It’s entirely possible that I bought apple cider recently and suddenly everything I wanted to make had apple cider in it. So, you’re welcome for these vegan apple cider pretzels. Warm apple cider is used in place of water to bloom the yeast. Then, a good amount of cinnamon is added to this simple vegan soft pretzel dough. Once you have rolled, boiled and baked them, they get brushed with melted vegan butter and rolled in cinnamon and sugar! Serve them warm with an apple cider maple icing dip and autumn will never be the same.
What You Need For These Amazing Soft Pretzels:
- Apple Cider: You warm up some good apple cider until it is about 100 degrees(F) so it will cause the yeast to bloom and flavor the dough at the same time.
- Active Dry Yeast: You can use one packet, or measure from a jar.
- Salt, Brown Sugar and Coconut Oil: These are added to the dough as well.
- Baking Soda and Water: Boiling water and baking soda make the bath that you boil the pretzels quickly in to created that nice brown crust on the outside.
- Cinnamon and Cane Sugar: To coat the outsides of the pretzels once they are baked.
- Vegan Butter: You brush the outsides of the pretzels to get them nicely coated in cinnamon and sugar.
- Powdered Sugar and Maple Syrup: With a little extra apple cider, these make the icing dip.
These vegan apple cider pretzels are so incredible. They taste great once they have been sitting around for a while, but there is nothing like breaking off a piece of a warm, fresh pretzel. Right out of the oven, soft and delicious, dipped in icing. They are one of a kind! I also love this recipe, because the dough only needs to sit and rise for 10 minutes. It’s much faster than most yeast based recipes, so you don’t have to wait long to get your hands on these babies!
Why Should You Make These Fall Treats?
- Very easy and hard to mess up!
- Warm and soft and so so good.
- That crunchy cinnamon sugar outside.
- Dip a warm piece into that super yummy icing.
- Very easy to find ingredients.

Vegan Apple Cider Pretzels
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 1 1/2 Cups Warm apple cider(about 100 degrees(F)), NOT vinegar*
- 2 1/4 teaspoons Active dry yeast(2 1/4 tsp.)
- 1 Tablespoon Brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut oil, melted
- 3 3/4-4 Cups All purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 9 Cups Water
- 1/2 Cup Baking soda
For The Coating
- 1/4 Cup Vegan butter, melted
- 1 Cup Organic cane sugar
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
For The Icing
- 1 Cup Powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Maple syrup
- 1-2 Tablespoons Apple cider
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
- Make the dough first. In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the warm apple cider, it should be around 100 degrees, which is warm to the touch but shouldn't burn your finger.
- Then sprinkle in the yeast. Let the yeast bloom and bubble for about 5 minutes. It should get nice and bubbly.
- Now, add the brown sugar, salt and coconut oil.
- Next, if you are using a stand mixer, put the bowl onto the stand and attach the dough hook. Then start adding the flour, about a cup at a time. About 3 and 3/4 cup should be perfect, but add about 1/4 a cup more if needed until the dough isn't sticky anymore. Using the dough hook to mix and knead.
- Add the cinnamon to the dough and then let it knead with the dough hook for about 3 minutes.
- Let the dough rest and rise for about 10 minutes. It should puff up a bit.
- Now, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and cut into about 8 equal pieces.
- Then roll each piece out into a long rope with the palms of your hands. It should be about 20 inches long.
- Now, form a U-shape, then holding the ends of the rope, cross them over and under each other and press the ends onto the bottom of the pretzel.
- Next, in a large pot, add the 9 cups of water and the baking soda and heat on medium high. Stir and bring to a boil. reduce heat to medium, so it is not at a heavy boil.
- Carefully adding 1-2 pretzels at a time, boil for 30-60 seconds. Then place on a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper lining it. Repeat with all of the pretzels.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees(F).
- Bake the pretzels for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
- While the pretzels bake, make the coating and the icing.
- First, mix the sugar and cinnamon for the coating together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Next, if you are making the icing, add the powdered sugar to a medium sized mixing bowl and then add the maple syrup,1 tablespoon apple cider and pinch of salt, if it needs to be thinner, add another tablespoon of apple cider. Set aside.
- Once the pretzels are done, remove them from the oven and brush each of them with the melted vegan butter. Place them in the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon and coat completely.
- Serve warm with the icing. They reheat well!
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Just made these on this rainy CT day. They are soft and delicious and pretty easy to make. They look so perfect-from the top. They stuck to the parchment paper sadly so the bottoms kind of got ripped off. They still held their pretzel shape so not a bug deal but I would probably spray with cooking spray next time or do something to prevent them from sticking.
These look so good! Is this made with non-alcoholic cider?
Oh my gosh these are good. I made the recipe by hand and found myself having to flour my board often, but they turned out amazing. They are soft, sweet, and the cinnamon sugar compliments the apple flavor so well! This will be a fall favorite
can these be made with gf flour?
Haven’t tried it so we aren’t sure!
Kia ora, these look delicious. As a nine American I know apple cider as an alcoholic drink, is it more comparable to apple juice?
Many thanks
THESEEEEEE are truly amazing!!! So much fall flavor <3333 Such a hit tonight, thank you for sharing such lovely recipes 🙂
Such a great recipe and so fun for my first time maki pretzels! Listen — I’d like to make these again, but was wondering how to properly store them?
Thanks!
Wow! I just made these and they are dynamite. I carefully followed the recipe because the boiling part was new to me but very easy. I’m staying away from my kitchen so I don’t eat them all.