As with Banana Magic, we didn't start out thinking this would be dinner. It just became dinner because we stuffed ourselves on pretzel bites and left no room for broccoli.

Homemade Auntie Anne's Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel bites

We have a dirty little secret about Auntie Anne's: we go there. A lot. There are two in the dimly lit, poorly planned space they call a mall around here, and nothing buys a mama time in the cleaning aisle like a bucket of cinnamon sugar pretzels in the hands of a 3-year-old. Without fail, Lou leaves the experience contented and absolutely coated in cinnamon and sugar. Of the, say, 20 nuggets that come in a cup, she usually generously allows me two or three.

I don't even love them myself -- but they'll do in a pinch, you better believe it. So for months, beset by guilt about the sheer number of these we/she have been consuming, we've been talking about making our own. (Why that's better, guilt-wise, is a mystery, but Michael Pollan says it is, so there you go).

I found this great recipe at Cooking Classy, but it's long. Long enough to be intimidating, at least to me, so we kept putting off making the things in favor of just buying them.

Until yesterday. We followed the directions pretty closely, making only a couple substitutions and tweaks based on what we had around. I did not in any way attempt to healthify these up. Though, while she offers up a cream cheese dipping sauce along side the pretzels, I opted to skip that. Not because I thought I wouldn't like it. No, no. Because I knew I would.

All of that back story to say: You should try these. I've shortened the instructions just a tad. Because we have limited counter space and only one cookie sheet, there was a moment or two of rushing between batches, but the hassle-to-deliciousness-ratio still ended up well in the favor of making these. Your kids will adore you for it, too, if that helps.

Copycat Auntie Anne's Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites

(Recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Classy)

Ingredients for Pretzels

1 (1/4 oz) pkg active dry yeast
1 cup warm water, 110 degrees
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp packed light-brown sugar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 - 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (at Cooking Classy, she uses half bread flour, half all-purpose. A mix or all of either should be fine.)
3 cups hot water
1/4 cup baking soda

Ingredients for Coating

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions

Mix the dough.

Roll dough into snake/rope.

Drop bite-sized dough pieces into baking soda water, then place on baking sheet.

Gather baked pretzels and dipping ingredients.

Dip baked, butter-coated pretzels into cinnamon sugar.

Lather.

Rinse.

Re Eat.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 cup warm water, yeast and 1/2 tsp granulated sugar. Whisk to dissolve and allow to rest 10 minutes.
Mix in remaining granulated sugar (1 Tbsp + 2 1/2 tsp), brown sugar, vegetable oil and salt, either by hand or with the whisk attachment of a stand mixer.
By hand, or with a mixer fitted with the hook attachment and set on low speed, slowly add in 2 1/2 cups flour and mix until well blended. Knead mixture until smooth an elastic, adding up to an additional 1/4 cup flour as needed for a soft, slightly sticky dough. Cover and allow to rest in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 - 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Punch dough down. Break off a portion of the dough (about a sixth of the dough - eye ball it) keeping the dough you're not using covered. Roll the piece you've broken off into a rope about 24 to 28-inches long (you can do this by rolling with your hands -- you know, make a snake -- or by pulling on each side and flicking upward like a jump rope while slapping onto the counter top). Cut into bite size pieces (about 1 1/4-inches each).
Pour hot water and baking soda into a mixing bowl and whisk to dissolve. Don't skip this step -- it's what gives the pretzels their awesome golden tan. Dip several pieces of dough into the water mixture, then lift and allow excess water to drip off. You can use your hands or a slotted spoon. Transfer to a lightly-oiled or Silpat-lined baking sheet.
Grab another handful of dough and repeat the process until your baking sheet is full. If needed, rewarm baking soda water in microwave until hot between batches.
Bake in preheated oven 8 - 11 minutes until tops are nicely golden brown. Check early though - our oven runs hot, and ours were done a bit before the 8 minute mark.
Remove from oven and, using a slotted spoon, dip into melted butter, and toss to evenly coat. Lift out and shake off excess. Transfer to a plate and allow to rest 2 minutes (Cooking Classy felt this just gave them time to absorb the butter, rather than having it all end up clumping the cinnamon sugar mixture).
While the pretzels are absorbing their butter coating, whisk together sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Dip butter-coated pretzels into cinnamon sugar and toss to evenly coat.

Enjoy.

We actually managed to save a few of these for a heart-healthy breakfast the next day. Even cold, Lou and I agreed, while standing in the kitchen and scarfing them down from their container, that they were a very special treat indeed.