasing) and then I sprinkled Kosher salt on the tops of them (on a few others I did cinnamon w/Raw sugar). The oven temp. seemed way to high even at 415, so on the second batch I decreased it to 400 degrees for 8 minutes - they got browned very quickly on top. After removing them from the oven I brushed melted UNsalted butter over the tops and bottoms of them - saturating them with butter (I did not put any more salt on after the butter). Loved the recipe -- the rolling took a while,didn't have a lot of patience - I didn't roll them on the table, I just rolled them between my hands vertically until the 'snake' became long and thin.

Update to my review from over a year ago... I'm still making these pretzels and love them because they are soooo easy. I've found the sea salt is the absolute best thing to top them with (but be sure to use kosher salt in the dough), Excellent recipe! I've found it is best to add 3.5 cups of flour and slowly mix in the final half cup as I'm kneading the dough. I've made these at least 4 times in the past 2 weeks. They freeze up great! Just thaw and pop in the oven for a couple minutes for an awesome snack!!

I couldn't understanding why other reviewers had such a hard time with the dough....then it dawned on me, I did not follow the instructions. I looked at the water, yeast, salt sugar content, mixed all those together and THEN added as much flour as it could hold. That is what I do for all breads, because the amount of flour can vary according to type, weather etc. I found it very easy to knead and roll out. I faced the problem of them sticking to the pan (I don't have a non stick pan). I oiled the pan well, but the water from the soda mixture caused them to stick somewhat. I was suprised I did not read another reviewer having the same problem. We brush with butter when they come out of the oven and drizzle with honey. Thanks for the great recipe.

Excellent! I used to work in one of the pretzel places in the mall- and this recipe is on point! A couple of tips though: yes, you will need to add a bit more water, but also about a teaspoon more oil as well- this will help smooth out the dough. The soda bath is necessary for browning- and if you expect the salt to stick this is the best way to do it (add salt after wetting the pretzels). If you have trouble dipping the pretzels, wet a paper towel with the soda mixture and blot them instead. Also- it's best not to flour your surface when rolling pretzels. If you add a bit more oil as I said before, then the dough will be smooth and not stick. When you divide, cutting the dough ball as if it were pizza slices will help with the rolling as well. Start at the middle of the piece and work your way out to the ends. The cut dough will dry quickly and become awkward to work with- to avoid this keep plastic wrap on what you are not working with at the moment. When they come out of the oven use a paper towel to blot butter on them- it will help to keep them soft- if you are opposed to butter then cooking sprays are just as well.

As I was reading the reviews, I was pretty unsure about how it was going to turn out. I halved the recipe, because it is just my boyfriend and I, and this was my only mistake! I made them as the recipe stated, using the dough hook on my mixer. I added flour until the dough was no longer sticky, so I do not know exactly how much I ended up using. When rolling out the dough I came up with a trick. You need to make them much thinner than you think, so i rolled small pieces into thin (like about the thickness of a finger) sticks, then joined two together to get them as long as I needed them to twist. I made the dough quite thin, but they puff up a lot, do not worry! I also dipped my pretzels in the baking soda mix, which I think really makes the whole pretzel. When they cook they get this browned yumminess on the bottom, that tastes JUST like the ones at the mall. I just drizzled them with butter and a little kosher salt when they came out warm... they were gone right after that. Will make again and soon!

I've been using this recipe for a few years, and have found it to be my most popular bread. My friends STRONGLY encourage me to bring pretzels to most events. A few recommendations- use higher gluten flour to get a little more chewiness. I always need at least 1 1/2 cups of water, sometimes more. The softer the dough, the easier shaping the pretzels is. I bring the soda solution almost to a simmer and soak the pretzels for about 10 seconds each. I also only use 2 or 3 tsp of yeast.

Really good! I did knead this more with my mixer for another 3-4 min. It needed to rise for almost 2 hrs. before it looked ready. When I dumped it out of the bowl the dough was perefect. Soft, pliable like it's suppose to be. After dipping in the soda water I allowed the pretzels to sit for another 15 min. for a 2nd small rising. I used an egg wash before baking. THEN I applied the butter after they came out of the oven. This is a must.!! It's what keeps the pretzels from becoming hard like a dough does after baking. I did have to use MORE flour as I kneaded the dough..not less. I recommend this recipe for intermediate and advanced bakers, tho.

