Copycat Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels (Garlic Parmesan)
If you are anything like me… you have to swing by Auntie Anne’s shop in the mall whenever you visit. I mean, who can resist the fluffy, sweet dough covered in your toppings of choice and sprinkled with sea salt! Not to mention the addictive sauces for dipping if you desire even more flavor! Well, guess what?! You no longer have to make a special trip to satisfy that craving. I’m here to show you how to make Copycat Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels (Garlic Parmesan) so that you can have this delicious snack ANYTIME YOU WANT! Yes, you heard that right… today you are going to learn how to make homemade soft pretzels. Buckle up buttercup!
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If you aren’t familiar with Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, BLESS YOUR LITTLE HEART… as we would say in the South! They are everything good about a pretzel and none of the bad. (I say that because I’m not a huge fan of the crunchy pretzels that taste like cardboard and have WAY too much salt.) These pretzels are soft, chewy, delicious, with a hint of sweetness. And they come in a variety of flavors with a ton of different sauces: (see below)
Pretzel Flavors:
- Cinnamon Sugar – If you are looking for something sweet, look no further! Dipping this into the sweet glaze is a delicious delight!
- Sweet Almond – I am an absolute LOVER of almond flavoring… dipping this pretzel into the caramel or sweet glaze is GLORIOUS!
- Sour Cream and Onion – Who doesn’t like this classic flavor? No dip at all is need for this delicious, salty bite!
- Garlic Parmesan – A total crowd please… again… no dipping sauce is needed. It’s great on its own.
- Pepperoni – The obvious choice here is the marinara for dipping. It’s like a mini pizza experience.
- Jalapeno – Okay, cheese and peppers go together like rice and gravy! This pretzel dipped in that cheese sauce is divine. The perfect snack!
- Raisin – Sweet glaze, caramel, cream cheese… they would all go great with this sweet pretzel.
DIPPING SAUCES:
- Caramel
- Cheese
- Hot Salsa Cheese
- Light Cream Cheese
- Marinara
- Honey Mustard
- Sweet Glaze
THE HISTORY OF AUNTIE ANNE’S PRETZELS
So, you might be wondering why I chose to do the Garlic Parmesan flavor. Well, it’s actually quite simple. It’s delicious and it’s my favorite! Now, don’t get me wrong, I like a sweet pretzel too, but I’m a die hard lover of garlic and cheese… so there really isn’t any competition in my opinion. (Plus, I added a touch of honey butter to the tops of the pretzels so that there is a little sweetness in the background. I think the pretzel needed it.)
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Now back to these homemade pretzels and why in the world we should even bother. Well, I’m not quite sure what’s gotten into me, but the older I get the more self sufficient I become. What do I mean by that? Well, I grew up with grandparents that made EVERYTHING and it was nice.
Since I’ve became an adult and life has become so fast paced, some of that has been lost. And not just by me. I feel like an entire generation has let it go. But recently there has been this amazing surge to get back to our roots. And as much as I don’t like to talk about 2020… I know that it had an impact on us all and it certainly prompted all of us to look inward. More people started cooking. And we went back to learning some of the basic skills that go us here in the first place.
(Sorry, I didn’t mean to go down some social rant…)
Anyways… I kind of like the idea that my kids can ask me to make them fresh rolls or pretzels at any time, and I can do that. Maybe it’s because they look at me as a hero… a deliverer of delicious baked goods. Or maybe because it’s a valuable skill that makes my self worth go up. I don’t know. It’s probably a mix. But there is something deep inside my “momma” heart that just wants to make them proud and happy that I’m their mom… and cooking delicious food for them does that for me. (As well as playing board games. HA)
This is a great recipe if it’s your first time baking bread or making pretzels. It’s easy to follow, requires very little equipment (if any) or expertise, and the ingredients are minimal. And while I did use my stand mixer to knead the dough, you don’t have to. You can do the kneading by hand. It will just take a little more work and a little more time.
The best part about this easy recipe is that you can make it your own.
You can make large pretzels and just make fewer of them or you can chop the dough into smaller pieces and have pretzel knots or pretzel bites.
(Those would be good for kiddos and little hands)
And if you’ve done anything baking with yeast breads, then you will know all about the second rise. Well, these pretzels don’t require a lot of “sitting” time. The only time that we have to let them rise is while the oven is preheating and the baking soda solution is coming to a boil. So it really doesn’t feel like wasted time because you are accomplishing other things while the pretzels get their final rest.
Make the Copycat Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels (Garlic Parmesan) with me on YouTube!
And just for fun and feedback, I like to deliver treats to my family, friends, and adult Sunday School Class!
Copycat Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels (Garlic Parmesan) Ingredients:
For Pretzels:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons of melted butter
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups of water (warm) (110 degrees F)
For Baking Soda Bath:
- 3/4 baking soda
- 10 cups water
For Garlic/Parmesan Topping:
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese (1/4 in the garlic butter and 1/4 to sprinkle on top)
- 2 tablespoons honey
Copycat Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels (Garlic Parmesan) Instructions:
- First, in a large bowl, add the active dry yeast, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup of warm water and mix well. (I use the bowl of my stand mixer)
- Second, let the yeast mixture sit for 5 minutes and become active.
