Give your love a piece of your heart this Valentine's Day with these Cinnamon & Sugar Heart Shaped Pretzels.
Ingredients
1½ cup warm water, 110 -115 degrees F
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast
2½ teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus a little extra if needed
vegetable oil
⅔ cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 Tbs of water
¼ cup granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
Combine the water, sugar, kosher salt, and butter in the bowl of a stand-up mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until the yeast begins to foam. Add the flour, using the dough hook, mix on low speed until fully incorporated. If the dough is too wet, add one tablespoon of flour at a time.
Increase mixer speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and is no longer sticky, approximately 4-5 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl and cover with a moist tea towel. Let it sit in a warm place for 1 hour.
While the dough is rising, prepare the icing (recipe below), but do not add the food coloring until you're ready to serve. At this time you may also mix together the cinnamon and sugar in a small dish, set aside.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Bring a large pot of water and the baking soda to a boil.
In the meantime, punch the dough down and remove the dough from the bowl. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and then half each piece again, so you will have 8 pieces. With a moist tea towel, cover any dough you are not immediately working with. Taking one ball of dough from under the tea towel, roll it out into a 22-inch rope, applying even pressure with your hands. Make a U-shape and bring the end up and twist and pinch to form the top portion of the heart. Gently press the ends together and transfer the pretzel to the parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with a damp tea towel while you work on the remaining pretzels.
Place the pretzels, two at a time, into the boiling water for 30 seconds, splashing the tops with a spoon. Remove with a wide spatula or spider (they will be slick, so be careful with transferring) return to the parchment-lined baking sheet to rest - you may reshape them to some degree if needed.
Brush each pretzel with the egg wash. Place in the oven and bake for 15 – 17 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes. Brush the pretzels with a thin coating of the white icing (a little goes a long way) and then sprinkle generously with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Add a drop or two of food coloring to the icing and stir to combine. Serve with the pretzels and enjoy!
Recipe by at https://hapanom.com/cinnamon-and-sugar-heart-pretzels/