homemade pretzel buns

My husband thought I was a bit crazy making these once he saw all the steps involved.  He had no clue what goes into pretzel making I suppose…

You see, pretzels have that chewy, slightly  briny exterior for a reason. They take a swim before they bake.

And, that extra step makes all the difference and yes, it’s well worth it to make your own. Pretzel buns are expensive, and It’s just plain  fun to save money. That was my logic when the hubby raised an eyebrow as I heated up the big stockpot.

Then, when they came out of the oven… he swiped one to eat (which annoyed me because I wanted to save the best looking ones for a photo shoot and when I asked him if he got an ugly one to eat he said they all looked the same which made me realize he clearly needs a training in food styling.)

Anyway, he ate one and had that “wow-this-is-really-good” reaction that all home cooks strive for. SCORE! 🙂 Total. keeper. recipe. Insert happy mama dance.

So… speaking of family: here we are creeping upon summer,  flip flops and beach days are calling me like church bells on Sundays. I cannot wait to embrace summer’s freedom. I’m blessed to be in a realm of existence where summers matter (ie; I’m off during summer) But… I know not all of you have that.

I know that summer is dreaded for many; it’s expensive with camps, or it’s expensive with worry , it’s stressful-and; as parents,  you  cannot wait for school to be in session again.  But: it’s still summer.

Try to remember back to your own summer days: free from the desk, and uncomfortable chair, bagged lunches and cafeteria food, schoolwork, mean kids and test anxiety.  Having to wear uniforms and shoes that are too tight because your mom doesn’t want to buy anymore school shoes before next fall, and don’t even get me started on worn out school clothing. I think by the end of the school year I had a years’ worth of stains on everything, and none of my socks matched. Ever.

Ahhhh.  I am so glad I’m not a kid anymore. Sometimes.

Being a kid is way overrated. Sure, you don’t have typical adult worries; bills, money, health, work just  to name a few.  But with a lot of the adult problems, adults have somewhat control over.  Have a budget, live a healthy lifestyle, do your best at work….

But, when you’re a kid? You’re stuck. Totally stuck in the grasps of childhood. Stuck with whatever mom made you for lunch.  Stuck with the tight shoes, stuck with meatloaf Mondays. And stuck sitting side by side with the third grade bully, because you have the same last name. Stuck with assigned everything.  Let’s face it: childhood isn’t all that great. We just think it was because we didn’t have the worries we do as adults.

However, kids still have worries…. just because they don’t seem as important as your worries , it  doesn’t negate them.

They are real.

So: embrace summer. Understand childhood. Being a kid doesn’t mean life is perfect.

When you pay attention to the “little” problems today, they will come to you with the big problems later.  Because the last thing you want -is them to seek advice for that big problem from the wrong person….Okay. Rant over. You’re here for pretzel buns anyway.

I slightly cheated on this:

I have a bread machine that features a dough cycle (most do) so I just let my trusty device do most of the work. I got to do the fun part. Playing with the dough.

This recipe came from Publix family style magazine- it’s basically a free magazine from my grocery store, with drool worthy photos. I’m a sucker for good food pics. Who isn’t? 😉

PS- For the record, this is NOT a sponsored post, Publix has no clue who I am, and I am not getting perks in any way for this post. I simply wanted to share the recipe with proper credit.