Good recipe! I used to work at Pretzel Time as a kid, and this recipe is very close to how they make it. It's just a little heavy on the sugar and flour. Next time I make I'll probably cut back the flour by 1/2-1 cup and the sugar by just a couple tablespoons or so. For the baking soda bath cool or lukewarm water works better for the dough, and there's way too much baking soda in that bath. Maybe half is needed otherwise you can really taste the baking soda. Also no need to flour the surface if done right; the dough will slide on the surface instead of rolling properly. Rolling tips: after you let the dough rise, punch it down, roll it into a ball, throw it in an air tight plastic baggy, and throw it in the fridge for an hour or so (just like in the mall. Letting the dough cool makes it more elastic. Next take your cool dough ball out of the fridge and it's baggy. Again do not flour the surface. Cut a 4 oz strip of dough off. Now before rolling dip your finger tips in the baking soda bath and rub what you get on your fingers all over your hands. Start in the middle with both hands and roll using medium pressure. As you roll work your hands out to the ends. You're done when the dough is about the thickness of a finger. Grab each end and slap on your surface like a jump rope about two or three times. Be careful here not to use too much force or the dough will tear. Next form your pretzel either mid air (advanced) or on your rolling surface.

These were DELICIOUS! They taste just like the ones at the mall. They're that good. But I did read the reviews before hand, and decreased the flour. As an alteration I used brown sugar instead of white, I think it tastes better.

This is an awesome recipe! I'm looking for items to make for a bake sale. So glad I found this recipe! Even tried another recipe from another site to compare and those came out tasting more like bread sticks than pretzels! The baking soda water bath is key. Also I had such a hard time using flour to roll the pretzels and found a how-to video from Auntie Anne's pretzel company online and it suggested not using flour while rolling the pretzels and it worked! I took the advice of other reviewers and only used 4 cups of flour. And use a clean towel or a few sheets of papertowel for blotting excess water after dipping pretzels--also on the how-to video. And so I made these soooo many different ways, too! Salt, Cinnamon and sugar, cinnamon raisin, apple cinnamon (just dice two small apples in small pieces add it and 1 tblspoon of apple pie spice to ingredients while mixing dough. It makes the dough a little stickier when rolling out, but well worth it in the end!), pumpkin spice (used all 5 cups of flour and just a little more and add 1 cup of pumpkin puree, and 1 tblspoon pumpkin pie spice to dough while mixing).This recipe is awesome, do yourself a favor and try it!

Nice taste but WAY to much flour! Start w/ 3 & if you need more then add it but I did not need anymore than 3 cups!

These are very yummy and I have others ask for the recipe. The first time I made these, I made 1/2 butter/kosher salt and 1/2 cinnamon sugar/honey butter. The cinnamon ones were the favorite! They would be excellent for bread sticks as well I'm sure! Here's what I do: I cut the flour down to 4 cups not 5- definately do this! Also- 4 tsp. of yeast equals 2 packets. I let the dough rise 1 1/2 hours on the counter and then in the fridge overnight, I spread the dough out on the counter and use a pizza cutter to divide it into 16 pieces (not 12). That way there are more servings and they are still definately big enough. Don't skip the baking soda step. If I want to make salted pretzels I sprinkle the kosher salt (sparingly) on before baking (for cinnamon sugar of course I don't add this step). Bake on a high rack in the oven at 415 degrees- not 450. When they come out I brush on melted butter. For cinnamon sugar pretzels (our favorite!) I brush on butter mixed with 2 T. honey and sprinkle with a mix of 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon. They are very tasty like this! I think next time I will try twisted breadsticks with a garlic/butter mix for the brushing.

Hi, my name is Anna and I'm 13 years old. These pretzels are AMAZING!! I made half a batch of pretzels and half a batch of pretzel dogs. I mad the pretzel dogs by wrapping the pretzel strings around a hot dog sausage. I omitted the kosher salt topping, and baked an extra 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees. I also brushed with egg whites along with the baking soda solution to give it more of a shinier apperance. Hope this helps somebody out there! :)

Excellent! As good or better than pretzels at the mall-without a doubt. I've made these twice and my only suggestion is to measure out the flour and start with about three cups...add the rest slowly. Mine simply would not hold 5 cups of flour. The first time I made them they were a little tough because of this...second time I used about four cups and added a bit more water until the consistency was right. For this reason four stars but worth the time and effort.

These were excellent. One huge regret, I didn't double the recipe! I will from now on. The baking soda bath added a nice flavor and color. I think next time I make this I'll play around with letting the shaped pretzels proof for a bit and boiling for about a min in the baking soda bath. Possibly an egg wash before baking too. I want to see if I can get the outside a touch chewier but these were far better than the mall pretzels in my opinion. My 9 year old daughter figured out a way to shape them quickly. She formed the dough into a small thick stick and then picked it up by both ends and swung it around like a jump rope until it was long and thin. Worked great and really fast. 450 was too hot for our oven so we lowered it to 400 and they turned out great, perfectly browned and cooked inside after 8 minutes. We only needed to use about 4 cups of flour. Thanks for a great recipe! We will definitely be making these again!! What a fun activity for kids too.

