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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.
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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
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.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Perfect recipe. The pretzels came out quite well. Agree with review that in my oven it took about 20 minutes. I also took them out after 15 and glazed them with butter. Delicious and beautiful to look at!
Thank you so so much! I appreciate you giving the recipe a try! xT
Due to an egg allergy I need to replace the egg. Any suggestions?
Hi Christin! I think brushing some milk on them should be a good sub!
These pretzels turned out amazing!! I replaced the yeast with 3/4 cup of sourdough starter!! SO YUMMY!! Thank you Tieghan for another fantastic recipe!!
Hey Vicki,
Happy Monday!!⛅️ Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it turned out well for you:)
Hi!
I would like to make these but wondered what else I could use instead of hard cider ?
Thank you!
Rebecca
Hey Rebecca,
Beer would also work well for you here! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
HI! Do you think it would work to make these GF?
Hey Megan,
Yes, you can use an equal amount of gluten free flour! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I made these for the Super Bowl and not a crumb was left! I was surprised by how easy they were. I’ll make them again for sure.
Hey Dawn,
Happy Monday!! 💘 Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Can the dough be made ahead of time? If so, does it need to be stored a certain way/at a certain temperature?
Hey Alexis,
Totally, just keep covered in the fridge and then when you are ready to use, allow the dough to rise and come to room temp. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Thank you!!!
I really want to try this recipe but I don’t have a standing mixer, can I still make this with a hand mixer?
Hey Nicole,
I would just mix with a wooden spoon and knead by hand until you have a smooth dough ball. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hi
I am really wanting to do these. Can they be done up earlier to the point of boiling and baked off closer to serving food? Or does the process have to be done all at once.
Thanks
Julie
Hey Julianne,
You can assemble and have these ready to go and then boil and bake when you are ready to serve. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Do you have to use an olive oil based mayo? Or can you use regular mayo?
Hey Sandy,
You can use any mayo that you like:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Super easy to make. I thought initially the dough didn’t rise, but it must have!
I made them with my son and he said it was the best pretzel he has ever had! We need to work on our pretzel shape for next time! Thank you for the recipe!
Ps. I had to cook about 20 minutes for perfection!
Hey Amy,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and thanks so much for trying it out! xx
How long can you save these if in a sealed container?
Hey Chelsea,
These are good for 3-4 days in an airtight container. I hope you love the recipe! xT
Hi I would like to use some sourdough discard in this recipe do you know how much I should use?
Hey Maitlynn,
I would try starting with 1/3 cup of sourdough starter. Please let me know how this recipe turns out, I hope you love it! xx
Hey Maitlynn! Curious to know if using sourdough discard worked for you? Did you end up adding or omitting anything else?
These look amazing and the instructions are clear and helpful. Thank you! Is the cider necessary or could I substitute the cider for water without totally changing the taste?
Hey Abigail,
You could use water in place of the cider. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe!! xx
These are one of my favorites! If I wanted to make these into small twists instead of full pretzels (for a party, I’d like bite size pieces) would the cooking instructions all still be the same aside from the shaping of the pretzels?
Hey Julia,
Fantastic!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! You will probably have to reduce your bake time slightly! xx