Smoky Vanilla Bourbon Pretzels.
[this post is brought to you by Rodelle, who I’m partnering with in 2016 to make all sorts of delicious recipes! as always, I only work with products that I 100% love and use in my own kitchen. thank you for your support!]
Today we are solving all of your holiday snacking needs.
I realize that these pretzels don’t look like much. In fact, they look like… pretzels. Plain old pretzels.
But they totally are NOT plain old pretzels.
Let me back up a minute. Confession time.
I don’t really… care about pretzels at all. I don’t NOT like them, but I have no desire to snack on pretzels, ever. They are way too boring and I’d rather choose something more delicious, like tortilla chips and guac. It cracks me up because right now, Max would do anything for a pretzel. He snacks on them daily and they are one of his favorite things. He constantly runs around screaming for pretzels.
HOWEVER.
There is a certain kind of pretzel that makes ME lose all self-control.
If you follow my holiday baking posts, they you know that every year, Lacy and I make whiskey pretzels. A friend gave them to her a few years ago and we have made them ever since… and it’s a miracle that anyone else even gets any because they are completely addictive.
After baking, we can barely keep our hands off the sheet. They are RIDIC.
My mom freaks out over these every year. Everyone who tries them thinks they are about to eat a plain old pretzel and look at me like… WHAT IS THIS DELICIOUS THING?!
So.
I changed them up just a leeeettle bit!
You stir together melted butter, brown sugar, an array of spices and since I can’t let anything be, vanilla.
Yep, I added vanilla to this crunchy little snack. My favorite Rodelle vanilla bean paste, to be exact. I can’t even tell you guys how many bottles of this stuff I have gone through this year. It might be my favorite ingredient in the spice cabinet. I use it constantly!
The vanilla paste gives just a little hint of sweetness but also a little warmth. The combination is SO delicious. Sweet, salty, smoky and warm. Put these on a cheese plate with some roasted red peppers and you’re good to go.
They also make the loveliest homemade gift! Especially for the hostess, because you can take them to the party and everyone can eat them right away. Perfect for cocktails! They pair so well with beer.
And wine.
And whiskey! Obviously.
Smoky Vanilla Bourbon Pretzels
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) bag mini pretzel twists
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Rodelle vanilla bean paste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread the pretzels all over both sheets. You don’t want to layer them.
- In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, bourbon, sugar, vanilla paste, paprika, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour it over the pretzels and use your hands to toss everything together really well. Place the pretzels in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Toss and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove and let cool completely on the sheets. I like to store these in mason jars or even resealable containers or bags. You can dress them up cute for gifting!
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When you want to have pretzels for dinner…
52 Comments on “Smoky Vanilla Bourbon Pretzels.”
I’m with you on pretzels; but these definitely look enticing!
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OMG, I may have to add these to my baking list this year. This weekend is THE weekend for me. It’s all going down. I LOVE pretzels (I’m with Max on this one, haha), and these look awesome.
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Would you feed these to max? I’m thinking the alcohol would be cooked out right? I know I’d have a tough time keeping my kids away!!
Omg! These pretzels sound so amazing! I can totally see myself eating all of them on my own, especially while watching a movie.
JESSICA. my husband will DIE for these!!!!!!! SO making a batch and stuffing them in his stocking, I’m so excited! yay xo
What is this sorcery????? These look amazing and I’m with you- I normally think pretzels are too boring!
These look so good!!!
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Yum! Can you use vanilla extract instead if you don’t have paste? I happen to have a ton and want to use it up.
What fancy pretzels I bet they would be fun during super bowl too! xo Loren // http://www.thinkelysian.com
I’m such a sucker for snacks, my gosh, these look so good. Perfect companion for Christmas movie session. :)
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My favorite comfort food would have to be biscuits and gravy! I would eat it any time of day. I don’t make my own biscuits. I’ve just never tried it. But I make my father in law’s gravy recipe. I subscribe to your you tube channel, and follow on Instagram. debhall823
Roselle Vanilla Bean Paste is so on my shopping list now! Oh wait, going to Amazon! Happy Holidays! Thanks for sharing this!
Yum, yum. These look so good. And there’s bourbon!
Creamy simple mashed potatoes for sure!
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comfort food! how do i choose???? i would say a really good mac and cheese, the kind with a crunchy top and multiple cheeses….. basically anything cheesy!
I cannot find the vanilla bean paste anywhere in Chicagoland-other than ordering from Rodelle (not enough time for holiday party) any ideas where to find it?
If you live near the spice house, they carry it.otherwise penzeys.
Williams Sonoma stores carry vanilla bean paste, as does Sur la Table
I normally don’t care about any carbs but sweet ones. However, I LOVE pretzel things. They are the exception. It’s so funny that you are totally uninterested. Yeasty and salty carbs are just the best. These are to-die-for!
