Pumpkin Beer Pretzels

I love fall because fall means that it is okay to make everything with pumpkin! 'Tis the season for pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin beer, and pumpkin pretzels! Today was a day of fall decorating in my apartment, so I wanted to make something to start off my favorite season, with one of my favorite ingredients - PUMPKIN! I was feeling a bit lazy and didn't want to go to the store to buy canned pumpkin for pumpkin muffins (look for some in the future!), but thanks to my dad, I have an abundance of pumpkin beer on hand. Pretzels are on of my favorite treats because you can dip them in all kinds of mustard. I found a great recipe on one of the best cooking blogs I have found, wearenotmartha.com. 

Ingredients: 1 packet active dry yeast
1/2 C warm water, plus 2 C warm water
1/2 T sugar1/2 t fine sea salt1 t olive oil
1 C pumpkin beer of your choice
3-4 C all-purpose flour (I used mostly whole wheat flour) 
1 t baking soda
1 egg, beaten
2-3 T coarse salt1 T butter, melted


Directions:
1. In a large bowl, add dry yeast to 1/2 cup of warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes.

2. Add the sugar, salt, and olive oil. Pour in the beer. The yeast makes it very foamy!
**I also added some cinnamon and nutmeg to try and bring out the pumpkin flavor. 
3. With a wooden spoon, add in 1 cup of flour at a time. Start by adding 3 cups, and add more if needed.

4. Knead dough on floured surface or put in mixer with dough hook (much easier!) and mix for 3 minutes.  Add flour if necessary.
5. Cover dough with a towel for an hour to let it rise. 

6. Punch the dough down. Separate into 12 pieces to make individual pretzels. 

7. Roll out each dough piece into a rope. 

8. Form the rope into a pretzel shape. 
9. Mix the remaining 2 cups of warm water and baking soda in a small baking dish. Dip each pretzel in the water and then place on a well greased cookie sheet.

10. Cover with a towel and let rise for an additional 20 minutes. 
11. Brush each pretzel with a lightly beaten egg. Sprinkle with coarse salt. 
12. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 425. 
13. Brush with melted butter immediately and let cool.

And enjoy with a pumpkin beer and any type of dipping sauce you like. 


A perfect fall or game time snack! My pretzels came out with the perfect amount of slight crunch on the outside, soft inside. Although the pretzels didn't have a lot of pumpkin flavor, they were delicious dipped in some honey mustard! Next time, I think I will add pumpkin puree to the dough to really bring out the pumpkin flavor. It is just the beginning of my favorite season, and many more pumpkin cooking creations to come!