I love soft pretzels, but I do not like hard pretzels. Ryan eats both constantly and actually prefers the hard variety on most occasions. It’s one of the few foods we don’t agree on, and we’ve had to compromise on road trips (because in Ryan’s opinion, hard pretzels make the most perfect traveling snack). Enter: Trader Joe’s. Only recently have we been blessed with Trader Joe’s here in Colorado. But snack lovers across the country know that Trader Joe’s is the place to go to stalk up on all things sweet and salty.
A few months ago, we discovered their peanut butter stuffed pretzels. And surprisingly, I fell for them fast. We’ve bought two bags, both of which have stayed in our car. Despite my strong will, I cave EVERY SINGLE TIME. I simply can’t stop eating them. And while they aren’t necessarily unhealthy, they’re still full of ingredients and preservatives I’m not too thrilled about.
So when Lucy started to reach her hand out for a peanut butter stuffed pretzel, I knew I had to try to recreate them at home. Not surprisingly I took the HARD out of the equation and made these beautiful peanut butter stuffed soft pretzels. And they are out-of-this-world good. The key is to use cold peanut butter when shaping the pretzel balls. If your peanut butter is too warm, this recipe gets messy fast. But because I buy all natural peanut butter, it’s in the fridge already, which made for an almost effortless adaptation to one of my favorite soft pretzel recipes. Everyone–mama, papa, and baby–enjoyed these!
Peanut Butter Stuffed Soft Pretzels
1/2 cup peanut butter, chilled
Coarse sea salt
After dough has risen, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, break off small balls of dough and stretch out to form a 2-3 inch flat disc. Scoop 1-2 teaspoons of chilled peanut butter in the center and wrap dough around peanut butter, forming a smooth ball. Set aside and repeat with remaining dough.
Drop balls into boiling water. Allow to boil for 30 seconds, turning once. Remove balls with slotted spoon and allow to drain on cooling rack. Sprinkle balls with coarse sea salt, if desired and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until pretzel balls turn a deep golden brown. Best enjoyed the same day.
