New Year’s Pretzel
A New Year’s Pretzel is a tradition here in Pittsburgh. Bakeries and grocery stores load up with sweet bread pretzel covered in frosting, nuts, and/or candied fruit. Some are decent, some are not. Yet every year we rip off a piece of the pretzel and toast the beginnings of the new year.
This year I chose to make my own New Year’s Pretzel with a sweet maple frosting and without the nuts, candied fruit (candied fruit is just yuk), or lactose (you can use regular dairy, though).
This deliciously sweet New Year’s Pretzel is similar to cinnamon rolls. Filled with cinnamon, sugar, and of course butter, it’s an easy treat that makes a great holiday tradition.
Everyone loves this. I mean, it’s sugar and fat. What’s not to love?! The girls devour it, and my husband loves it. He claims to “not love dessert” but he loves this New Year’s Pretzel.
In fact, it’s so tasty, you may be tempted to make a New Year’s Pretzel on one of the other 364 days of the year. And that’s okay!
Filled with goodness that goes straight to muscle (not so much), this sweet bread is pretty easy to make, especially if you throw the ingredients in your stand mixer. So, let’s get started!
How to Make a New Year’s Pretzel
Microwave (or heat in a small pot) the milk for about 40 seconds until it’s warm…not hot. Pour the milk into the bowl of your stand mixer and add the sugar and yeast. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. You will see the bits of yeast still. That’s okay.
Add in the egg, salt, and vanilla, and mix.
Add the bread flour and mix with the dough hook for 1 to 2 minutes until fully incorporated.
When the flour is fulled combined, add in the pieces of butter. Raise the speed of your mixer to about 4, or medium, and let the mixer run for about 4 minutes. You will see the butter start to splat on the sides and the dough will look greasy. All is good! Let the mixer run until the dough stops sticking to the side of the bowl. It will be smooth and elastic and a bit on the yellow side. You shouldn’t see clumps or bits of anything. The dough should be smooth.
First Rise
Cover the dough in the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest. If your kitchen is cold, you can cover the bowl with a towel or a blanket. I wrap the bowl in a thick blanket to warm it up and make the dough rise faster.
When the dough has doubled in size, in about 1 to 2 hours, it’s ready for the next step!
Roll the dough out on a large piece of parchment paper. Roll it as far as it goes without ripping. Aim for rectangle. Mine is an oval:)
Soften the butter (about 8 seconds in the microwave from the fridge, 15 seconds if from the freezer) and spread it out on the New Year’s Pretzel dough.
Once the butter has been spread, sprinkle the sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon over the butter.
Starting with the long side, tightly roll the dough into a long log.
Now you want to stretch this log out. Start rolling and gently stretching the sweet dough so it elongates. I find this is easier right on the counter (without the parchment) where you can use the tackiness to help stretch the dough.
Stretch the dough into a ‘U’ shape and then place the left side onto the right, and the right side onto the left. Tuck the dough ends under the pretzel.
Second Rise
Place the New Year’s pretzel back on the parchment paper and slide it onto your baking sheet. Cover the pretzel loosely with plastic wrap. I lightly place a blanket over this again to warm the dough and allow it to rise.
After about 1 to 2 hours again, the pretzel should be puffy.
Melt the butter and brush on the pretzel dough.
Place in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes.
While the pretzel is cooling, make the frosting. Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl.
Remove the pretzel from the parchment (if desired) and place on a serving tray.
Pour the frosting over the cooled the pretzel.
And there you have it! A delicious, super sweet and soft New Year’s Pretzel to toast the new year and bring good luck!
I hope you enjoy this simple sweet dough. I’d love to know if you try!
If you are anything like me and LOVE sweet breads, try out this Chocolate Cranberry Bread. It’s slightly sweet and oh so delicious! Check us out on Instagram for the latest and greatest, as well.
Happy baking and Happy New Year!
New Year’s Pretzel
Ingredients
- 530 grams bread flour 4 cups
- 230 grams warm milk 1 cup (Fairlife is lactose free)
- 100 grams sugar 1/2 cup
- 6 grams active dry yeast 1 1/2 teaspoons
- 6 grams vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoon
- 4 grams salt 1/2 teaspoon
- 1 egg
- 56 grams vegan butter (or butter of your choice) 4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup
Pretzel Filling
- 56 grams butter (vegan butter for lactose free) 4 tablespoons
- 50 grams white sugar 1/4 cup
- 100 grams brown sugar 1/2 cup
- 11 grams cinnamon 1 1/2 tablespoon
Brush on Top
- 15 grams butter (vegan butter for lactose free) 1 Tablespoon
Maple Frosting
- 100 grams powdered sugar 1 cup
- 75 grams pure maple syrup 1/4 cup
- 2 grams vanilla 1/2 teaspoon
- 13 grams milk 1 T (Fairlife milk is lactose free)
Instructions
- Warm the milk in the microwave for about 40 seconds.
- Pour the milk, sugar and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk.
- Add in the salt, egg, and vanilla and whisk until combined.
- Add the flour and mix with the dough hook for about 1 to 2 minutes on low until combined.
- Cut the butter into pieces and add to the mixer. Raise the mixer to 4, or medium, and knead with the dough hook for about 4 minutes. The dough will slap the bowl and look greasy. The butter may pop out. Let the mixer run and it will come together. The dough is done when it no longer sticks to the side of the bowl and is smooth.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours.
- Once doubled, place the dough on parchment paper and roll into a rectangle or oval as thin as you can.
- Spread warmed butter on the dough. Then sprinkle the dough with sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- Roll up the dough starting with the long side. Once rolled, stretch the dough out and form into a 'U'. Take the left side and place it over the right, and take the right side and place it down over the left (see pictures) to form a pretzel shape.
- Place the pretzel on parchment and then on a baking sheet. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for a 2nd time for about 1 – 2 hours.
- Once it's puffy, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Melt 1 T of butter and brush it on top of the pretzel.
- Bake the pretzel for 20 -25 minutes until golden.
- While the pretzel cools, whisk the ingredients for frosting.
- Place the cooled pretzel on it's serving dish and pour the frosting over the pretzel.If you like it less sweet, drizzle just a bit of the frosting. If you like it sweet, spread all of the frosting.Enjoy!
