One bite into these fluffy, soft Cinnamon Soft Pretzel Bites, and your family will be hooked!
My kids love the soft pretzels sold at the mall, so naturally, I had to make an easy homemade version we could enjoy any day of the week.
After testing this recipe a few times, I decided to make bites because they’re easier to eat when we are doing a family movie or game night. It’s a recipe I know everyone will enjoy!
Easy Cinnamon Soft Pretzel Bites
Warm and fresh from the oven, these pretzel bites are fluffy and soft with a delicious cinnamon-sugar coating. They taste even better than those from the mall cart and are made completely from scratch.
This recipe uses active dry yeast, and if you’ve never worked with yeast I’ll walk you through the recipe, step by step- it’s super easy. The hardest part is waiting for the dough to rise, but most of the time spent on this recipe is hands-off, so you can go get other things done while the dough rises.
After one bite, you’ll see why it’s worth making these cinnamon sugar pretzels at home. You can make them the weekend before and store them in the refrigerator for an easy snack or sweet treat later in the week. Just pop them in the oven to reheat and voila!
These are a great kids’ lunch box idea when you want to pack in a treat to go with the rest of their lunch. Trust me, your kid’s face will light up to see a few freshly baked pretzel bites.
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Soft Pretzel Bite Ingredients
Time to gather everything you’ll need to make these cinnamon soft pretzels. If you do any bread baking then you should have a packet of active dry yeast or instant yeast in the pantry. You can use both for this recipe, but the dry yeast will take longer to rise.
- Warm water (100-110ºF, 35-45ºC)- should feel like a warm bath
- Active dry yeast
- Bread flour- finer than regular flour
- Salt
- Brown sugar- light or dark brown sugar will work for this recipe
- Butter- the real deal. I like using unsalted but you can also use salted.
- Vegetable oil
- 8 cups water
- Baking soda
- Sugar- plain ole granulated white sugar
- Cinnamon- the best part!!!
How to Make Cinnamon Soft Pretzel Bites
My kids beg me to make this soft pretzel bites recipe almost weekly and I don’t blame them. These soft, sweet baked bites are perfect for little fingers and a delicious treat for kids and adults. Here’s how to make these pretzel bites:
- Activate the Yeast
In a large bowl, combine the yeast and warm water. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. - Make the Dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, and brown sugar. Stir to combine and add the butter and activated yeast. Mix on low to combine, stopping to scrape the sides to incorporate the flour.
Switch to the bread hook attachment and mix for 5 minutes, dusitng with additional flour to make sure the dough doesn’t stick to the bowl. - Let it Rise
Once the dough reaches an elastic consistency, remove it from the bowl and form into a ball. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let rest for 2 to 3 hours in a warm place (the oven or microwave works great; make sure both are turned off). - Get the Oven Ready
Preheat the oven to 425F and lightly grease 2 large baking sheets. - Roll the Dough
In a large saucepan, bring the water and baking soda to a boil.
Remove the dough from its resting spot and punch it down. Divide the ball into 4 quarters. Form each quarter into 4 balls and roll them into a foot long rope. Cut each rope into 6 pieces.
Add the dough pieces to the water and boil for 30 seconds before transferring to the baking sheet with a slotted spoon. - Bake until Golden Brown
Bake the pretzel bites for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. - Prepare the Cinnamon Sugar
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Brush the cooled pretzel bites with melted butter. - Finish them Off
Lightly dip the butter coated pretzel bites in the cinnamon sugar. Serve with milk, hot cocoa, coffee and enjoy.
Looking for more delicious snack recipes? Check out my cookbook, The Best Homemade Kids’ Snacks on the Planet – I know you’ll find something your kids will love!
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Cinnamon Soft Pretzel Bites Recipe
Ingredients
For the pretzels:
- 1 cup of warm water, 100-110ºF, 35-45ºC
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 cups bread flour, plus more for work surface
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon vegetable oil
- 8 cups water
- ½ cup baking soda
For the cinnamon coating:
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the warm water and yeast. Let stand for ten minutes to activate the yeast.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, and brown sugar. Turn the mixer on low, and add the softened butter and activated yeast. Scrape the sides a few times to combine.
- Switch the attachment to the bread hook and mix for another 5 minutes, dusting with a little more flour along the way to make sure it doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl.
- Once the dough is elastic, remove it from the mixing bowl, and shape it into a ball. Transfer it to a lightly greased bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and refrigerate overnight or 2-3 hours in a warm spot.
- Position one oven rack on the upper shelf and a second on the lower shelf. Preheat oven to 450°F (230ºC) and generously grease 2 large baking sheets.
- In a 5-quart (946 ml) saucepan, bring the water and baking soda to a boil.
- Punch the down dough and divide into quarters. Form each quarter of dough into 4 balls. Roll each ball into a 12-inch (30 centimeters) long rope. Cut each rope into 6 2-inch (5 centimeters) pieces.
- Place a dozen pretzel bites into the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer onto the greased baking sheets.
- Bake the pretzel bites in the preheated oven, switching baking sheets between racks and rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking, until browned, 8 to 10 minutes (watch closely toward the end of baking; bites brown quickly in the last few minutes). Immediately transfer pretzel bites to wire racks to cool.
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Brush the pretzel bites with melted butter and lightly dip into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
lisa
Can these be frozen either before or after baking? We LOVED these and I’d like to make a big batch to be able to pull out from time to time
MOMables-Laura
Hi Lisa, I would try freezing them after baking. Place them in a freezer-safe bag and store them for up to 2 months. Reheat at 450F until heated through, and then brush them with butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Liz
These look great! How would you store these so that we could eat over a few days (for snacks and lunch boxes)?
MOMables
Hey Liz! I would just store them in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat them for 1 minute or so when you’re ready to eat!
pasta
Hello my family member! I want to say that this article is
awesome, nice written and come with almost all significant
infos. I would like to see extra posts like this .
MOMables
Thanks!
JoAnn C.
Oh my! I must try these. I love mall/movie theater pretzels.
MOMables
We do too! Let us know how they turn out for you.