I made these and was slightly underwhelmed. I would probably double the spices and the brown sugar. Full disclosure, I used vanilla extract not vanilla bean paste.
This is great snack especially for large family. I tried at my home and people loved it. http://www.restavista.com
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HELP!!!! I need to make these NOW but can’t find the paste in my rural area. And there’s not enough time to get it shipped and made before Christmas. If I use vanilla extract will it be close enough??
hi! you can use extract, but vanilla beans would be a little better! can you find a whole bean? if so, use that and scrape them out. if not, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract!
I need some more info on this paste. I hate to buy a $22 bottle as an ingredient to just one cookie, especially since I’ve never tried the cookie. How else do you use this?
i use it for absolutely everything that would take vanilla! it’s a more intense flavor. here are just a handful of recipes on my site that use it:
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2016/02/vanilla-bean-chocolate-cake/
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2016/01/creamy-winter-vanilla-bean-chia-pudding-with-blood-orange-syrup-and-dark-chocolate/
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2016/11/honey-vanilla-pear-margaritas/
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/07/white-chocolate-lavender-vanilla-popcorn/
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2014/07/four-homemade-coffee-syrups-and-my-favorite-cold-brew/
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2014/01/vanilla-bean-chia-pudding-with-fresh-mint-and-mango/
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2016/03/avocado-vanilla-smoothie/
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/11/how-to-make-baklava/
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Yum, yum. These look so good. As well as there’s bourbon as well as Roselle Vanilla Bean Paste is so on my shopping list currently! Happy Vacations! Thanks for sharing this.
Pasta! Any pasta with cheese, mushrooms and cream sauce!
Just pulled these out of the oven. Hopefully, the taste will intensify as they cool. If not, I agree with Christine’s comment, and I would double the spices. I can’t taste much of anything other than pretzel. I used vanilla extract as well. I can’t imagine that is,the,big difference though.
how long would you say these keep for?
thanks!! <3
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I made these for a New Years party and thought they were fantastic! I was a little nervous based on the other comments so I made a couple of tweaks up front: used heaping measures of the spices and brown sugar, and tossed with the pretzels in a bowl before putting them on the cookie sheets to get everything nice and coated. I did use vanilla bean paste but Nielsen Massey brand rather than rodelle because I already had it on hand. Would definitely make them again!
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Wow, three stars feels harsh, but hear me out. I used the square pretzels, and I heeded the other comments saying to double the spices & sugar and make them heaping measurements. I also used 2.5t of vanilla instead of just 2t. I, too, used vanilla extract instead of paste.
I don’t like them, and I don’t think I would like them even with paste. They’re not *my* cup of tea. I can’t seem to figure out why I don’t like them, but I have also made other recipes from HSII exactly as written, and I didn’t like some of those. It’s a palate thing. If you like bourbon a lot, you may adore them. The vanilla is far and away overpowered by the bourbon. There are slight glimpses, but the flavors feel unbalanced overall. Not enough sweet or vanilla*.
If I made again, I would increase the brown sugar by at least 1 T. Also, I am almost positive the paste will make these better. *This recipe needs the concentrated flavor of a paste. You would need to use 1 T of extract to even come close to replicating the paste intensity. Hopefully this helps someone!
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I thought they were a nice treat! Easy and thoughtful recipe. I was worried too so I did follow Allison’s comment and added extra spices. Perfect addition. Yummy and Fun! Thank you for sharing!
I’ve been making these religiously for the past year. They’re DELICIOUS. Instead of the crushed red pepper I use a hot paprika (depending on who’s eating them!) and I find it easier to pour the butter mixture over the pretzels in a big bowl. But the recipe itself is fantastic. I don’t even like pretzels. I’m a lil drunk and just went through a recipe with 4 people (after a spinach dip AND pasta…). Just make these. Or don’t, if you want to stay skinny. But also make them. People will love you for them.
This has been my go-to savory snack this year. The first time, I made it exactly as the directions said. The second time, I doubled the ingredients other than the butter and bourbon, and added a dash of Worcestershire sauce. By the third time, I had the vanilla bean paste. I still doubled the brown sugar, smoked paprika, vanilla bean paste, and garlic powder, but this time, I also added a teaspoon of seasoning salt as well as the Worchestershire sauce and grated some fresh ground black pepper over the pretzels at the midway point. Everyone loves it! Thank you for this fabulous recipe!
Not sure who’s writing these rave reviews, but this recipe did absolutely nothing for me nor the pretzel. Followed recipe to the T. They taste like regular pretzels. The additional flavoring was oh so subtle… After the initial taste, it was just like eating a bag of pretzels. A plain bag of pretzels…