- Third, while the yeast is becoming foamy, go ahead and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray.
- Then, add the remaining 1 1/4 cup warm water, salt, all-purpose flour, and whole wheat flour to the yeast mixture and mix well.
- Next, put the bowl on the stand mixer with the dough hook and put it on low speed. While the mixer is working, slowly add the melted butter until it’s incorporated.
- Once the butter is incorporated, scrape down the sides and turn the stand mixer back on medium speed and let it knead the dough for 7 minutes.
- After the dough has been kneaded for 7 minutes, take the dough out of the bowl and lay it on a clean surface to roll into pretzels.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces.
- Take one of the portions of dough and roll it out to an 18-20 inch long rope.
- Once the pretzel dough is rolled out, form it into a “U” shape and bring the ends back over and twist around each other and finally connect back to the bottom of the “U”. This is how you get that classic pretzel shape. (This is seen easier in my video.)
- After rolling out all 10 pretzels, cover them with a clean dish towel and let the dough rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.
- While waiting on the pretzels to rise, go ahead and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Also, get a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add 3/4 cup of baking soda. (This is the baking soda bath that you will do to each of the pretzels before baking.)
- After 30 minutes of the pretzels rising, it’s now time do put them in the baking soda bath. I put two pretzels in at a time to make sure that I don’t overcrowd the pot.
- Boil the pretzels for 30 seconds on the first side and then flip and boil on the other side for another 30 seconds.
- After the pretzels have boiled on both sides, take them out of the baking soda water bath and place back onto the prepared baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Then place the pretzels in the 400 degree oven and bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them and I like to put them under the broiler for the last couple of minutes for a nice golden brown color on top.
- While the pretzels are baking, add the butter, garlic powder, parsley, parmesan cheese, honey and salt to a small pot and melt completely. Set this aside until the pretzels are finished baking.
- Finally, using a pastry brush, cover the hot pretzels with the garlic parmesan sauce and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan cheese and serve immediately!
Storage: for the Copycat Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels (Garlic Parmesan)
- Keep leftover pretzels in an airtight container or Ziploc bag at room temperature for a day.
- Pretzels can also be kept in an airtight container or Ziploc bag in the fridge for up to 1 week. Preferably wrap the pretzels with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out in the fridge.
What are the Macros for the Copycat Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels (Garlic Parmesan)
Makes 10 servings (Nutritional information below is for 1 serving = 1 pretzel)
- Calories – 383.5
- Protein – 8.85 grams
- Carbs – 48.75 grams (net)
- Fat – 15.9 grams
Check out some of my other bread recipes!
Sweet Hawaiian Rolls – No Bread Machine needed
Brown Butter Banana Bread with walnuts using self-rising flour
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Copycat Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels (Garlic Parmesan)
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
For Pretzels:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons of melted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups of water warm (110 degrees F)
- For Baking Soda Bath:
For Baking Soda Bath:
- 3/4 baking soda
- 10 cups water
For Garlic/Parmesan Topping:
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese 1/4 in the garlic butter and 1/4 to sprinkle on top
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- First, in a large bowl, add the active dry yeast, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup of warm water and mix well. (I use the bowl of my stand mixer)
- Second, let the yeast mixture sit for 5 minutes and become active.
- Third, while the yeast is becoming foamy, go ahead and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray.
- Then, add the remaining 1 1/4 cup warm water, salt, all-purpose flour, and whole wheat flour to the yeast mixture and mix well.
- Next, put the bowl on the stand mixer with the dough hook and put it on low speed. While the mixer is working, slowly add the melted butter until it’s incorporated.
- Once the butter is incorporated, scrape down the sides and turn the stand mixer back on medium speed and let it knead the dough for 7 minutes.
- After the dough has been kneaded for 7 minutes, take the dough out of the bowl and lay it on a clean surface to roll into pretzels.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces.
- Take one of the portions of dough and roll it out to an 18-20 inch long rope.
- Once the pretzel dough is rolled out, form it into a “U” shape and bring the ends back over and twist around each other and finally connect back to the bottom of the “U”. This is how you get that classic pretzel shape. (This is seen easier in my video.)
- After rolling out all 10 pretzels, cover them with a clean dish towel and let the dough rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.
- While waiting on the pretzels to rise, go ahead and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Also, get a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add 3/4 cup of baking soda. (This is the baking soda bath that you will do to each of the pretzels before baking.)
- After 30 minutes of the pretzels rising, it’s now time do put them in the baking soda bath. I put two pretzels in at a time to make sure that I don’t overcrowd the pot.
- Boil the pretzels for 30 seconds on the first side and then flip and boil on the other side for another 30 seconds.
- After the pretzels have boiled on both sides, take them out of the baking soda water bath and place back onto the prepared baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Then place the pretzels in the 400 degree oven and bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them and I like to put them under the broiler for the last couple of minutes for a nice golden brown color on top.
- While the pretzels are baking, add the butter, garlic powder, parsley, parmesan cheese, honey and salt to a small pot and melt completely. Set this aside until the pretzels are finished baking.
- Finally, using a pastry brush, cover the hot pretzels with the garlic parmesan sauce and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan cheese and serve immediately!
Video
