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Hard Cider Pretzels with Creamy Honey Mustard, simply the best! Homemade soft pretzel dough made with autumn spiced cider and baked until golden. These pretzels are soft, chewy, and rich with autumn flavors. Serve each salty pretzel up with a creamy spicy honey mustard…such a classic and SO GOOD. Serve these up for game day or as a delicious appetizer for any party.
Are you ready to enter a new season? With Labor Day now behind us, I’m so excited to slowly begin to embrace the autumn season. I know it’s still summer for two more weeks, and I’m not breaking out the pumpkin just yet. But with the temps dropping, and our leaves turning, fall is creeping in!
For me, September is apple season, I save the pumpkin for October and November. But in September, I try my best to really embrace the fall apples.
So here we go with our first fall-like recipe of the year, Hard Cider Pretzels. Yes, these soft pretzels have a little cider mixed in, one of my favorite autumn ingredients.
The Idea
I stole this idea from myself kind. A few years back I shared these pumpkin beer pretzels with chipotle queso. They’re always one of my favorite appetizers to make come October.
When I was thinking about fall recipes, I couldn’t get my mind off of soft pretzels. I had a good handful of ideas in my head, but these just sounded so perfect. Simple, but so perfect.
Using cider in the dough adds a slight warmth to the pretzels with notes of warming spices and sweet apples. It’s faint, so you don’t know it’s there necessarily, but it makes the pretzels a little more special than all the rest.
Fun fact, I really love soft pretzels…
Over the years I’ve created a good amount of fun pretzel recipes.
My first pretzel recipe was these hot buttered rum cinnamon sugar stuffed soft pretzels. And then these sweet peanut butter cup soft pretzel ice cream sandwiches. Next were my Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Soft Pretzels (legit, these are the BEST thing ever). Then came everyone’s favorite, Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Soft Pretzels. And then my favorite, pumpkin beer pretzels with queso.
Yeah, we love soft pretzels. Pretty sure I get my love of buttery soft pretzels from mom. She loves them too, but then are you surprised?
What’s not to love about salty, buttery carbs? They’re just too good!
Onto the details, start with the pretzels
Making soft pretzels is easy. First, you’ll need a nice, good quality, apple cider, both hard and regular will work. Then just some yeast, honey, flour, butter, and salt. Super simple ingredients. Simply knead everything together in a mixer and let the dough rise.
The pretzel dough is very easy to work with, so don’t let anything intimidate you!
When the dough is ready, just divide it into 8 equal balls, roll them out into long ropes, and twist each into a pretzel. Use the photos for guidance, but I promise this is easy!
And remember, they don’t need to be perfect.
Boil and bake the pretzels
Once the pretzels are shaped, boil them in water mixed with baking soda. The baking soda in the water helps the pretzels achieve that soft, chewy texture we all love so much!
When you have all the pretzels boiled, brush them with a beaten egg, then sprinkle with salt. I love using this pretzel salt, it’s so good.
While the pretzels bake, make the honey mustard
I love to make a creamy spicy honey mustard with high-quality olive oil, mayo, honey, and Dijon, plus chili powder and cayenne for a nice kick.
This is so quick to mix up, which is great for easy fall entertaining!
When the pretzels are done baking, you have to serve these up warm. When they’re warm, they’re perfectly soft, doughy, buttery, and have the slightest notes of warming autumn flakes.
Then just add the spicy, creamy honey mustard for dipping – perfection!
Looking forward to making these all month long. Great for Sunday game nights, and dinner parties to come. These are the perfect laid-back appetizer. And let’s be real, everyone loves a warm pretzel with honey mustard for dipping.
So good.
Looking for other fun fall appetizers? Here are a few ideas:
Pumpkin Beer Pretzels with Chipotle Queso
Pastry Wrapped Baked Brie with Maple Butter Roasted Apples
Caramelized Onion, Spinach, and Cheddar Flaky Pastries
Everything Ranch Cheese and Pretzel Snack Mix
Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Strombolis
Lastly, if you make these Hard Cider Pretzels with Creamy Honey Mustard, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Hard Cider Pretzels with Creamy Honey Mustard
Servings: 8 pretzels
Calories Per Serving: 444 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Pretzels
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 bottle (12 ounce) hard cider
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1 egg, beaten
- coarse pretzel salt or sea salt
Creamy Honey Mustard
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup olive oil based mayo
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- 1. Combine the water, honey, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit for 5 minutes, until bubbly on top.2. Add the cider, butter, flour, and salt. Mix on medium speed until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough is too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Cover the bowl and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1-2 hours.3. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. 4. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a floured surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal balls. Roll each ball into a long rope. To shape into pretzels, take the right side and cross over to the left. Cross right to left again and flip up. 5. Add the baking soda to the boiling water. Boil the pretzels, 1-2 at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon. Place the pretzel on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the pretzels with the egg and sprinkle liberally with salt. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until pretzels are golden brown.6. Meanwhile, make the honey mustard. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth and creamy. 7. Serve the pretzels warm, with lots of honey mustard for dipping.
These are so pretty and so delicious. Yes, mine were messier in execution (I’ll make 9-10 pretzels next time— the skinnier the rope, the better the pretzel looks in the end.) The first 2 boiled came out really doughy after 30 sec and did start sticking to the parchment. I just popped them back in the water to boil a little longer & they turned out beautifully
Hi Shelley,
Happy Friday!! Love hearing that you enjoy this recipe, I so appreciate you giving it a try! xxT
These tasted delicious and so easy to make! Mine were a bit doughy. I was rushing and may not have drained them well enough when I took them out of the water. I also didn’t have a large enough slotted spoon. I think next time I will make pretzel balls to avoid that situation! (Maybe halve the recipe… that’s a lot of balls!). Also, I’ve seen comments about reheating. I’m going to try my air fryer. I’m very optimistic! Thanks Tieghan. So glad I stumbled upon you on Instagram!
