These copycat Auntie Anne’s pretzel dogs are the perfect homemade version to enjoy the popular snack at home! Homemade pretzel dough gets wrapped around hot dogs then baked to perfection for an easy dinner option, a great Super Bowl snack, or an appetizer for any upcoming party!
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Copycat Auntie Anne’s Pretzel Dogs
My boys love Auntie Anne’s pretzel bites. Every time we’re at the mall or the airport, it’s their snack of choice. We’ve tried everything from their salted pretzel bites to pepperoni pretzels and most recently, their pretzel dogs.
The pretzel dogs are great because they have the same great pretzel taste on the outside but also combine a little protein to make them a bit more filling! They make a great dinner option but also a really fun appetizer for things like Super Bowl Sunday or movie night!
We’ve made these pretzel dogs in full size with various kinds of hot dogs and sausages and little mini smokies as well for bite-size pretzel dogs when my boys have friends over and they need to share!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Hot dogs – I am a huge fan of nitrate free all-beef hot dogs like Applegate but you can use any hot dogs or mini smokies that you want!
- Yeast – make sure you’re using instant yeast so the pretzel dough will rise quickly. If you’re not using instant yeast, it’ll take much longer to rise.
- Dipping sauce – this is totally optional but you can serve these with a cheese dipping sauce, mustard, ketchup, or even something like BBQ sauce.
How to make pretzel dogs
These homemade pretzel dogs are pretty simple to make, with the most challenging part being making the homemade soft pretzel dough!
1 – Make the Pretzel Dough
Making homemade pretzel dough is easier than it might sound. Start by combining the water, flour, sugar, yeast, and kosher salt together in the large bowl of a stand mixer (or you can use a hand mixer).
Mix that together using a dough hook or a wooden spoon (but the dough mix is much easier!) until the dough comes together in a dough ball. I typically start on low speed then speed up a little as it comes together and starts coming off the sides of the bowl.
Once the dough is done, place the dough ball into a greased bowl and cover the bowl either plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.
Let the dough rise in a warm area for about an hour or until it doubles in size. If you’re anything like me, I recommend taking a picture of the dough when you put it there so that you can actually tell when it’s doubled in size!
2 – Wrap the Hot dogs
Once the dough has doubled in size, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, then roll those pieces into long ropes like you see in the picture below.
Wrap one of those ropes around a hot dog starting at one end and wrapping all the way until you reach the other end. It should be almost completely covered up with possibly a little hot dog peeking out at either end.
Place the wrapped hot dogs on a piece of parchment paper.
Tip!
Make sure to wrap the dough so that the layers touch each other (so there are no open spaces) but also don’t overwrap. This will make it so that the dough bakes into one seamless layer when they bake in the oven.
3 – Boil the Pretzel Dogs in baking soda
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine eight cups of water and the baking soda in a large pot then place on the stove on high heat. Bring the water to a boil so the baking soda dissolves into the water.
Once the water is boiling, reduce the temperature to medium so that the water mixture is simmering but not actively boiling.
Place the wrapped pretzel dogs into the pot of boiling water, a few at a time, (don’t overcrowd the pot), and let them boil in the pot for about 30 seconds, then remove the boiled pretzel dogs with a slotted spoon and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
4 – Bake the Hot Dogs in the oven
Whisk the egg and a small splash of water in a bowl to create an egg wash. Brush the egg wash over the dough (I like to use a silicone pastry brush like this one) then place in the oven and bake for 13-15 minutes or until the pretzels are golden brown on top.
Remove the sheet pan from the oven and immediately brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.
5 – Serve the Pretzels
Remove the pretzels from the oven and place them on a cooling rack to cool for a few minutes, until they are cool enough to handle.
Serve once cool enough to handle with your favorite dipping sauces like a cheese sauce, honey mustard sauce, or ketchup!
Helpful Tips & Storage Information
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days.
