There is a lot of street food to be had in New York. Some of it is tantalizing (candied nuts of all assortment, crisply coated in a nubby sweet shell), others sub-par (like those steely coffee carts on wheels, that serve coffee so weak it is as if the bean was simply waved through boiling water), and some are staunch standards– like the good ol’ pretzel. But for those of you who are not living in a city teeming with street vendors, they can be made at home, using this recipe.

Yeasty, and warm from the oven, making, then eating these pretzels, gave me a sense of accomplishment– the dough was shall we say, ELAS-TIC! I would actually say the recipe is a good place to start for the yeast novice. The dough is sturdy and malleable, and if the directions are followed, you will have a mound of soft dough in no time, just waiting to be played with, and play with it you will. I rolled, and rolled, and rolled, but my intended cigarette shaped dough looked more like a big, fat cigar.

Frustration got the better of me, and after knotting just a few pretzel shaped rolls, I went instead for the straight log, calling them mini-baguettes to make myself feel better about the whole ordeal. For the toppings I went for the traditional salt, using coarse Kosher salt, and the sweeter, cinnamon sugar. Both were delightful, the pretzels were wholesome, just the right hand-held snack. So give these a try, maybe you will have better luck with the rolling. Or maybe I’ll see a bunch of buff, tricep-strong people cruising around this holiday season.

Well, I’m off to California for awhile. There is family to see, and strong coffee to drink, but check back in every once in awhile, I’ll be posting the greatest hits of Nosheteria from the archive. Write soon!