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Light and chewy heart shaped homemade soft pretzels are dipped in chocolate and decorated with a fun sprinkling of festive nonpareils – the perfect v-day treat for you… or someone you <3!
Hi friends! So um, is it Valentine’s Day yet…?! I know it has to be getting close because every time I go to dream up a new recipe my brain wanders to all things heart shaped and sprinkled.
It’s a pretty fun problem to have 😉
I found these hot pink nonpareils at Target earlier this month for like a dollar or something and snatched 3 containers of them up without a moments hesitation. I’m actually always looking for fun/seasonal sprinkles and stuff like that, and I swear Target is the one spot that seems to consistently have my back. If you have a store near you, I highly suggest looking in those little dollar bins! I always find awesome stuff hiding in them. Just maybe pay cash. Ahem!
But enough shopping advice! On to the pretzels…!!!
These pretzel are quite simple to make, and although they involve both a boil and a bake, I can assure you they are 100% worth the effort.
P.S. The dough will look kind of scraggly and ugly as you can see in the photo right below, but don’t fret, it bakes up brown and beautiful in just a few moments time.
The dough is pretty easy to work with, and I found shaping the hearts to be surprisingly easy and fuss free. Just make sure to really pinch the ends together! They like to tear apart while boiling, but if you make sure they’re VERY well pinched, you have nothing to sweat.
The base of this pretzel recipe alone is a winner! It produces soft and chewy pretzels that have that perfect airy interior you want when making a pretzel, and it helps that they’re so light considering we dip them in a lovely robe of chocolate and sprinkles.
It’s all about balance 😉
I also sprinkled a little sea salt on with the nonpareils and found the light saltiness a wonderful contrast to the sweeter aspects of the pretzels. I highly recommend it!
Here’s the recipe, guys! If you have any questions, just let me know. These are totally worth trying 🙂 Dooooooo it.
Heart Shaped Chocolate Dipped Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 1/2 cups very warm water (115 degrees fahrenheit)
- (1) Package Rapid Rise Yeast
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 4 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Cooking Liquid:
- 9 cups water
- Scant 1 cup baking soda
Egg Wash:
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon water
Chocolate Coating:
- 6 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped and melted
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/4 cup nonpareils
- Sea salt, optional
Instructions
For the Dough:
- In a medium bowl combine the water, yeast, sugar, and salt; let sit for 5-8 minutes, or until foamy.
- In the body of a stand mixer using the hook attachment add the flour, butter, and foam mixture and beat on medium speed for 12 minutes, allowing the hook to knead the dough.
- Cover the dough with a warm, moist towel, and let rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large, wide pot combine water and baking soda and bring to a boil.
- While the water is coming to a boil, roll out your pretzels!
- Divide the dough into 10 pieces, trying to make them as equal as possible. Roll each piece out into a long rope (about 18 inches) and then carefully twist into a heart shape. Really take your time forming the shapes and pressing the tops into rounds and the end into a point, as the shape will shift slightly when boiling. Press the ends together at the top of the heart, pinching the dough together well.
- One at a time, place pretzels into boiling water and cook for 25 seconds before removing with a slotted spatula and transferring to the prepared baking sheet.
- Brush the tops and sides of each pretzel with the egg wash.
- Place pan in the oven to bake for 13-15 minutes.
- Transfer pretzels to a cooling wrack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, dip in melted chocolate and sprinkle with nonpareils and salt
For the Chocolate Coating:
- Melt chocolate and oil together in a double boiler until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
Doin it! Salivating! Thanks for your inspiration!
These look amazing, just a question, scant of 1 cup baking soda, is that bi carb soda or baking powder? 1 cup seems a lot. Thanks
It’s baking soda. It is a lot, but it helps give the pretzels that nice, shiny outer shell 🙂
heart pretzels are my kind of valentine dessert! these look incredible!
Oh my gosh these are so cute!!! Homemade pretzels are one of those foods on my bucket list in the kitchen. We’ll see if it ever happens.
LOVE THIS! I’m making them for my daughters 2nd grade class this week.
These are so cute!!