12/12/2010 - I made these this morning, and they are already almost gone. Pretty sad that four of us have eaten 10 pretzels already, but they are so good. These are buttery, sweet, and so soft. My husband has already requested another batch of these. Your house will smell like you are in a mall walking past one of those pretzel shops. Definitely a must try recipe! I am rating this because of the low rating before this. It is NOT too much baking soda. Boiling the pretzels in the water with baking soda gives it the crust that it needs. I have done this many times with pretzels, bagels, and pretzel bread. Try the recipe (or at least read it all the way) before giving a negative rating. So sad!

Very easy and good. I used to be a manager at a pretzel shop years ago and this is how we made them. A few tips... After dipping pretzel in the baking soda/water mixture, place on a dish towel or layer of paper towels to dry the bottom off, this will help prevent the bottoms burning. Also, use parchment paper. Oven should be at 400-415 (parchment paper cannot be used above 420). Turn baking sheet halfway through for even browning. I used tongs to dip the face of the pretzel in a pie plate of melted butter as soon as they came out of the oven. Next time I will try adding raisins to the dough for a breakfast pretzel.

This is a good recipe. Tastes just like the pretzels from the stores. I didn't change anything. I added 1 tbsp water as suggested in the recipe because the dough was a bit dry. My dough at first was a little mushy after the 1 tbsp but after kneading it a bit, the water was absorbed leaving a drier, workable dough ( dough will be still a bit sticky but this is normal). Rolling the dough was A LOT of fun, at least for me it was. Give yourself plenty of counter space and start rolling inward than outward, slowly stretching the dough (don't be afraid to really pull the dough). The pretzels brown nicer if your pretzels are thin. I would advise baking no more than 4 pretzels per cookie sheet so you won't crowd them together and mess up the shape. I did not flour my surface because I saw a video where an aunt anne cook did not use any and surprisingly the dough didn't stick. Another tip is, after you dip the pretzels in the baking soda mixture, rest the bottom of the pretzel on a clean, dry dishcloth a few seconds so you won't have too much water accumulating underneath the pretzel on the cookie sheet. This can cause your pretzel to brown too much underneath. To make cinnamon sugar topping, dip hot pretzel in 1/2 cup butter and then in a mixture of 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more if you'd like). You should also rotate the sheet 180 degrees after 5 mins to evenly brown the pretzels.

I made pretzels one night, then used the recipe for a loaf of bread the next night. The pretzels were good, but the bread was EXCELLENT. I braided my dough into two "loaves," brushed them with a wash of egg and milk, then sprinkled them with seasoned salt before baking (just like at Luby's Cafeteria). I'm ashamed to say I ate almost a whole loaf! It was sooo good!!

As always, i read the most helpful reviews before making these. i made the following modifications based on the reviews and the results were spot on. i followed other suggestions and used 4 cups of flour. The only other modifications I made were adding vanilla brown sugar in the dough. I proofed the yeast by dissolving it into 1/4 cup warm water and one teaspoon of sugar and let it sit until bubbly, around 10 minutes. I put all the ingredients into my bread machine and let it do all the work. I made a few in the traditional pretzel shape, but most i rolled into ropes about the size of a finger and made pretzel sticks. I dipped the pretzels into the water/baking soda solution and let it sit for a few minutes. if you are making traditional style pretzels, they may become untwisted in the water, just reshape them on the baking sheet. The key is using parchment paper to bake these or they will stick, because the water solution makes the dough very sticky. I also followed the advice of others and reduced the oven temp to 400 degrees, and baked for 8 minutes. I did not sprinkle with salt before baking. Immediately after taking the pretzels out of the oven, I brushed them liberally with melted butter. I sprinkled some with a sugar/cinnamon mix and topped the others with just a little kosher salt. My son inhaled them, and hubby moaned with delight while devouring them. They both said they were as good as the Mall pretzels. All 12 were gone in 10 minutes.

These turned out delicious! And even better the next day!! I made them with bread flour instead of all purpose and they came out wonderfully soft and slightly chewy. Otherwise, I stuck to the recipe, as is. We have made a lot of pretzels and find the shaping annoying, so we made bites instead. Also, for those having trouble with rising issues, etc., this recipe calls for active dry yeast, you should check to make sure you aren't using bread machine yeast, which is instant and needs no preparation in sugar water. When using instant (bread machine) yeast, just mix it in with the dry ingredients, then add the warm water as usual. I hope this is helpful. It's also important to keep in mind that flour packs down, so if you aren't shaking it up a bit before measuring, then you are probably actually getting more than the required amount. Loosen your flour before measuring it out and you may find that you don't need less after all.

WAY too much flour in the recipe. Please don't rate the recipe based on the changes you have made. I made the mistake of making this without reading the reviews and it failed miserably...and I'm usually pretty good at making bread.

They seemed to be missing something in flavor, but were pretty good.

I experimented with this recipe by brushing the pretzels with melted butter before baking, and dipping in melted butter after baking, and I quickly discovered that I was merely adding fat, not flavor! They miraculously have a wonderful buttery flavor without any butter. Super tasty. Not Mall Pretzels... they're better! Thanks Christa.

