Homemade cinnamon crunch soft pretzels topped with a delicious cinnamon and brown sugar topping and served with a sweet cream cheese “dip.” These cinnamon sugar pretzels are a great breakfast, brunch or anytime sweet treat.

Cinnamon crunch soft pretzels served with a sweet cream cheese dip.

These cinnamon crunch soft pretzels and sweet cream cheese dip are the sweet counterpart to my classic soft pretzels and beer cheese. These cinnamon and sugar soft pretzels use the same pretzel dough but are topped with crunchy brown sugar and cinnamon topping before baking. Serve them warm with the sweet cream cheese dip for a fabulous breakfast or brunch treat.

Ingredients and substitutions

A few notes about the key ingredients …

Baking soda – These pretzels are boiled in a lot of baking soda! Check your supply before starting. It’s not a deal-breaker to use less than specified, but the full amount is recommended, for the best finished results.

Dark Brown Sugar – I love dark brown sugar for the cinnamon crunch topping but light brown sugar would be fine to use as well.

How to make cinnamon crunch soft pretzels

Finished dough in mixing bowl.
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Dough after rising.
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Dough being weighed out into pieces.
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  1. Mix together the dough. The finished dough should be moist and a touch sticky, but it should clean the sides of the bowl reasonably well.
  2. Set the dough to rise in a greased and covered bowl until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.
  3. Weigh out the dough, then divide by 8 to get the weight for each dough piece. Weigh out each piece of dough. Mine are usually in the 110-115g range.
Forming the dough pieces into balls.
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All the dough balls under a tea towel.
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Starting to roll the dough ball into a rope.
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  1. Form each dough piece into a ball by stretching, then pinching together underneath.
  2. Once all 8 balls are formed, cover with a clean tea towel and let rest 5 minutes.
  3. Stretch the dough ball into a long oval shape.
Finished dough rope.
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Forming the dough rope into a U-shape.
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Crossing over the ends of the dough rope.
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  1. Using the palms of your hands, roll and stretch the dough into a rope 24-inches long.
  2. Shape the dough rope into a “U” shape.
  3. Cross the two sides of the “U” over each other, right over left.
Starting to form the pretzel shape by grabbing one end and folding down.
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Folding down the other end of the rope.
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Finished pretzel shape on work surface.
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  1. Grab the end of the dough on the right side.
  2. Fold that piece down and to the left, pressing it down where it meets the bottom of the pretzel.
  3. Repeat with the left side to complete the pretzel shape.
Boiling the pretzels.
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Brushing the boiled pretzels in butter.
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Cinnamon crunch pressed onto pretzels before baking.
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  1. Boil the pretzels in the baking soda/boiling water, 2 at a time for 20 seconds on each side.
  2. Brush the boiled pretzels with melted butter.
  3. Sprinkle the cinnamon crunch mixture overtop of the pretzels and press down lightly. Bake and enjoy!

Recipe tips!

  • Start the water boiling for the pretzels early, as it can take a while and you want the water to be ready when the pretzels are. I like to bring it to a boil, and then turn the heat down a bit. When needed, I can increase the heat to bring it back to boiling.
  • If you have a large baking sheet, you can bake all 8 pretzels at the same time. They should fit comfortably with a couple of inches in between. If you don’t have a baking sheet that large, you can bake in two batches of 4. Shape, boil and bake the first 4, then shape and boil the second batch of 4 while the first batch bakes.
  • If your cream cheese dip isn’t completely smooth (it has small bits of butter in it), place the bowl in the microwave for 10 seconds then whisk to smooth it.
Cinnamon crunch soft pretzels served with a sweet cream cheese dip.

Making ahead, storing and freezing

Both the baked pretzels and the cream cheese dip can be frozen for up to 3 months. Freezing is a better option if you can’t eat it all up right away, as it will preserve the freshness.

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Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Crunch Soft Pretzels

Soft pretzels topped with a crunchy cinnamon and brown sugar topping. Served with a sweet cream cheese "dip".
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 16 minutes
Rising Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 36 minutes
Yield: 8 pretzels

Ingredients

For pretzel dough:

  • 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) lukewarm water, warmed to 105F
  • 1 Tablespoon white granulated sugar
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
  • 2 teaspoons coarse Kosher salt, use less if using fine salt and a bit less if using salted butter
  • 1/4 cup (67 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
  • 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled, plus more as needed

For boiling:

  • 10 cups (2500 ml) water
  • 2/3 cup (170 ml) baking soda

For brushing before baking:

  • 1 Tbsp butter, melted

Cinnamon Crunch:

  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, can substitute light brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
  • 2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Sweet Cream Cheese Dip:

