photo of a plate of Soft pretzel turtles

I really love turtles. I’m always collecting turtle things. Two weeks ago when I was making soft pretzels, I thought about whether I could make turtle shaped ones. So I did some experimenting.

At first, I was just going to make one big lump for the shell, and some small pieces stuck to the big circle to form the head, feet, and tail. Then I thought to make the shell more fancy looking by making it into a spiral shape. I wanted to use black sesame seeds for the eyes, but I didn’t have any on me. I searched for something black and eventually found some black sesame paste.

photo of three soft pretzel turtles lined up on a plate

You can probably use almost anything for the eyes. Maybe some chocolate. Some of the turtles came out better than others. It was hard to keep the feet and head pieces attached to the shell. When I dipped some of the turtles in the baking soda water, sometimes the small pieces fell off, and then I had to reattach them.

photo of one soft pretzel on a plate

The small pieces also cooked much faster. So some of the feet and head parts look slightly too dark around the edges. Overall, I thought these came out pretty cute and I’ll probably try it some other time and try to perfect it.

close-up photo of a soft pretzel turtle

No ratings yet

Soft Pretzels

Homemade soft pretzels are so much better than store-bought. You can shape them into traditional knot shapes or make cute little pretzel turtles like I did.
Servings: 12 pretzels
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Leave a Review

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp active dry yeast
  • pinch sugar
  • 2/3 cup + 1 tbsp warm water
  • 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 3 tbsp baking soda
  • 1 cup hot water

Instructions
 

  • Dissolve yeast into water with a pinch of sugar, let stand 10 minutes, until the mixture is creamy colored. Mix the yeast mixture with flour, sugar, salt and canola oil, and knead until combined (about 5 minutes).
  • Transfer the dough in a greased bowl, cover with cling wrap and let it rest until double in size. Time needed depends on the temperature in your kitchen. We let our dough rise about an hour and a half.
  • When the dough has doubled in size, divide into 12 balls. Take one ball and roll it into a long strand. Set aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough. 
  • After all 12 long strands are rolled out, take the first one and stretch it out again and twist it into a pretzel shape and place on the parchment paper. Repeat and finish the rest. 
  • If you want to make turtle shapes, take one strand, and take off a small part of the strand, enough to make the tail, legs and head. With the rest of the strand, roll into a spiral shape. Then connect the head, tail and leg pieces. Use something dark to stick on the face piece for the eyes like black sesame seeds or chocolate chips.
  • Mix baking soda with hot water (close to boiling). Dip each pretzel into the mixture and place it back on the parchment paper. You can then sprinkle the pretzels with sea salt or cinnamon (for sweet pretzels).
  • Bake for 8 minutes at 425°F or until golden brown.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Little Corner of Mine
Serving: 1pretzel, Calories: 133kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 2g, Sodium: 1015mg, Sugar: 4g, NET CARBS: 24
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!