Black Bosch Universal Plus Mixer
Buy Now →The Best New Year’s Eve Pretzel
For Prosperity, Good Luck, and to start the new year on a sweet note, you need this iconic Pittsburgh New Year’s Eve Pretzel. The most amazing sweetened and pillowy soft dough coated in a creamy glaze and a choice of nonpareils, nuts, or demon seeds (cherries).
- Prep Time: 10 minutes + 2 hours rise time
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Category: breads, sweets, desserts
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: breads, sweets, desserts
Ingredients
Pretzel
- 3/4 cups (6 ounces) scalded milk (~180F that is then cooled to 110F)
- 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
- 4 Tablespoons (56.8g) softened butter, unsalted
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces) warm water
- 2 1/2 teaspoon (7.75g) instant yeast
- 4–5 cups (480-600g) ap flour*
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 4–5 Tablespoons heavy cream
Toppings
- Nonpareils
- Cherries
- Toasted Nuts
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough attachment, add the scalded milk, sugar, vanilla, water, and instant yeast. Give it a quick whisk.
- Add 2 cups of flour, salt, egg, and yolk to the milk mixture. Turn the mixer on low and mix just until barely combined. Add the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough starts to form. Add in the butter and continue to mix until the butter is all combined and the dough is soft and pulls away from the sides. *You may not need all of the flour.
- Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board and give it a few turns to form a smooth ball. Put it into a large, greased bowl and cover. Let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured board and divide in half.
- Roll each half into a long rope and shape into a pretzel.
- Transfer each pretzel onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, cover with lightly sprayed plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 35-45 minutes or until very puffy. Do not overproof.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 15- 20 minutes until golden brown. Take the internal temp as it should read 200F.
- Remove from the oven and immediately transfer the pretzels to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make the glaze by whisking all of the ingredients together. To the cooled pretzels, pour the glaze overtop and top with nonpareils, cherries, and or nuts.
- Store any leftovers, covered.
Notes
The flour measurement will vary based on your ambient temperature and humidity level.