Småländska Gräddkringlor - Cream Pretzels from Smaland

The weather here has been so lovely these last few weeks of proper summer that I have spent little time in front of the computer or oven. I did make these lovely pretzels though, after finding the recipe in a book about Småland, the county I grew up in. If you don't eat them all straight away, freeze the left overs as they lose their short texture in the cookie jar over night. Pearl sugar (pärlsocker) are small pearls of sugar that are often sprinkled on top of cinnamon rolls etc. You might find it in specialty baking shops and online.

Makes 40 pretzels. You can also shape them into simpler rings, and then you'll get a few more out of it.

Ingredients:
9 dl flour (550 g)

1 dl sugar
3 tsp baking powder
225 g butter
2 dl sour cream.
1 egg
pearl sugar (nib sugar) to decorate




Method:

Heat the oven to 225 degrees C (437 F)

Put flour, sugar and baking powder in a big bowl. Cut the butter into little pieces and add the liquid and egg. Quickly work everything together into a dough.

Cut the dough into 40 pieces. Roll each piece into a thin length about 15-20 cm and twist into pretzel shapes.

They will puff up to double size in the oven. Pour some pear sugar on a plate. Using a baking brush, paint the pretzels with a little bit of water. Dip them in the sugar. Space them out on baking sheets and bake on middle rack for approx 8-10 minutes. They should brown a little around the edges and feel dry.

When they come out of the oven, immediately loosen them from the baking sheet with a knife and let them cool on a grate.