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try Pat! xTieghan
Hi T, it’s June, how are you.. was so excited to try this recipe which is very tasty as is the dip. My pretzels came out a little doughy and I had to cook them much longer then instructed. Tip… roll them thinner so it creates a little more space and possibly should have drained the pretzels somehow after removing them from the boiling water. Will still enjoy with a glass of wine and butternut squash soup.. definitely will attempt again. Thanks
Thanks for giving the recipe a try June! xTieghan
Can I use fast rise yeast instead of active dry? Would it bake the same, just eliminate the 5 min standing time? Thanks!
Hey there,
Yes, that will work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I had to substitute beer for the hard cider but these were delicious! My husband ate 2 with his soup!
Hi Therese,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for making it. Have the best weekend! xT
My daughter and I made these tonight. Easier to make than I thought and soo good! Looking for feedback…my pretzels stuck to the parchment paper after they cooked. Any suggestions why this happened and how I can prevent that the next time I make them?
Hey Allison,
Awesome! Thanks a lot for making this recipe. I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Hmmm and it was definitely parchment paper? Next time you could try spraying with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Happy Thursday❄️ xxT
Hello
How are you?
May I ask, what’s the best non alcoholic substitute for the hard cider?
Hi Aisha,
You could use non-alcoholic cider or non-alcoholic beer. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hi again!
All i can say is any recipe from you is ALWAYS a hit!!!
Am i even surprised that it was delicious? Absolutely not. Thanks a lot for the recipe
Hey Aisha,
Happy Friday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
This recipe is great!! This was my first pretzel making experiment. Tested them out for my dad’s birthday and was very nervous during the boiling stage. Yes, it’s best to have pot filled only halfway with water. I was so pleased with the end result that I made them just a few days later for Thanksgiving. A crowd favorite!
Hey Dana,
Awesome! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan
Mine weren’t pretty but they were delicious. Made for our fall cookbook club. The honey mustard was on point too.
Hey Haley,
Fantastic! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Have the best week:) xTieghan
Such a hit! Everyone in the family loved them!!! Perfect on a cold, winter day watching Sunday night football! Will definitely make these again! So so good!!!
Hey Mandy,
Thank you so very much for trying this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan
any chance you will start adding weighted measurements… thanks – your pumpkin ale pretzels were great- I am looking forward to making these as well –
Hi Diane,
I already do that, just click the “metric” button below the list of ingredients. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi I’d like to take these on a picnic. If I cook ahead and keep in airtight container and heat on BBQ would they be ok?
Hey Lois,
I’ve really never tried reheating these on a grill, my only concern is that they would become soggy by pre-baking them. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try! xTieghan
I just finished making these pretzels. They are very tasty and easy to make. I think a couple of things would improve the recipe. First how long (inches) to roll each ball of dough to form the pretzels and also a warning on adding the baking soda to what water -that it will foam up so fill the pot of water half way. Also, freezing instructions to bake later. So glad I made these as a trial for a tailgate. Will try again.
Hey there! Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I hope you enjoyed it! I also really appreciate the feedback as well! xTieghan
Question? With the pretzel recipe. Can I make these a couple days before and store them in a Tupperware container or zip loc bag? Should I freeze them?
Hi there! I would freeze them then bake for best results! xTieghan
These pretzes were delicious! However, here’s my BUT…to the large pot of boiling water, I added 1/4 cup baking soda as stated in the recipe. It foamed up and over like a science fair volcano! Even after I poured out some of the water, thinking I had the level too high, still very foamy. Kept foaming over if I turned up the heat, and was so foamy I couldn’t see the pretzel when I dropped it in. Ideas?
-Too much baking soda? Used 1/4 cup in 6 qt pot about 3/4 full. Then about half full.
-Used my Calphalon Anodized Aluminum, but the pot is bare aluminum at the water mark, so is the baking soda reacting with the aluminum? (yes, I need to send it in for replacement) Looked on-line and found statements that baking soda does not react w aluminum.
Help! Loved making these but the boiling part was a huge mess. Thank you!
p.s. The Cheddar Beer Apple Soup was amazing and the dipping sauce was so good, but kind of strong- wondering if my daughter got a proportion wrong or forgot the mayo;).
Regardless, we cook a lot of Tieghan around here and love it!
*pretzels!
Hey Darcy! Thanks so much for the input on this recipe, and also thanks for giving it a try! I’m glad the soup was enjoyed as well! xTieghan
Great taste and chew! I didn’t roll the dough out long enough, though, so my pretzels were a little “squatty”. Definitely making these again, though!
Made these with regular cider and my gosh, they were so good! My husband is lactose free, so I used plant butter, and they came out perfectly, just had to add a little extra flour!
Hi Melanie! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I’m so happy you liked it! xTieghan
Question, did you have to alter the amount of cider since it wasn’t hard/carbonated? Also how much extra flour did you add? We’re dairy free as well and wanting to make these
Absolute mess…couldn’t get dough to firm up for rolling. Shape was like a dumpling. Nor better taste than a frozen one with good mustard. Waste of time, energy and money!!
My guests who are real bakers and foodies said thumbs down!! Embarassed
The only one that should be embarrassed is you for leaving an unnecessarily rude comment.
This review just highlights your sheer incompetence in the kitchen. It’s perhaps one of the easiest doughs to “put together”.