Show your affection with heart-shaped pretzels. This is a fun way to romance a German pretzel fan. This homemade Valentine's pretzel recipe will make any pretzel lovers heart beat faster. These homemade pretzels are made from a simple yeast dough, then soaked in baking soda, sprinkled with coarse sea salt, and baked to perfection.

Do you have someone in your life who loves pretzels? Wish them Happy Valentine's Day with this fun treat. My husband and kids love this Valentines pretzel treats.

Forget buying pretzels from a soft pretzel franchise - these authentic Bavarian soft pretzels are all you need. No food coloring or artificial flavor, pretzel fans will appreciate the difference,

How to make heart-shaped pretzels?

Ingredients you will need:

(make sure to check the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantities)

instant yeast - make sure it is in date
milk - this needs to be gently heated to a lukewarm temperature.
flour - use bread flour or all-purpose flour
salt- & sugar
butter (melted and then cooled)
kosher salt / coarse salt - if you do not like too much salt, you can also substitute it with seeds such as pumpkin or sunflower seeds
baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

Valentine's Pretzel Heart- Step by Step

In a small bowl set aside 4 tablespoons of the milk and heat it up to a lukewarm temperature. Add the sugar and stir. Now stir in the instant yeast, to activate it. Leave for 10 minutes and you should see a bubble forming on the top. If they do not form then the milk might have been too hot and you should start again.
In a large bowl mix the yeast-milk mixture, flour, melted butter, and salt. Using a stand or hand mixer with a dough hook attachment, need the dough for approximately 10 minutes to a smooth dough.

Cover the dough with a tea towel and leave to rise at room temperature for approximately 45 minutes. The dough should visibly rise..
After the resting time, knead the dough again briefly to remove any excess air that might have built up.

Use a non-stick silicon baking mat (affiliate link) or a lightly floured surface. Shape the dough into a long roll, and then divide off approximately 20 equal portions. You can weigh each piece of dough to be more precise. Mine were approximately 40 gr each. Roll each ball into an approximately 20 cm long "snake", which should be tapered at the ends.

To create a heart-shaped pretzel - take two "snakes" and wrap the end pieces around each other twice. Then you pull them apart outward and wrap the other two end pieces together to create the pointed bottom of the heart
Leave the pretzels to rest for a further 20 minutes on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
In the meantime, you can preheat your oven to 220 degrees top-to-bottom heat. In a large saucepan bring 1 liter of water with 1 teaspoon of salt to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the bicarbonate of soda to it. Be careful it bubbles when it is poured in. Remove the pot from the heat.

Place a heart pretzel on a slotted spatula and carefully dunk it into the water bath. Repeat the process with each heart.
Carefully place each heart, at a little distance from another, on the baking parchment. Be careful the dough may be very slippery. Sprinkle the pretzel hearts with pretzel salt.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until they achieved a deep golden brown color.
Leave to cool before serving.

Recipe Variations

Instead of sprinkling the heart-shaped pretzels with salt, you can also use seeds such as sesame, poppy seeds, or sunflower seeds.
Only cover half of Valentine's pretzel heart in salt. After baking, you can cover the other half in dark chocolate for a sweet and salty flavor.
Instead of baking soda, you can also use food-grade lye to dunk the pretzels in. However, make sure you wear gloves and do not let them touch any metal.

How to eat

These heart pretzels taste great with butter. For an authentic German dip, you can try Obatzda, a Bavarian pretzel drip. It tastes great when accompanied by a glass of cold larger.

Make ahead

You can prepare Valentines' Day pretzels in advance. After you have dunked them in baking soda, you can freeze them individually and then bake them in the oven from frozen. Sprinkle with salt five minutes after you put them in the oven.

Storage

These heart shaped soft pretzels taste best on the day they are cooked. However, they will keep good for up to three days. Make sure you store them in an airtight container or plastic wrap.