Pretzel Shortbread
Published March 4, 2020
- Total Time
- 2½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½cup/65 grams pretzel crumbs (see Note)
- 3¼cups/415 grams all-purpose flour
- 1cup/210 grams Demerara sugar
- ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1¼cup plus 2 tablespoons/310 grams unsalted cold butter (2¾ sticks), cut into ½-inch cubes
- ¼cup baking soda, or 1 large egg white
- Pretzel salt or flaky sea salt
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pretzel crumbs on a rimmed baking sheet and bake them, stirring once, until they smell toasty (they may not darken, and that's OK), about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Pour crumbs into the bowl of an electric stand mixer to cool. Whisk in flour, sugar and salt. Place the butter cubes on top of the flour mixture and chill until everything is very cold, at least 30 minutes.
- Step 3
Using the paddle attachment, beat flour and butter mixture on low speed until it comes together into a dry, crumbly dough that just holds together when you squeeze it, 10 to 15 minutes. If the dough isn’t coming together in the mixer, use your hands to knead it. It will be difficult to work with.
- Step 4
Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat. On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out and press dough into an 8-by-10-inch rectangle about ⅜-inch thick. (Alternatively, you can press the dough into a quarter sheet pan with your fingers instead of rolling). Cut into rectangles approximately 3 inches by 2 inches. Transfer rectangles to the lined baking sheet. Using the tip of a slim chopstick or a fork, poke holes all over the dough, going halfway but not all the way through. Place baking sheet in freezer until dough is frozen, at least 1 hour.
- Step 5
Heat oven to 500 degrees. If using baking soda for the coating, combine it in a small pot with 2 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve. Let cool completely. Dip each cookie into the solution, letting the excess drip off, then place it back on the baking sheet. If using an egg white, whisk it with 1 tablespoon water until frothy, then brush it on top of cookies. Sprinkle the coated cookies evenly with flaky sea salt.
- Step 6
Transfer baking pan to oven and immediately lower the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until deep golden brown, 18 to 23 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cookies, then store them in an airtight container.
- To make the pretzel crumbs, grind enough pretzels in a food processor or blender to yield ½ cup crumbs. (The amount of pretzels you will need to crush will vary, depending on shape and kind of pretzel.)
Private Notes
Comments
If I want to use lye, how do I do that?
Salted or unsalted pretzels for the crumbs? I want to make this but want to get the salt ratio right!
I did a total cheater version. I did toast the pretzel crumbs, but then mixed them into the dry ingredients in a food processor, cut in the butter using the machine, pressed the resulting crumbs into a 9X9 pan, dusted with baking soda, sprinkled with Maldon salt and baked as directed. Maybe it wasn't exactly the way they were supposed to be but it didn't take 2.5 hours and a million steps, and they were fantastic.
The type of pretzel you use matters! For the best flavor, use the thinner and dark ones. (I used Trader Joe's Pretzel sticks and should have used Pretzel thins) Otherwise, you can't taste the pretzel at all. For simplicity sake, I put the cooled ground pretzel, flour and cold butter and pulsed it in a food processor and then pressed it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, sliced to rectangles before placing in the fridge. Don't skimp on the flaky salt on the top.
Made this the other night for a group dinner. I used frozen butter and the stand mixer. Also followed the other suggestions and just pressed it into the pan to make it hold together better, then made the cuts and holes. Did not have all the time to do the freezer/cooling & dipping so the dusting of baking soda on top and pretzel salt sprinkled on top worked just as well. They tasted delicious! Good amount of salty & sweet. Served with fruit & whipped cream
These are absolutely delicious! I did not have any problems with the dough, unlike many other readers. I put it into the food processor until it formed sandy crumbs, then transferred to the stand mixer. The dough came together in 2-3 minutes. I pressed it into a pan, cut and froze. I used lye, which I have around for pretzel-making. The cookies had a nice brown sheen and that distinctive pretzel flavor. This is a keeper!
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