It’s September… which means it’s the start of football season… which obviously means I’m thinking about football food!
I love the start of football season. I feel like by the end the season, I’m a little sad but also usually ready for it to end – ready to have my full weekends back to do other things. But then when August rolls around, I start to get excited again for football.
Football season means Sunday and Monday nights filled with NFL football. It means catching college games at sports bars. This year, now that I’ll be living in the northeast, it means going to a few of my dad’s team’s high school football games in Jersey. And for the last several years, it’s also meant Fantasy Football fun.
Last week I had my Fantasy Football draft during my cross country trip from San Diego to New York (recap to come!). That particular day was our longest driving day, as we were heading from North Carolina to my father-in-law’s house in South Jersey. I wasn’t sure if it would time up right for me to be able to pay attention to my draft, but then I realized I could just take care of it on my phone while my husband drove. Yay!
I love the competition of Fantasy Football. I’m the only woman in my league, and I always feel an obligation to show the men that a woman can know her NFL stuff and make smart Fantasy Football decisions! We shall see what happens this year.
But moving onto the food part of football season. I always love to pair football watching with food that’s fit for the occasion. Everyone might not love football, but almost everyone loves food… and if you don’t, I’m not sure we can be friends! 😉
Before I moved out of my home and set off for my big relocation, I created one last recipe in my adorable kitchen that had been dancing around in my head for awhile now: cinnamon sugar pretzels with a cream cheese dipping sauce.
Pretzels make me think of football season because they’re such a great snack. I wanted to create cinnamon sugar pretzel bites, but they came out bigger than a typical bite, so instead I’m calling them pretzel pillows. I’m not sure this is actually a term ever used before – who knows, I could be the first – but it seems to describe them accurately, so let’s roll with it.
They’re doughy, sweet cinnamon sugary, and oh so delicious!
I decided to make these pretzels vegan, so no dairy products are used. My favorite vegan substitutes for butter and cream cheese are Earth Balance and Kite Hill brands, so that’s what I used here.
Making homemade pretzels takes a bit of effort, but oh my goodness, they are like heaven. FOOTBALL FOOD HEAVEN my friends!
Vegan Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Pillows with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance or other vegan butter melted
- 1 active dry yeast packet 1/4 oz
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 2 TBSP cinnamon
- 1/2 cup + 1 TBSP sugar
- 2 TSP salt
- 2 cups warm water + water for boiling
- Cooking spray
For the cream cheese dip
- 8 oz dairy free cream cheese I like Kite Hill
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 TSP cinnamon
- 1/2 TSP vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the warm water, active dry yeast, salt and 1 TBSP of the sugar. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
- Next, add 1/4 cup of the melted butter to the bowl. Add in the flour, kneading with your hands until it's well combined.*
- Transfer the mixture to another bowl covered in cooking spray. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rest in a warm place for about an hour.**
- After an hour, the dough should be fluffy and have risen. Punch it down a bit and divide the dough into 6 portions. Dust the tops of the dough lightly with flour and use your hands or a rolling pin to roll each portion into a rope, then cut each rope into 10 pieces. Roll them into circular shapes.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Next, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the baking soda.
- Boil the pretzels in batches of 10, boiling for about 30 seconds each, then removing with a slotted spoon and placing on a baking sheet covered with cooking spray.***
- Bake the pretzels for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottoms.
- Meanwhile, make the cream cheese dip by combining the dairy free cream cheese, maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla in a food processor. Pulse until it turns into a whipped, creamy mixture. Transfer to a small bowl.
- To make the cinnamon/sugar pretzel mixture, mix the cinnamon and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl. Place the remaining 1/4 cup melted vegan butter in another small bowl.
- Once the pretzels are done cooking, begin dipping the tops of them in the melted butter, shaking off any excess, and then coating them in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Transfer to a serving dish as you go, until all of the pretzels have the cinnamon sugar coating.
- Enjoy while they're warm! These pretzels are great with or without the dipping sauce, and they reheat nicely.
Notes
**I like to put it on the dryer if I'm doing laundry or out in the sun if it's warm and sunny out.
***I use 2 large baking sheets.
****Time includes 1 hour for the dough to rise.
Nutrition
Tell me… What are your favorite foods that remind you of football or sports in general?
I always get so excited about football season as soon as August rolls around too! Soft pretzels are one of my favorite things ever and I’m loving the cinnamon-sugar coating!
Well hi there fellow football fan! 🙂
These pretzels look to die for. I’ve never made homemade pretzels before and might have to give it a try!
Thanks, I hope you do!
I hear ya about Fantasy Football! It’s a whole different way of watching the games since you pay attention to individuals rather than teams. I haven’t been in a fantasy league in a couple of years now, but it was always fun to play! Fantasy or not, I’m all about these pretzel pillows. They sound delicious, and perfect for watching some football on the weekends! Glad y’all made it across the country…and it looks like Fall weather is just arriving, too! 🙂
You’re right, it really is interesting how you watch differently when you’re playing Fantasy Football… Sometimes I don’t like it because I’ll wind up rooting for a player or team I’m not really a fan of!
Oh my yes!!! These pretzels look SOOO good Nicole!! And I’m with you – by the end of the season I’m ready to have weekends back but right now it’s just fun and exciting! Yay for Fall!
Absolutely! Hope that you enjoy the season lady!
Oh yum! These look majorly drool worthy, girl! Perfect football food, indeed. I’m impressed that you are in a fantasy football league. I only watch college football but it sounds like it would be fun to do! I might have to look into that next year and eat these while doing so. 🙂
It’s a lot of fun – makes NFL games more competitive & interesting for me when it’s not my team playing. I like college football too! Enjoy your autumn Sarah!
I’ve wanted to make your pretzels forever! Perfect football snack. I’m more of a college football fan, but Vegas is getting me into it. I’ll pretty much watch any sport. That Green Bay game Sunday night was incredible!
I know that you ladies are sports lovers like we are! While football’s my favorite, I can get into any sport, from tennis (did you see Serena a few weeks ago?? I was bummed I missed it!) and golf to soccer.
Hey Nicole…! i also favorite game of football, and your pretzel pillows looks are amazing and more yummy & looks like a soft pillow…i will definitely make this in upcoming weekend..Thanks for sharing & keep shared your new ideas with delicious recipes……!
Eating these pretzel pillows while enjoying a Sunday afternoon of football is the best! 😉
I made these yesterday, literally so good!! They taste like the lil cinnamon nuggets you buy from Auntie Anne’s which I always craved! The recipe was fairly simple too, I’m going to be making more today; the dough is rising at the moment. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Thank you so much for leaving a comment – made my night! So glad to hear that you enjoyed them. You’re making me crave cinnamon pretzel pillows right now! 🙂