pretzel time

I don't know about you, but I love soft pretzels, served warm and with a sweetly tangy honey mustard sauce. Needing to satisfy a desire to devour some (and not wanting to have to give in to the cold, dry version Manhattan street vendors sell), I enlisted Garrett's help, and, using a friend's super easy recipe, we made some of our own. Garrett's favorite part of the endeavor? Anything involving flour. He liked to both sneak small tastes (which he reported as being "Mmm...good") and grab little handfuls of it to clap in the air. In the end they were delicious -- definitely hit the spot.

Picnic Pretzels

2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 - 4 3/4 cups flour

Combine ingredients, add additional flour if the dough is sticky. Cover and let rise until double. Punch down dough and let rest for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Roll the dough into a 12 x 8" rectangle. Cut dough into sixteen 12 x 1/2" strips. Gently pull strips to 16" long. Twist into pretzel shapes; moisten ends with water and press to seal them into place. Brush pretzels with a beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Drizzle with melted butter, if desired. Serve with honey mustard sauce.

Honey Mustard Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 - 1/4 cup each honey and mustard, to taste

Blend together.