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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.
Hi, Tieghan! These look delicious and I have been wanting to make them for a while…I am going to a fall party and these would be perfect to bring. The host is gluten free, can these be made with GF flour as a 1:1 substitute? Thanks!
Hey Molly,
Yes, an equal amount of gluten free flour will work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Hi Tieghan! Is it ok to use instant yeast? And will a simple 1:1 replacement work ok? Thank you! I am about to give this recipe a try. I love baking on Sundays. I recently started baking bagels and it has been so cool! Cannot wait to stuff my face with these pretzels! Haha!
Hey Sofia,
You bet, just add the instant yeast with the flour and an equal amount of gluten free flour will work well for you! I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
We LOVED these pretzels! We are a family of 5, so we made 5 full size pretzels and used the rest of the dough for a pan of pretzel bites. So delicious and much easier to make than we expected. I was intimidated by having to boil them first, but it was a very easy process and so worth it!
Just curious. Did you use parchment paper?
Yes I did
Hey Amy,
Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was tasty, thanks a lot for making it! xxT
Please help! I doubled the recipe & added 5 extra TBSP of flour & the dough still seems too wet. As I am making the ball I am needing to add more flour. Does this seem to be right?
Also the pretzels stuck to the parchment paper. This was a complete epic fail ?
I just discovered that the parchment paper I used is not recommended for temps above 400⁰. I guess there is brand type that does. That could explain it. I should have used just a cooking sheet alone.
Sorry Karen, like I mentioned before, I think doubling this recipe was a risky move!
Hi Karen,
Doubling dough recipes like this can be tricky, I would continue to add more flour as needed. I hope they turn out okay! xTieghan
These turned out well but I’ve never made pretzles before so it took some trial and error on the boiling. I think my dough was too wet so it was super fragile. I’m guessing variations in sugar content of ciders makes a difference? I wish I had trusted my intuition a little more and added more flour before the rise.
The first one I put in the water turned into a blob. I took it out and tried again. The second I put in more carefully but it was still blobby. I turned down the heat so I had more of a simmer than rolling boil and that seemed to solve my problem. I would leave them until they floated to the top rather than relying on “30 seconds”.
Despite being a little ugly, they were delicious! My husband and I devoured them within a couple days. I froze half the first day and they were fine after thawing.
Hey Molly,
Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was tasty, thanks a lot for making it and sharing your feedback and the tricks that worked well for you! xxT
If I was going to serve these bite size as an appetizer, would I need to shorten the baking time?
Hi Steph,
Yes, I have never made these bite size, but I would just keep an eye on them in the oven. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These were surprisingly easy to make and turned out so well!
Hi Haley,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it! xT
Can the be made ahead, frozen and reheated?
Hi Karen,
You could make the dough and freeze and then finish the recipe when you are ready to enjoy! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
I baked these as a test for an upcoming party and froze half. About a minute in the microwave straight out of the freezer warmed them up. You’d never know they weren’t straight from the oven! We only froze them for a day because we ate the other half so quickly.
Hi. These look fantastic. Paddle or dough hook on the mixer?
Thanks!
Hi Katherine,
Thanks so much! You will want to use the dough hook:) I hope you love the recipe! xT
Hello, can I replace the hard cider for water?
Hi Summer,
It won’t give the same flavors, but yes that will work. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Can I make these with plant butter that uses olive oil?
Hi Pamela,
I’ve not tested that with this recipe, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for you! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Hey Tieghan! I’m hoping to make these for an Oktoberfest birthday party, is there any way I can prep/make these ahead of time and then bake them when I get there?
Hi Kathy,
Sure, I would just keep them in the fridge on a parchment lined sheet pan, that should work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
I have a question…where I live in rural Alaska, I won’t be able to find a true apple cider…would generic apple juice cider work?
Hi Carol,
Yes, that will be just fine for you to use. I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Hi! How long will the pretzel keep/be fresh once they are made? Thanks!
Hi Abbie,
I would say they are best enjoyed within 3 days. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! I made these last night and loved them but they all stuck to the parchment paper. I used non-stick cooking spray on the parchment but all of them were impossible to separate from the parchment after baking. Any tips for this?
Hi Erin,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, so sorry to hear about the sticking. Are you sure you used parchment paper and not wax paper? You don’t even need to use spray on parchment. Let me know! xx
I had the same issue! They are delicious and I was surprised at how easy the dough was to work but they all stuck to the parchment. Wondering if it’s because they were wet from the boiling water? I might skip the parchment next time.
Hi Grace,
So sorry to hear this, thanks for trying the recipe!! Was it parchment paper and not wax paper?
I had this issue on my first couple. I don’t think I left them in the water long enough so they were soggier than the ones I left longer. Once they fully cooled I was able to get them unstuck.