This recipe is excellent, easy to follow and never fails to impress! I've made these pretzels with different spices as well as different cheeses - cheddar is always a big hit. But. there are three very important things to note in order to get the best results possible: 1) Make sure to add the flour gradually. This will help make sure the dough doesn't become too dry. 2) Dampen your hands periodically with a little bit of water when rolling out the dough. It will help give you greater grip and control without over-drying the dough from too much flour. 3) Dipping the pretzel dough in the baking soda water is necessary to get the crispy outside and soft inside, but can be brutal for your baking sheet. Make sure to use non-stick spray or oil to prevent burning and sticking.

You will never need another recipe for soft pretzels again, honest!!!! These have the great flavor of the mall pretzels. So delicious. I just rolled mine out into long pieces of dough and chopped into small nuggets. Yum! Oh, byt the way, I have baked these at 450 degrees and 425 degrees to see which is better and mine were more soft and golden baked at 425, but that is my preference. Oh, and I also only used 4cups plus a large pinch of flour so they weren't too dry. Great recipe!!!!

Thanks for a great pretzel recipe - I never knew the trick was in the baking soda. I dipped half of my batch in cinnamon sugar - so good! TIP: Don't be afraid to roll out your ropes really long and have very loose looking pretzels, mine looked "right" when I twisted them, but when rising in the oven, they ended up as pretzel blobs (but yummy blobs!)

This turned out great the second time I made it. It was ok the first time, but a little dry. As always, before making a recipe I read the reviews. So if I have trouble with something I can hopefully fix it along the way. Which holds true for this recipe. It was too dry the first time and had to keep adding water. The second time I made it I decreased the flour to 4 1/2 cups and it worked great.

One Word - AWESOME!!! To make a bit more healthy I substituted 2 of the 3 cups of white flour for whole wheat flour. I used my kitchen aid to do all the kneading. To let the dough rise, I heated my oven to 200 degrees and then turned it off for about 15 or 20 minutes and placed the kneaded dough in the oven. It doubled in about an hour and 20 minutes. Instead of greasing a pan, I used parchmant paper. Once in the over, they only took about 6 minutes to bake up golden brown. As soon as I got them out of the oven, I sprayed some low calorie fat free spray butter on them and brushed the butter into them with a pastry brush. The result is simply outstanding!!! I've tried numerous other pretzel recipes and this one is by far the best and actually the easiest too. Thanks for the great recipe!!!!

This recipe is circulating thru my family like wildfire right now and we are all having fun comparing notes: First of all it IS a bit of a pain pulling the knots out of the water solution, all you have to do is roll them out to hamburger bun size discs, rest, dip and bake (awesome sliced and Muenster or smoked swiss added like a sandwhich). If yours don't taste like mall pretzels, you probably didnt dip them long enuff, I use the microwave and dip them while it's running (on High-20 seconds) they should puff up a bit like a dumpling. Lastly, your flour must be fresh, those of you who thought they were "bland" were probably using "tired" or stale flour. Love this recipe!!!

**Use Bread Flour!!!**I made these the first time with regular all-purpose flour and they were pretty good, but kinda fell apart when I dipped them, and were difficult to reshape. My husband wanted me to make them again, but we didn't have enough flour on hand so he went up to the store and made the best mistake ever! He came home with bread flour. I used that instead, not knowing what to expect, and the pretzels went from being pretty good to absolutely amazing!!! They held together great, and they looked and tasted better than the real thing! I will only use bread flour from now on. It makes the perfect pretzel!!

My kids simply love these soft pretzels - theyre almost like Aunt Anne's pretzels!! Followed tips from past reviews and reduced flour amt to 4 cups. I only used 3 1/2 tsp instant yeast as i didnt want the yeasty taste tht some reviewers complained abt. Also halved the amt of baking soda cos didnt want strong metallic taste. I sprinkled some parmesan cheese on some pretzels just b4 baking n baked at 400F for 8 mins on a lined baking sheet. After removing them from the oven, i immediately brushed melted butter on every pretzel. I sprinkled the ones without cheese with cinnamon sugar. So everyone in the family was happy - the kids with the savoury cheesy ones n me - the sweet cinnamon ones! :)

this is the bomb. i've made it where i kneaded it for 8 min and also where i used the hook attachment on a kitchenaide. both times it was perfect. the 3rd time i basted the pretzels w/melted butter and sprinkled cinnamon/sugar on top. OOOHHHH my!

