Soft Pretzels

I've been on a soft pretzel kick lately. I've always loved them, but for some reason, lately, I've wanted them so much more. Oh, the salty goodness! I found this no-mixer, no-store-in-the-refrigerator-for-x-hours recipe on Pinterest (here's the link: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/12/25/30-minute-whole-wheat-pretzels/) and ever since, I've been hooked.

The kids love to help knead the dough and shape the pretzels into cool things--like birds and cats and all number of musical symbols, courtesy of Bianca. Last time, I made a really cool quail and owl, but in this batch, you can see a cat, a snail, a swan, an 8-ball, and that square-looking pretzel is my sorry attempt at a book. After all, we were celebrating on Friday some exciting book-related news (an agent asked for a partial on Isle of Arden!!!) I had just received. It's never too small a victory to celebrate, right?

Bianca made the cheese dipping sauce by herself even. I was very impressed!

Here's Bianca's swan.

And Portia's chihuahua head (it's kind of hard to make eyes and such so it looks more like a heart).