  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup icing/confectioners' sugar
  • 2-3 Tablespoons milk, plus more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Tip! Use a kitchen scale to weigh out the flour for best accuracy. If you don't have a kitchen scale, be sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off to avoid using too much flour.
  • To make the pretzel dough: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a kneading hook, combine the lukewarm water, sugar and yeast. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. Add the salt, cooled melted butter and 3 cups of flour (375g). Mix on Speed 2 on the mixer until well combined. Add the last 1 cup of flour (125g) a bit at a time, kneading in between additions. If the dough is still sticky after adding the last cup of flour, begin adding more flour a Tablespoon at a time and kneading in between additions until you have a soft, moist dough that wraps the kneading hook and cleans the bowl. (*Your dough may not need any more flour or it may not even need all of the last cup of flour to reach this point.) Once the dough reaches that point, allow it to knead at Speed 2 on the mixer for 4-5 minutes.
  • Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly, adding a bit more flour only if the dough is sticking to your hands or the work surface. Form the dough into a ball and place it into a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, usually about 45-60 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 425F. (regular bake setting/not fan-assisted). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. *You'll need a baking sheet large enough to hold all 8 pretzels (they will increase in size as they bake). If your baking sheet isn't large enough to comfortably hold all 8, you can shape, boil and bake of 4 of them, then shape, boil and bake the other 4 right after.)
  • In a large pot, bring the 10 cups of water to a rolling boil. *I like to start this step early and keep the water just under the boil. That way it is ready to go when the pretzels are ready to be boiled.
  • For the cinnamon crunch: Add the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon to a medium bowl and stir to combine. Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter. Stir together, pressing the mixture together a bit to moisten the brown sugar with the butter until you have an evenly sandy-textured mixture. Set aside.
  • When the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into eight equal pieces. (I like to use a scale to weigh the dough and then divide by 8 to get the weight for each piece.) Form each piece of dough into a ball and let stand for 5 minutes, covered with a clean tea towel. (My dough pieces are typically in the 110-115g range.)
  • Start with 1 of the balls of dough, leaving the remaining balls covered with the tea towel. Working on an un-floured surface, take a ball of dough and stretch it slightly into an oblong shape. Using the palms of both hands, begin rolling in the centre of the dough, then slowly spread your palms apart, rolling out towards the end of the dough rope. Repeat rolling, starting from the centre and rolling outward or if your rope is getting thin in the middle, move your palms over the thicker area and roll from there. Keep rolling until your rope is 24-inches long. Don't worry if your rope of dough isn't perfectly even. Somehow, the boiling/baking process seems to sort it all out.
  • Tip! You can refer to the step-by-step photos above this Recipe Card for a visual of the process of shaping the pretzels.
  • Form the rope of dough into a pretzel by first shaping it into a "U" shape, with the opening of the U at the top. Cross the two strands of dough over each other, forming an "X" in the middle. Take the tips of the dough and fold down to extend past the bottom of the "U" by about an inch and pinch into the bottom of the "U" where they cross. Stretch the loops on the sides a bit to exaggerate the holes a bit and place them onto the parchment-lined half-sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
  • Add the baking soda to the boiling water and stir in. Stretch out the loops of the pretzels once more to open up the holes a little bit more, then place 2 of the pretzels into the boiling water, knotted side down. Boil for 20 seconds then flip them over and boil for about 20 seconds more. Use a large spatula to remove them from the water and return them to the parchment-lined baking pan. Repeat until all the pretzels are boiled. Brush the tops of each pretzel with 1 Tablespoon of melted butter and then sprinkle the cinnamon crunch mixture overtop, dividing it equally between the pretzels and pressing down on it lightly to help it stick. Bake in the preheated oven for 16 to 18 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and immediately transfer to a cooling rack to cool at least 10 minutes.
  • Serve warm or at room temperature with the sweet cream cheese dip.
  • For the sweet cream cheese dip: Add the cream cheese and butter to a medium bowl. Stir together until smooth and combined. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Stir until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add additional milk to thin. (If you have small bits of butter mixture that haven't smoothed out, place the bowl in the microwave for 10 seconds, then stir until smooth.)
  • Store the pretzels in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Refrigerate any leftover cream cheese dip. Both the baked pretzels and the cream cheese dip will freeze well for up to 3 months.

Notes

Tips!
If you have a large baking sheet, you can bake all 8 pretzels at the same time. They should fit comfortably with a couple of inches in between. If you don’t have a baking sheet that large, you can bake in two batches of 4. Shape, boil and bake the first 4, then shape and boil the second batch of 4 while the first batch bakes.
I like to start the water for boiling the pretzels before baking well ahead, setting it on low to start. When I’m close to boiling, there’s no waiting for it to boil and hold up the process.
Before boiling the pretzels, I like to re-stretch the pretzel a bit, to make sure that the holes are big enough that they don’t close in during boiling.
Be sure to taste and adjust the seasoning of the beer cheese to taste, adding more mustard and or salt and pepper, as needed. A generous salting really brings together all the flavours.
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, for more tips on making this recipe. You’ll also find step-by-step recipes that you might find helpful.
Cuisine: American, Canadian
Course: Snack
Serving: 1pretzel, Calories: 409kcal, Carbohydrates: 71g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 27mg, Sodium: 626mg, Potassium: 111mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 22g, Vitamin A: 311IU, Vitamin C: 0.04mg, Calcium: 42mg, Iron: 3mg
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