Pretzel Recipes

By Food & Wine
Updated September 12, 2017
Credit: © John Kernick
These salty snacks are delicious on their own, but we love to use them as breadcrumbs and add them to sweet treats. Using coarsely crushed pretzels in lieu of breadcrumbs gives crab cakes a super crunchy coating, or use pretzels to make the crust for a milk chocolate tart. Here, our best pretzel recipes.
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Chocolate Pretzels with Sea Salt

Credit: Marcus Nilsson
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These are not your ordinary chocolate-covered pretzels. The superfun, delicious (and gluten-free!) treats from chef Daniel Humm are made from ground pretzels and white chocolate that gets piped into a pretzel shape and chilled, then dipped in dark chocolate before serving.

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German-Style Pretzels

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These chewy pretzels from chef Hans Rockenwagner develop a shiny, professional-looking crust as they bake.

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Chocolate Chip-Pretzel Bars

Credit: © Julie Craig
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These bars were inspired by the candy and cookies you'd mail to a homesick kid at summer camp.

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Milk-Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust

Credit: © Con Poulos
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This dessert from pastry chef Colleen Grapes, a tribute to the chocolate-covered pretzel, hits just the right salty-sweet note. Grapes mixes crushed pretzels with flour, butter, sugar and egg to make a crunchy crust, pours in a luxurious milk-chocolate filling, then sprinkles on more crushed pretzels as a garnish.

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Guinness Ice Cream with Chocolate-Covered Pretzels

Credit: © Maura McEvoy
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This dessert, created by pastry chef Cory Barrett, is an ode to Michael Symon's father, Dennis, who loves beer, pretzels and chocolate. The ice cream has a strong, malty Guinness flavor that goes supremely well with the salty, milk chocolate-covered pretzels. If you don't want to make the chocolate-covered pretzels, they're easy enough to buy.

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Salty-Sweet Chocolate Pretzel Bars

Credit: © Marcus Nilsson
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There are only a handful of ingredients in these simple but outrageously decadent and fun dessert bars from Food & Wine's Justin Chapple. If hard pretzels aren't your thing, feel free to swap in thinner pretzels.

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German Soft Pretzel Sticks

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"I've always been a fan of any food high in salt and starch," Grant Achatz says, "and soft pretzels right out of the oven are awesome." You can eat these slightly sweet, chewy, dark pretzel sticks plain or with mustard; Achatz goes for ranch dressing.

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Pretzel Dumplings

Credit: © Simon Watson
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Prime Meats is beloved for its handmade pretzel appetizer served with homemade mustard. Frank Castronovo's dumplings, a twist on traditional bread dumplings, are a clever way to use up leftover pretzels. The dumplings are good right after they're boiled but even better when sauteed in butter, too.

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Mustard-Baked Chicken with a Pretzel Crust

Credit: © Tina Rupp
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This dish, from chef Ilene Rosen at the City Bakery in New York City, matches chicken with the classic NYC street-vendor combo: pretzels and mustard. For a crisp topping, it's essential to use thick, hard pretzels, such as the sourdough or handmade versions.

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Pretzel-Crusted Crab Cakes

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Instead of bread crumbs, chef Stephanie Sokolove uses crushed pretzels to bind and crust her chunky crab cakes. She sometimes bakes them in her outdoor oven.

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Gouda, Pancetta and Onion Fondue with Pretzels

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Leyden, a Dutch cheese flecked with cumin seeds, inspired Laura Werlin to create this cumin-spiced Gouda fondue. Serve it with soft, warm pretzels or pickled vegetables for dipping.

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Swedish Sugared Sweet Pretzels

Credit: © John Kernick
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A coating of butter and sugar makes these tender pretzels especially delicious; they're excellent with tea or coffee.

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