2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Auntie Anne’s At-Home Baking Kit ~ #Review & #Giveaway ~ #2012holidaygiftguide

I’m lucky enough to live by not only one, but two Auntie Anne’s pretzels stands. At least once a week I take my son to the mall to walk, especially since it is starting to become too cold outside. I’ll admit, sometimes we might just stop at Auntie Anne’s for a treat! So you can imagine I was pretty super excited to learn that they now offer At-Home Baking Kits! In honor of the upcoming holidays, they now have two new flavors that are just perfect to share with your family: Apple Cinnamon and Gingerbread!

Auntie Anne’s generously sent me the Apple Cinnamon At-Home Baking Kit to test out. I have to say this was one review the family could not wait for me to conduct! Everyone wanted to taste test the Soft Pretzels ASAP!

The Kit provides all the ingredients you need, except for butter if you choose to add the Cinnamon Sugar topping. If you opt for your pretzel without this topping. You will also need non-stick spray, but when my can ran out, I was able to use a little cooking oil instead and it worked fine.

Now before I get really into the process of the baking, I just want to say I thought this was a fabulous family activity! My son was a little too young to understand what was going on, but my friend’s 8 year old daughter joined me in the kitchen while we made traditional pretzels. We had so much fun! Best part is, you don’t have to just create pretzels! At the Auntie Anne’s website, they have a whole list of fun recipes and ideas that are quite outside of the box of what to do with the pretzel dough!

The baking kit includes your dough mix, cinnamon sugar, apple oats, dry yeast, and baking soda. Every is already measure out for you! The kit also includes easy instructions to follow. So if you are culinary-challenged like me, the process is pretty easy to follow!

The instructions include which ingredients to mix and when. I think the process is a little easier if you have an electric mixer. Kneading the dough takes about 5-7 minutes, though it went by pretty fast.

I did have a little trouble measuring out the dough and roll it into the right size. However after several attempts, I got the hang of it! It was actually kind of fun forming the dough into the pretzel shapes.

Another tricky part was dipping the pretzels in the baking soda mix before popping them in the oven. Okay, it wasn’t that hard. Even a 7 year old was a pro at it. For me though, some reasons my pretzels would fall apart! However, it only took a second to put them back into shape. I think it was just my lack of skills :P.

After baking, the pretzels came out golden brown and a deliciously soft! We opted to try them first before adding the cinnamon sugar. How many times can I use the word delicious in this review? Not enough! It is the first word I always think of. Now not to toot my own horn, because most of the credit goes to Auntie Anne’s, but these were some of the most delicious Soft Pretzels I’ve tasted. The texture was quite fluffy! I believe if you prefer a chewier pretzel, simply roll it out thinner and bake for longer. The Apple Cinnamon flavor is perfect for the fall. Makes a wonderful holiday snack!

To add the cinnamon sugar, you simple melt the butter and brush onto the pretzel. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top and you are good to go! You just added a scrumptiously sweet topping! I’m partial to the cinnamon sugar pretzel, as were my son and my friend’s daughter. My parents and friend preferred the pretzels without the topping. All gave the At-Home Baking Kit huge thumbs up!

Needless to say, the little man very much enjoyed the pretzel, as did the rest of us! Were the delicious as the actual Auntie Anne’s pretzels you buy at the shop? Indeed! Actually, I liked the ones I made better, since I was able to make the pretzels thick. I prefer a more thick and doughy pretzel. That is another great aspect of the At-Home Baking Kits.

Overall, we are super happy with these kits. They were a blast to bake and it was a great family activity. Plus, the pretzels are just so delicious!

Don’t forget to connect with Auntie Anne’s on Facebook and Twitter! Or click the easy buttons below (may take a moment to load):

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Buy It: You can purchase the kits are participating Auntie Anne’s locations. Kits are also available for purchase on Amazon, and available at local retailers such as Safeway, Walmart, CVS, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond to name a few!

Win It: One lucky reader will win an At-Home Baking Kit (Apple Cinnamon) of their very own! Simply fill out the easy Rafflecopter form below. This giveaway ends on December 5th at 11:59 pm EST and is open to residents of the contiguous US only. Once a winner is drawn via Rafflecopter, I will contact the winner through email. They will then have 48 hours to respond. If there is no response, I will draw a new winner. Please add mdmommareviews at gmail dot com to ensure the email does not end up in your SPAM folder. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a complimentary product(s) to facilitate this review from the sponsoring company. This is 100% my own honest opinion. No one has influenced me otherwise and I was not compensated financially. This review is solely based on my own experience with this product.