These came out awesome! I used all 5 cups of flour and ended up adding about 5-6 tbsp of water, and wetting my hands a little while kneading the dough. When I divided the dough, I initially only made 6 sections because it didn't look like enough to make a big pretzel, and the three pretzels that I rolled were 3/4"-1" thick, so my first three pretzels came out HUGE! For the second batch, I divided the remaining three dough balls in half (six pieces) and made to sure to roll them until they were about 1/2" thick and came out about 24" long, and the pretzels still came out pretty big. I periodically put the pretzels I finished shaping onto the pan after the baking soda bath, and they rose a lot more since the pan was still warm from the first batch. I baked them in 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, and they came out perfect! The first batch (the big ones) may have been in there for a minute longer as I realized I had to go fetch potholders, but the first batch came out the best! As soon as they come out of the oven, I soaked them in butter, but did not add any more salt. Slightly (barely) crusty on the outside, nice and chewy on the inside. These pretzels are slightly sweet, just the right amount of salty, and definitely taste best warm. I personally like these pretzels better than the ones at the mall.

These are amazing! Everyone I make them for always request that I make them again. The only change I made is to replace oil with butter and to baste the dough in butter before adding the salt and baking.

Excellent recipe! If you have a bread machine.... use it! I cut the recipe in half to fit my bread machine. I placed all liquid ingredients first, then all dry ingredients. Put the machine on the dough cycle and let it do all the work. No need to proof the yeast. Very simple. Then I followed the rest of the directions on the recipe for forming the pretzels. Next time, I would just dip the tops of the pretzels in the baking soda mixture... I think that the bottoms got a little too brown because I dunked the whole pretzel.

I made these for our Superbowl party and they were wonderful! My boys love the pretzels from the mall and they liked these even better. The only changes I made was reduced the flour to 4 cups and baked @ 400. We just had them with cheese and they were to die for! We ate so many pretzels that we couldn't eat anything else I had made for the party! YUMMMMMMM!

My husband insisted, with his mouth full of pretzel, that I write a review for these! They are yummy! Do note that you will need 1/4 to 1/2 cup of melted butter to brush on the pretzels once they're cooked. The butter is mentioned in the description of the recipe but isn't on the ingredient list. Also, to get pretzels that look more like the ones you buy and less like fat little knots: 1. Roll the dough ropes as long as possible. 2. Let them rest a few minutes and then roll them even longer. 3. Work as quickly as possible while shaping the pretzels and dipping them into the soda water. They seem to retain their size once they're sitting on the baking sheet.

As other reviewers stated there is too much flour for the abount of liquid. I suggest incorperating your flour slowly until the dough has "taken" all it can, I found that to be about 3 1/2 cups. So I also suggest mixing the oil and 1/2 cup uf sugar into the yeast mixture then adding flour. I hope this helps.

These pretzels are amazing. I've already passed the recipe on to several friends. The only thing I did different was half the baking soda and water solution because it seemed like a lot that didn't get used in the end. We topped some with parmesan, salt, sugar, and even co-jack cheese. Delicious and we'll be making again soon!

I like making pretzel buns with this recipe, and have also made a double batch to make a pretzel-bread bowl, which I then put cheesy Rotel dip in for a party dip with little pretzel bites on the side for dipping - always a hit!! Thank you!

LOVE this recipe - we make the dough in the bread machine, then make pretzel sticks and drop into hot water/baking soda mixture on the stove for about 30 seconds. We sprinkle the sticks witrh kosher salt and bake them on a silicone mat for 8 minutes. SO DELICIOUS! We serve these with the beer cheese pretzel sauce found on this site.

gorgeous pretzels i rolled some out really thin and sprinkled them with salt and the others i rolled out thicker and sprinkled them with cinnamon salt.. we really enjoyed them and will make them again.. yummy

Delicious! I made 24 instead of 12 to use as pretzel rolls for pulled pork sliders. Yum!!! Actually my first time working with yeast and it was so easy...my fear is gone!

Made them into Pretzel rolls for dinner. So easy as tasted great!! Made a little bigger then a golf ball and they came out about the size of tennis ball. Served with cheddar butter. Cant wait to make again. Thank you

These were amazing! I've never made pretzels before so I wasn't sure what to expect the first time around. I followed another reviewer's recommendations on less flour and less baking soda in the water, and they didn't turn out pretzel like, more like a bread texture. So the second time around I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out wonderful! They had the crunchy, soft texture I was looking for. I sprinkled some with sea salt, some with cinnamon and sugar, and some with ranch seasoning. So good!

these are the BEST! I love spicy snacks so I like to dice up a jalapeno and add it in before baking!! try it- you'll love it!

These are really good...a little too sweet for my tastes, but what I was looking for. Will be making again, but tinkering with the sugar. Thanks for the post.

My family and I love this recipe. I did read the other reviews and used only 4 cups of flour. When I first tried it, I made it four times in one week! Unfortunately, I ran out of all-purpose flour and ended up using 1/2 cup of whole wheat and 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose. The pretzels came out even better! I think they were easier to roll out. For best results, follow the editors advice and roll out all 12 pieces and then start at the first piece and roll them out again. Also 400 degrees, on a top rack in the oven and parchment paper is a must :-)

I added 5 TB vital wheat gluten (usual instructions are 1 TB gluten for every 1 c flour) to add to the chewy, stretchy texture I wanted to achieve. They were just phenomenal! I'll be making a bigger batch for an Oktoberfest block party!

