Salted Butter Candy Cane Bagels
Fun to make and the perfect addition to your Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day dinners!
Servings: 1616 Bagels
Calories: 4kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 5 - 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 15-20 drops red food coloring
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup baking soda for boiling
- pretzel salt or flaky sea salt for sprinkling
Garlic Butter (optional)
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water, yeast, and honey. Let sit 5-10 minutes, until bubbly on top. Add 5 cups flour, the salt, and 2 tablespoons of softened butter. Knead until the dough comes together, about 1-2 minutes, adding the additional 1/2 cup flour as needed. 2. Divide the dough in half and place one half of the dough in a large bowl. Cover and set aside. Return the other half of the dough to the mixing bowl and add the red food coloring. Knead the dough until the red is mixed throughout and there are no streaks. Cover and let both dough balls sit in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.3. Preheat the oven to 425°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.4. Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and place it on your counter, using a little more flour if needed to prevent from sticking. Divide each dough into 16 pieces, about 1 ounce each if using a kitchen scale. Roll both the red and white dough into ropes, about 8 inches long. Take one white and one red rope and twist them around each other. Shape the twists into a candy cane and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining ropes. Cover the baking sheets with a damp kitchen towel and let the bagels rise 15-30 minutes.5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda. Lower 2-3 bagels at a time into the water. Boil for 3 minutes then flip to the other side and boil for 1-2 additional minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bagels from the pot letting the water drain. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat until you've boiled all of the bagels. 6. If needed, reshape the bagels back into candy canes. Brush each bagel with the beaten egg. Make sure there is no water piled up next to the bagels. Transfer to the oven and bake 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the remaining 4 tablespoons melted butter over each of the bagels. Generously sprinkle each bagel with salt. Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, or until the bagels are golden brown. Slice, toast, eat whole, slathered with butter, cream cheese or garlic butter (below)!7. To Make the garlic butter, heat the butter and the garlic in a small skillet over medium heat and cook the butter until it begins turn very light brown and the garlic is fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the thyme. Drizzle or dip the rolls with garlic butter. Enjoy warm!
Notes
Storing: Bagels will keep for 4-5 days in a sealed storage bag. But you may prefer to freeze them, as the salt on the bagels will begin to make them soggy.
Freezing: Bagels can be frozen for up to 4 months in a freezer-safe container.
To Use Instant Yeast: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water, yeast, honey, flour, salt, and 2 tablespoons softened butter. Knead until the dough comes together, about 1-2 minutes. Follow the directions as listed for the remainder of the recipe.
To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten-free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour.
Nutrition
Calories: 4kcal