Soft Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels (Martinsbrezeln)

These sweet and soft cinnamon sugar pretzels are deliciously moreish and very hard to resist. These are known as Martinzbrezeln in Germany and are eaten traditionally in November during St. Martin's Day. These pretzels are eaten in the US all year round - and why not! They are super addictive and kids simply adore them.

These soft pretzels are soft in the middle, with that classic chewy soft pretzel crust and are coated with cinnamon sugar.

In Germany, these pretzels are called Zuckerbretzeln (literally translated Sugar Pretzels) but also as Martinsbrezeln. I was surprised to encounter similar pretzels when visiting the USA. I believe Auntie Aunnie's cinnamon pretzels are too different.

What are Martinsbrezeln?

Tradition and History

Martinsbrezeln is sweet and soft sugar pretzels. A regional delicacy they originate from the west of Germany. They are made from sweet dough and are either decorated with pearl sugar (affiliate link) or a sugar coating.

Around the 11th of November, lantern walks, bonfires and Martinsbretzels mark Saint Martin's day in Germany.

The most iconic tradition is a lantern procession for which children make their own paper lanterns. Young and old come together to walk through towns singing songs and carrying colourful lanterns. At the end of these processions, German cinnamon sugar pretzels are distributed.

It was not without reason to eat this sweet treat. St. Martin's day used to be the start of the fasting period leading up to Christmas. So it was seen as a last treat before abstaining from sugary foods.

How to make soft cinnamon sugar pretzels?

Ingredients

• 150 ml / 5 fl oz lukewarm milk
• 80 g /2.8 sugar
• 1 sachet of yeast (7 g/0.2 oz or 2 teaspoon)
• 1 egg (medium size at room temperature)
• 50g /1.7 oz butter (unsalted and soft)
• 150 g /5.3 oz sour cream (at least 10% fat)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (affiliate link)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 500 g flour (Germany type 405, UK plain flour, USA Pastry Flour)

For the cinnamon sugar coating

• 50 g butter (soft)
• 50 g caster sugar,
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (affiliate link)

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Recipe Steps

1. Preheat your oven to the lowest setting (mine is 50°C or 122°F ) Once it reached that heat turn it off but leave your oven door closed.
2. Add the sugar into the luke warm milk, and empty the sachet of yeast. Stir and then leave to rest for 10 minutes. You should see small bubbles appear on the surface. (If the mixture was not bubbling, the milk was too hot, and you should start again)

3. In a bowl, mix together the sour cream, soft butter, egg and vanilla extract (affiliate link) to a homogenous mass.
4. Add in the flour and knead the dough by hand, or with a standmixer with a dough hook, for approximatley 10 minutes.
5. Place the dough into a bowl and cover with a tea towel. Place in the oven and leave to rise for about 1 hour.
6. In the meantime prepare two baking trays and line them with baking parchment.
7. Remove the dough from the oven and knead it again briefly.
8. Now divide your dough into 8 equal portions. In order to do this accurately, I suggest weighing the dough and then dividing it by 8.
9. Roll each portion into a ball and then form it into a roll, about 45 cm (17.7 inches) long. Make your that the ends of the roll are tappered to a point.

10. To form the Martin's pretzels take each roll and lay it in a "U" shape (see picture A). In the middle take both and and twist them around each other twice. (see picture B) The ends get pressed against the pretzelbelly (the lower part of the pretzel). (see picture C)

11. Preheat the oven to 180°C or 356°F  top to bottom heat.
12. Cover the sweet pretzels again with a tea towel and let them rise for a 15 minutes on the baking trays. Finally brush them with quarter of the melted butter.
13. Bake them for approximatley 15 minutes. The exact baking time will depend on your oven. Check with a skewer if they are done. If it comes out clean,- they are finished but you can leave them to brown a bit longer if you like.
14. In the meantime you can mix the sugar with the cinnamon and place in a bowl. Melt the remaining butter.

15. Once you removed the pretzels from the oven, brush them, while still warm, with the melted butter and then generously cover them in the cinnamon sugar.
16. If you want you can serve warm or cooled off.

Recipe Variations

There are several different versions of this pretzel in Germany. Especially the topping may vary.

• Instead of mixing the sugar with ground cinnamon (affiliate link), you can mix it with vanilla sugar - which adds a lovley vanilla aroma to your pretzels.
• Another popular option is to brush the pretzels with egg wash before baking, and then sprinkled with pearl sugar (affiliate link).
• You can also dust them simply with icing /confectioners sugar before serving.

Make Ahead

If you want to eat these soft and sweet pretzels for breakfast, then you can prepare the dough the day before. You can leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. Just make sure you place it in a container that gives it enough space to expand. Then continue forming the pretzels according to the recipe.

Serving Suggestions:

These sugar pretzels (Zuckerbretzeln) are best eaten the same day as they are baked. They taste delicious warm.

Kids in Germany will enjoy them at the end of their lantern fest. They taste great with a glass of milk, or for the adults with a cup of coffee.

Storage Instructions:

These cinnamon pretzels are best eaten the same day they are baked. This is when they taste the best, but they will stay good for up to three days. Just make sure you store them in an airtight container.

More German Bread Recipes

• German Rye Bread
• Chocolate Buns - Schokobrötchen
• Flammkuchen - German Pizza
• German Easter Bread
• Hefezopf - Braided Bread
• Berliner Donut

Recipe