I followed the recipe exactly and the dough was dry, tough, and pretty much impossible to make into ropes. The temperature was way too high so the bottoms of the pretzels were burnt while the rest was raw. I don't understand why people give this recipe such a high rating when they had to make major changes to make it turn out.

These were terrific! I used parchment paper on half; the other half stuck a little.

WOW! I was skeptical as I was rolling these out bc I didnt feel like the dough was as shape-able as I would have liked and I am not an experienced bread maker, but they turned out SO good! I made the dough in my bread machine on the dough setting. I did decreased the flour to 4 C as other reviewers suggested and I did lower the baking temp to 400 - 8 mins was perfect. Also let eacg pretzel soak in the b. soda/water soln for 10 seconds each. YUM!!!

After reading 6 pages of reviews, I went with 4 cups of flour, 2 white, 2 whole wheat. I reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup,( used brown sugar).I reduced salt to 3/4 teaspoon, and baking soda to 1/4 cup, water to 2 cups. Instead of making traditional pretzels, I shaped them into hamburger buns. I made the buns 3 1/2" in diameter, and 1/2" thick. To use them, slice bun in 1/2 and you have a fantastic hamburger, or sloppy joe bun! Next time I will try Hot dog buns! Wow! Excellent! Thank you!

I'm sure if you have a mixer with a bread hook it's a fantastic recipe, but it is impossible to make without one. Kneading this dough by hand is impossible, the recipe should have a note about this. B/c I just wasted a lot of money on the ingredients for a recipe I cannot make b/c I don't have the proper appliance.

Best pretzel recipe ever... had great luck with this one. Turned out nice and fluffly. I ran out of white flour, so I replaced one cup with whole wheat flour. The taste was even better with that!

cooking time way too long...definately did not enjoy these

I made this recipe twice and it came out great both times. The first time I used way too much flour and boiled the pretzels (instead of just using warm water) and they still came out great! The second time, I rolled the dough into ropes, then cut them into 1-inch pieces to make pretzel bites. I cut the cooking time to 5 minutes, dipped them in butter, and sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar or salt and froze some of them to heat back up later. My only issue was a slight baking soda flavor with the bites, but that might be because I didn't pat them dry before I baked them. Great recipe!

This is not like a pretzel, but like bread. I boiled the last half of the batch and they came out better with that unique taste of pretzels.

I just made these and WOW they are YUMMY!! i cant wait for my husband to get home he says that he will not eat them all but i think he will once he tastes them. it was easy to make i didnt use a mixer or anything i did it all by hand and they turned out great some of them i shaped into pretzels and others i did as balls or buns and some are jsut logs. instead of salt on a few i added a little cinnamon and sugar and they are great

I made a double-batch of these, figuring I would have leftovers. They tasted amazing, just like the ones at the mall, the first day. The second day, not so much. Don't bother with leftovers, but totally worth making for that fresh-out-of-the-oven flavor the first day.

Followed the recipe on the my first attempt. Pretzels seemed to stick to the pan, and the pretzels seemed smaller than what I expected. The second time around, I used whole wheat white flour, and sprayed my pan with a non-stick spray. Also, after dipping in the warm water/baking soda bath, I left on a cooling rack to let some of the moisture to drip off. I managed to get a total of 16 pretzels, and received raves for the finished product. My son, who loves Auntie Anne's pretzels, absolutely loved these. I will save this recipe and use again for sure.

Very good, but way too much for our family. I will half next time? Butter makes them greasy left overs

Oh boy, these are GREAT! They are really tasty, much like the mall pretzels :) Especially the ones that I brushed on the butter and sprinkled the sea salt. I also made half of them with cinnamon-sugar topping. They were yummy. We'll definitely make these again. Thank you!

Great recipe! But don't forget to dip the pretzels in butter afterward. That's what makes it buttery!

yum!!! This recipe is delicious! I cooked it 9 minutes instead of 8. I put melted butter and cinnamon sugar on the top. I am definitely saving this recipe! :)

AWESOME!!! My entire family inlaws and all LOVE when I make these pretzels. Instead of making the traditional pretzels I roll out the dough flat and stuff them with american cheese, scrambled eggs, and bacon or sausage for a GREAT breakfast (and sometimes dinner) treat! THANKS for the great recipe!!!!

I love this recipe!!! This is the BEST pretzel recipe I have found to date! I just finished eating one of these amazing pretzels. I had a craving for soft pretzels and don't care much for the store boughten ones so I searched the web to find the perfect recipe. I have made several attempts at making pretzels with a plethora of other recipes but this one is by far the best. Now all I need is some of that amazing sweet mustard those pretzel places have...YUM!!!