Reheat leftover pretzel dogs by placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet then placing in the cold oven. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and let the snacks warm up with the oven – if they’re not warm by the time it gets to 350 degrees, you can let them heat up for a few more minutes until warm.
Try mini versions by using little smokies (kind of like pigs in the blanket) and making mini snakes of the pretzel dough instead of the long ones. I also recommend baking for less time, try starting with 7-8 minutes!
Recipe FAQs
What’s the best way to reheat these pretzel dogs?
My personal preference is to place any leftover pretzel dogs on a parchment lined baking sheet and place it in a cold oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and let the pretzels comes to temperate with the oven. They should be nice and warm by the time the oven warms up! If they aren’t quite warm enough for you, you can cook them for another few minutes.
I do not recommend warming them up in the microwave because the pretzels will lose their texture and become a bit soggier than you really want.
Is a pretzel dog dipped in cold or boiling water and baking soda?
Place the pretzel dogs in boiling water and baking soda, not cold. And just do it for 30 seconds so that the hot dogs don’t actually start to cook.
How do you make pretzel dog bites?
I recommend not trying to make pretzel dogs bites but instead just making mini pretzel wrapped little smokies. You’ll follow the same process as the recipe suggests, just do smaller ropes of pretzel dough and wrap them around little smokies instead! Then bake for less time – I recommend starting with 7-8 minutes and watching until the pretzel on the outside gets to be golden brown.
More Easy Appetizers
If you love easy appetizers, try one of these tasty snacks next!
- Homemade pepperoni rolls – a delicious twist on pizza where pizza roll and toppings are rolled up into simple snacks!
- Buffalo chicken egg rolls – egg rolls filled with buffalo chicken dip then baked to perfection!
- Homemade chicken minis – another great copycat recipe, these are a Chick-Fil-A staple!
- Bisquick sausage balls – the easiest appetizers ever with just a few ingredients needed!
- Bacon wrapped smokies – these sweet and spicy bacon wrapped smokies will be a new favorite appetizer!
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Homemade Pretzel Dogs
Ingredients
Pretzel Dough
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 cups flour
- 1 TBS sugar
- 1 packet instant dry yeast 1/4 ounce packet
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
Pretzel Dogs
- 12 all beef hot dogs
- 8 cups water
- ¼ cup baking soda
- 1 egg
- 3 TBS unsalted butter
- coarse salt
Instructions
Pretzel Dough
- Combine the warm water, flour, sugar, yeast, and kosher salt together in the large bowl of a stand mixer.1 cup warm water, 3 cups flour, 1 TBS sugar, 1 packet instant dry yeast, 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- Mix that together using a dough hook until the dough comes together in a dough ball. If you don’t have a stand mixer and dough hook, you can do it by hand using a wooden spoon but the dough hook is much easier.
- Once the dough is done, place the dough ball into a greased bowl and cover the bowl either plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.
- Let the dough rise in a warm area for about an hour or until it doubles in size.
Pretzel Dogs
- Once the dough has doubled in size, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, then roll those pieces into long ropes.
- Wrap one of those ropes around a hot dog starting at one end and wrapping all the way until you reach the other end. Place the wrapped hot dogs on a piece of parchment paper.12 all beef hot dogs
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.8 cups water, 1/4 cup baking soda
- Combine eight cups of water and the baking soda in a large pot then place on the stove on high heat. Bring the water to a boil so the baking soda dissolves into the water.
- Once the water is boiling, reduce the temperature to medium so that the water mixture is simmering but not actively boiling. Place the wrapped pretzel dogs into the pot of boiling water, a few at a time, (don’t overcrowd the pot), and let them boil in the pot for about 30 seconds, then remove the boiled pretzel dogs with a slotted spoon and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Whisk the egg and a small splash of water in a bowl to create an egg wash. Brush the egg wash over the dough.1 egg
- Place the pretzel dogs in the oven and bake for 13-15 minutes or until the pretzels are golden brown on top.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven and immediately brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.3 TBS unsalted butter, coarse salt
- Let cool until cool enough to eat and serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.
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