Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels

I have just recently become obsessed with these peanut butter filled pretzels that I found at Woolies and whilst I was demolishing yet another bag of them, I thought about how cool it would be if I made my very own Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels.

So that is exactly what I did… I eagerly marched into the kitchen, got out all the ingredients and cranked up my oven.

It does, however, turn out that it is a bit of a lengthy process to make your own pretzels, so this wasn’t a quick bake (my favourite kind), but luckily the end result is pretty damn delicious, so I guess you could say it’s worth all the effort 🙂 There are a few steps to get through, but all in all the process isn’t too complicated, in fact, it’s quite therapeutic putting these little pockets of yum together.

I must say upfront though that they were not hard like normal pretzels, I’m guessing there is a whole technique slash expensive piece of equipment that gets them to come out that way. They tasted just like a pretzel, but were more on the chewy-soft side of life – Still super addictive though, especially when dipped in Nutella!

I will definitely be making them again, especially because this recipe yields a bucket load of them, which made my face very happy.

Here is what you’re going to need to make yourself your very own batch of Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels.

If you’re in the mood for something else sweet, just hit my recipe tab above or click here and take a look through what I’ve made in the past.

INGREDIENTS: Makes about ±45 mini pretzels

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
•  2 tablespoons brown sugar
•  2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 
•  85 grams unsalted butter – melted
•  2 1/2 teaspoons salt
•  4 1/2  all-purpose flour
•  Oil for greasing the bowl
•  Nutella for filling the pretzels
•  6 cups of water
•  1/3 cup baking soda for boiling the pretzels
•  1 whole egg beaten with a tablespoon of cold water
•  Coarse sea salt for sprinkling on top of the pretzels
•  Extra Nutella to dip them in for some extra decadence

DIRECTIONS:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with the dough hook, place the water, sugar, yeast, and butter. Mix for a few seconds and then let it sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined then increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl with oil, add the dough and turn to coat it with oil. Cover it with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, this will take about an hour.
4. While the dough is rising line a baking sheet wax paper. Using a 1/8 of a teaspoon, scoop out little dollops of Nutella and place them on the wax paper. Freeze until hard, it’ll take about 30 minutes. Keep them in the freezer until you’re ready to make the pretzel.
5. Preheat the oven to 200° C (fan-assisted, 220° if not). Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 8 equal pieces weighing about 125 grams each. Then roll each piece into a long rope measuring about 55cm in length. Using a sharp knife cut the dough into 2.5 cm pieces to make the pretzel pockets.
6. Now take one pocket at a time and make a small indentation into the middle with your finger. Place a dollop of frozen Nutella in each one then wrap the pretzel dough around the filling pinching the ends until the pillow is closed properly. You must keep checking to see if the Nutella isn’t thawing out too much. If it is just pop it in the freezer for a bit. You must also keep the rest of the dough pillows covered with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out while you’re putting you’re assembling your pretzels.
7. When all of the pillows are made, place them on a baking sheet or plate and put them in the freezer for a few minutes.
8. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot over a high heat and carefully add the baking soda. It will bubble up, so make sure you add it slowly. Boil the pretzel pillows in the water in batches. I added about 12 at a time. Boil for about 30 seconds before removing them with a slotted spoon.
9. Place pretzels on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Make sure they are not touching. Brush the tops lightly with the egg wash and season with coarse salt. Pop them into the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Take them out of the oven and let cool before serving with a bowl of yummy extra Nutella, because why not?!