Like the "Mall Pretzels" much better - way too sweet, even decreasing sugar to 1/3c.

These were easy to make and very good! My family had lots of fun trying to make these into pretzel shapes. I baked them on our baking stone using the tip to move the rack up a little higher to avoid burning.

This is a very good recipe. The taste is fabulous. I baked these twice yesterday. The first batch I baked at 450 and the bottoms were burnt even at 7 minutes. I baked the second batch at 415. They browned nicely on the bottom, however were not very brown on top. I did use the 5 cups of flour as written. However, I added around 1/4 cup more water. The dough needs to be a little tacky. It shouldn't be dry. The second time I used 1/4 c sugar. There was no hint of sweetness at all. My husband preferred the version with less sugar. My kids and I preferred the ones with the 1/2 c sugar. Slightly less than 1/2 c may be the happy medium. Next time I will try making garlic bread sticks with this recipe. (Will only use 1/4 c sugar for that.) I did not brush with butter. Don't skip the baking soda process or the pretzels will not brown at all. I used my stand mixer to knead the dough. ***UPDATE: I've made these several times now. 1 3/4 c of water seems to work well. I put 1 tsp of molasses in with the baking soda bath. This gives them a browner color.

After reading the other reviews, I started out with only 4 cups of flour and then slowly added the other cup while I was kneading it. I divided the dough into 12 pieces and then halved each piece after rolling them out. I dipped them in the soda bath and then placed them the pan that I liberally sprayed with cooking spray. I spread butter on each other the little pretzels and just sprinkled regular table salt. When they came out I put more butter and ate about 7 right there at the counter! The table salt added just enough saltiness and the bread was so soft and good. The next day they were still good, but more the consistency of a bagel. I'd say to eat them right away and they'd be great as dinner rolls with garlic butter.

Warning: You can not stop eating them.

Made these the other day, and they are so good!! I had trouble with them sticking a bit to the pan as well. 2nd batch did slightly better on non-stick tinfoil.

A great recipe! These have a very slight sweetness to them. With the kosher salt topping, the sweetness is balanced out very nicely. The consistency was perfect, nice and chewy. I actually had the baking soda water simmering when I dipped them. I did have to add about a 1/4 cup more water when mixing... no big deal, could be my flour. My only other negative is that I would use cornmeal instead of greasing the pan. The added oil hot a little hot and over cooked some of the bottoms. Again, could be my oven.

we made these tonight, they came out great. a little crispy on the outside and soft. maybe not as chewy as mall ones, but a much better flavor. i added a fair amount of water to the dough. it's fun reading the reviews to see how others adjusted. i think next time i'll start with less flour and add to desired constistency. in the end the dough was wonderful to knead and rose really well. the end result was so tasty and great texture. i could vary things to get different textures, maybe a little crispier on the outside. we had them with mustard.

It's too soon to think about October, but it's never too soon to think about the weekend's football games. Great idea fer takin to tal gatin' mixers! This here is a good recipe!

I LOVE the mall pretzels which is why I tried this recipe. It's not quite like "her's" but they're really good. I don't put as much sugar or flour and after they've baked I've either put on melted butter or sprinkled sugar & cinnamon atop. I think I read someone's review that these aren't too good the day after...I have to agree but who wants to leave some for the next day?? *LOL* I've made these for friends, family, gifts etc. and made sure they got them the same day. Very good recipe.

This was a really easy recipe I found using your hands works better to mix the dough, my mother always said if you use your hands to eat it, then use your hands to make it, you dont need a fancy mixer. Also if you melt some butter and brush it on-top it adds to the flavor of the pretzel. Cinnamon sugar is also good on this pretzel. Also you dont need that much Soda mixture to was way to much. All in all it was a really great recipe, and I plan on using it all the time. Thanks.

Excellent flavor. I did like others recommended - 4c of flour instead of 5c; 1t of kosher salt instead of 1 1/2 regular salt; baking soda bath of 2c water and 2T soda; blotted the twisted, wet pretzel dough on a dry wash cloth before transferring to parchment paper; baked at 425 degrees for 8 min. I also discovered to roll the dough 10-12 inches for every ounce of dough. A 2-ounce, 24-inch piece of dough was manageable for me; although a mall-size pretzel I guessed to be about 3 ounces of dough rolled 30-36 inches long.

I really liked this recipe! The pretzels came out super YUMMY! I used wheat flour instead of all purpose flour and it was awesome!!! Great recipe.

Fantastic pretzels! I used half whole wheat flour. I thought they were actually better after they sat and cooled down.

tasted great and very easy to make, I did reduce the sugar, just because I wasn't looking for something to sweet and it was perfect, thank you for sharing

Oh my! These are fab! I halved these because it's just me and my hubby. Recipe halved perfectly. I made exactly as listed (except using less flour, as about half cup of that wasn't needed) I made four pretzels and the rest of the dough I cut up into bite sized chunks which I cooked on a separate tray. Oh, the heaven of one of those little pretzel bites popped into my mouth straight out of the oven! I think next time I'll add just a touch more sugar to try to mimic the sweetness of the mall pretzel a bit more....but overall, what a delicious recipe! I will for sure be making this again. Only next time, I won't be halving the recipe....I'll make the whole thing and bake up a ton more of those yummy pretzel bites!

