Instant Pot No Knead Apple Cinnamon Pretzel Bites are a perfect fall treat. Have some sprinkled with cinnamon sugar or without. Delicious, soft and spicedThis recipe makes between 48 and 64 pretzel bites, depending on how you cut them.
Cinnamon Sugar Coating (makes enough for half the pretzel bites)
2tablespoonsmelted butter(or vegan butter or coconut oil)
2tablespoonswhite sugar
1.5teaspooncinnamon
Instructions
Make Instant Pot No Knead Apple Cinnamon Pretzel Dough
Turn your Instant Pot on and press sauté button.
Add the apple cider and one tablespoon of brown sugar to the Instant Pot and just as it starts heating up, turn the sauté button off immediately.
IMPORTANT: The apple cider must be between 38-43C (100.4-109.4F) which is just above the body temperature. If the liquid mixture is too hot then you’ll kill the yeast and the dough will not rise. So, test the liquid with your finger or a thermometer. It should be warm but not hot.
Add the yeast, mix, and wait for about 5-8 minutes until it foams.If the yeast doesn't foam, read my points in the post on how to proceed.
Add the rest of the sugar, cinnamon, canola oil, and diced apple to the yeast mixture. Mix to combine.
Add the flour, salt, and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough forms.
Close the lid on your Instant Pot, press the Yogurt function and change the timing for 1 hour.
After 30 minutes, open the lid. The dough should be soft, puffed up and doubled (or almost doubled) in size.
Make Apple Cinnamon Pretzel Bites
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. You might need to use two depending on their sizes.
Take the dough out of Instant Pot. The dough will be quite sticky, so use plenty of flour on your hands and a working surface.
Knead the dough a few times. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions.
Roll each portion into a log about 20 cm long. Cut each log into 6-8 pieces. You should end up with 48-64 small pretzel dough pieces.
Boil a whole kettle of water, about 1.7 litres.
While the water is boiling, clean the Instant Pot liner that was used for the dough (or get a spare one).
Add the boiling water to the clean Instant Pot liner, press saute button, and losely cover with a lid. Wait until the water starts simmering again.Alternatively, use a regular big pot and do that on the stove. Just make sure that the pot is high enough so that there's no splashing as the soda water will leave residue on the stove if it is spilled.
Once the water is at a steady simmer, add 1/4 cup of baking soda and let it foam.
Add pretzel bite pieces to the simmering baking soda bath 4-5 at a time. Let cook for about 10-15 seconds, then remove using a slotted spoon. Transfer to a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all the pieces.
Bake in the fully preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. If you are using two baking sheets, then switch them around halfway through the baking time.
Dip the pretzel bites in cinnamon sugar
Once the pretzels are baked, let them cool for about 5-8 minutes, so that they are safe to handle.
Mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Dip each pretzel bite top side up into melted butter (or vegan butter or coconut oil).
Then dip into cinnamon sugar.
Note: ingredients for the cinnamon sugar coating are enough for half the pretzel bites only. Double if you'd like to dip all the pretzel bites.