Mickey Pretzels at Home? Yes, Please!

Mickey-shaped treats are easy to find throughout the Disney theme parks. They’ve got waffles and cookies a plenty. They’ve got ice cream and candy galore. You want Mickey Pretzels? How ’bout twenty?!

Ha. Those last three lines are meant to be sung to the tune of Ariel’s Part of your World.

So, what happens if you get a Mickey pretzel craving when you’re nowhere near Mickey’s World? Well, I suppose you could book a flight to your closest Disney destination. Or, for considerable less time and money, you could make these delicious treats at home! Really! I was skeptical too.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients

• 5 cups flour
• 4 tsp active yeast
• 1/2 cup + 1 tsp white sugar
• 1/2 cup baking powder
• 2 tbsp oil (pick your favorite)
• salt

Directions

1)  The first step is to mix 4 tsp active yeast with 1 1/4  cup warm water in a small bowl. Let the yeast sit for about ten minutes until it looks like the glass bowl above.

2)  Next, add 5 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp of salt to a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture and 1 tbsp oil.

3)  Knead the dough for six to eight minutes until the clumps are mostly gone and the dough forms a smooth ball. Add more water or flour in small increments, if the dough is too dry or too sticky to shape.

4)  Place the ball of dough into a bowl coated with oil or cooking spray. Spin the dough around to thoroughly coat the outside.

5) Place plastic wrap over the top of the bowl and allow the dough to rise for about an hour. It should roughly double in size.

6) Next, preheat the oven to 410 degrees. Pull or cut a long piece of dough and roll it into a long string. Close the string of dough into a circle to form the shape of Mickey’s head.

7) Roll out another string of dough and shape it into an oval. Place the oval inside the circle and attach it to the sides to create Mickey’s nose. Continue rolling out strings of dough to create Mickey’s ears and eyes.  (Note: When I do this step again, I will probably make the ears bigger and spend more time smoothing and shaping the connecting points of dough.)

8) Add 4 cups hot water and 1/2 cup of baking soda to a medium sized bowl. Mix the solution until the baking soda dissolves.

9) Carefully lift each pretzel and dip it in the baking soda solution. I used a plastic spatula for extra support. You could also try brushing the solution directly onto the pretzel.

10) Place the coated pretzel on a prepared cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt (if desired). Bake for 7-9 minutes @ 410 degrees until slightly browned.

That’s it! Remove your awesome Mickey pretzels from the cookie sheet and chow down. The pretzels really taste best the day they are made, but you can store them in an air tight container and reheat them later if you must.

So, it’s not exactly the same as being at Disney World, since you can’t go ride Space Mountain or give Mickey a high-five when you’re done. The crust isn’t nearly as smooth as the ones in the park either, but I enjoyed the extra texture (artisan quality!?!) of this homemade variety. The taste is slightly sweeter and surprisingly comparable to the pretzel I enjoyed in Hollywood Studios a few weeks ago.

Plus, you don’t have to stand in line in the hot Florida sun and shell out $5 per pretzel. I spent around $5 to make these six Mickey pretzels at home, and I have more ingredients on hand.

Convinced yet? Why not give it a try? Add a little salted magic to your world!