Yum! So easy to make and tastes just the ones at the mall!

Basically just pretzle-shaped bread. Try "Mall Pretzles" from this site for the real deal.

Great recipe, tried for the 1st time - I followed everything (after the first batch) except I thought I'd experiment a little (It's the artist in me I guess!) and, instead of dipping them into the water/baking soda mixture, I used melted butter with some garlic herb seasoning - I did this before, 1/2 through cooking and after taking them out of the oven as they were resting. Both turned out well, I always like garlic and herbs - and I think using butter enchances the flavor (plain or with garlic). When brushing them halfway through, it helps them "brown." Thanks for the recipe!!

These were great! They really do smell and taste like pretzels from a certain mall store. I spritzed a little Smart Balance butter-y spray on them after they'd been in the oven for about 7 minutes, which gave them a little extra flavor. This is a recipe I'll definitely make again--I'm sure it won't be long before my husband asks for another batch.

These were super soft!! I read TONS of reviews and was really worried about whether or not these would turn out but I was pleasantly surprised. Only used 4 cups of flour and 3/4 tsp of salt in the dough and it was plenty. Still had to add a tablespoon of water to it to make it workable. Next time I'll try cinnamon and sugar on top and don't worry about the browning...it's just the baking soda/water mixture.

Brushed with melted butter when I brought them out. Will cook next time at 400 so don't brown as quick... but fantastic!!!!!! Made some traditional pretzel shapes and some "balls" for my daughter for her lunches, they were great too!

Excellent recipe! My children and I made 3 batches in 3 days! They had so much fun making them that they invited friends over to make them. We consistently made one change, per previous reviewers suggestions we adjusted the amount of flour to 4 cups. It was the perfect amount. I would adjust the sugar amount depending on what you want to do with them. If you want a sweet pretzel, keep it as is, if you want it more savory cut the amount in half. I have added cinnamon and raisins to the dough and it was delicious. I imagine the possibilities are endless. Incidentally, don't skip the baking soda step. It is what gives the exterior a nice chewy texture.

Don't worry if the dough seems really stiff. Mine was almost unworkable - but after it rose for an hour it was perfect. These are FABULOUS. And my two little girls loved helping me roll them into "snakes" - they were so proud when they came out of the oven and tasted how DELICIOUS they are. You will not be dissapointed! Thanks Christa!

So easy. This recipe is my first for pretzels. Letting the dough rise on warm oven please so much. I made pretzel dogs. I bought some apple chicken sausage and wrapped them in the dough. Dropped them in the baking soda mixture one at a time, for about 30 seconds, then baked! Great game day food! Everyone loved them!

Like a previous reviewer, I'd like to give this 5 stars but am only giving it 4 as I changed it a little, after reading LOTS of comments and seeing the patterns! I used 4 cups of flour instead of 5, only 1/4 cup of sugar, and used a LOT less baking soda and water (I kept the proportions the same, but just made enough for a small bowlful - 2 tablespoons of soda with a little more than one cup of water was more than enough). The dough was just perfect - you know how you can just feel whether it's right as you start to knead... After a few practice runs making the standard sort of pretzel with kosher salt (my husband immediately gave the result a place in his Top 5), we experimented with adding sugar and cinnamon in place of the salt - we even tried adding some raisins to the dough and rolling it up into a 'snail' or cinnamon roll - yes, I know that it's no longer a pretzel if we do that, but the result was brilliant, and with far less fat and sugar than a standard pastry of that sort. This has become an instant favourite - both the making and the eating - and I suspect it will be made regularly! Thanks for the original recipe and for all the detailed comments which helped me adapt it for such a great result.

I made these this past weekend for an Oktoberfest party and they were pretty good and not too hard to make. They definately taste better warm out of the over (I made them the day before the party, but snitched one when they were fresh!). Also, if you're not planning to eat them right away, wait to put the salt on. I put it on right away and it had all absorbed into the bread by the next day. I just put a little more butter on them and added more salt and stuck them in the over for about 4 minutes. Turned out great!

These pretzels are sooo yummy! Make sure you grease the pan - I didn't do that and the wetness from the baking soda bath made my first batch burn to a crisp on the bottom.

These were AMAZING!!!! I followed the recipe and directions exactly, just added butter on them when they were done baking. They are identical to the ones at the mall. Thank you so much for this Delicious, Perfect recipe!

Delicious pretzels, perfect as is!

Good and felt like they were healthier than the freezer or mall option by making them fresh and using half whole wheat flour.