New Years Pretzel

One way to new years a pretzel:

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

¼ cup vegetable or canola oil

¼ cup brown sugar, packed

2½ cup all purpose flour, spooned and leveled

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1¼ teaspoon active dry yeast

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2-3 teaspoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon coffee    

2-4 teaspoons milk (enough to thin, if needed)

sprinkles (measure with your soul)

Method:

Heat the milk, oil, and brown sugar in a large pot just until the brown sugar has dissolved. You should be able to comfortably touch the side of the pot. If you accidentally heat the milk too much, just let it cool until you can touch the side of the pot.

While the wet ingredients heat up, measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a bowl. Stir to combine.

Once the brown sugar has dissolved, sprinkle the yeast on and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix in the dry ingredients until combined. If the dough is too wet, you can stir in an additional 1-2 tablespoons of flour, a tablespoon at a time. Cover and allow to rise for approximately 30 minutes.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Set aside. Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface. Coat it in enough flour so you can work with it, and pull (rather than roll) into a long log. Transfer the log to the cookie sheet and form into a pretzel shape. Allow to rest for 15 minutes to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the pretzel until golden brown, around 20-25 minutes.

While the pretzel cools slightly, mix the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and coffee in a small bowl. Add the milk a teaspoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. Spread the glaze on the pretzel and immediately add sprinkles. Let sit for a few minutes before serving. Store leftovers loosely covered for up to 2 days at room temperature.

I didnt use the coffee and maple syrup in my icing because I'm not gonna make a pot of coffee for a damn pretzel, then be bouncing off the walls all night....but I guarantee the taste of coffee in addition to all the cinnamon in the dough would be utterly terrific.  Also, I couldn't find the syrup, it's gone.  Just gone.  It's  magic here in my cupboards y'all.