These homemade soft pretzels are made with pumpkin beer and covered in a delicious cinnamon sugar coating. You'll want to bring Pumpkin Beer Pretzels (and the accompanying sweet pumpkin dip) to all your fall activities and celebrations!

Overhead view of a pumpkin beer pretzel coated in cinnamon sugar with bowl of pumpkin dip and beer bottle in background with recipe title at top

(This recipe was originally posted in September 2011, but has been updated with new photos and content in 2021.)

I first made these pumpkin beer pretzels over 10 years ago back in 2011. And while I remember absolutely loving them the first time I made them, for some strange reason, I never made them again.

Now? In the year 2021, I can't stop making them. I made a few adjustments to the recipe (like adding a cinnamon sugar coating), but overall, they're the same delicious, subtly pumpkin-flavored soft pretzels that are perfect for serving at any fall celebration!

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Because these pumpkin beer pretzels are absolutely delicious! But seriously, there's something really special about homemade soft pretzels and these ones have a bit of a unique spin on them since they're made with pumpkin beer.

Soft pretzels are the kind of food that's really best fresh and unless you're buying them and eating them right away, it's tough to get the best soft pretzel experience. Unless you're making them fresh yourself!

These pumpkin beer pretzels are perfect for bringing to all your fall celebrations and your friends and family will be so impressed that you made them from scratch!

What Kind of Pumpkin Beer to Use

You can use absolutely any pumpkin beer you want! Just remember that the more robustly-pumpkin flavored the beer is, the more you'll be able to taste it in the pretzels.

As you can see in the photos here, I used Dogfish Head Punkin Ale and I enjoyed the flavor. But I've since made them with Elysian's The Great Pumpkin and the pumpkin flavor is even more prominent and it's definitely my favorite!

Ingredients

The ingredients for these pumpkin beer pretzels are fairly simple. If you've ever made soft pretzels before, everything will seem pretty familiar. If you haven't, don't worry, they're not hard to make and are so delicious!

Here's everything you need:

Active dry yeast
Water
Granulated sugar
Salt
Pumpkin beer
All-purpose flour
Baking soda
Egg
Butter
Granulated sugar
Ground cinnamon

I also made a sweet pumpkin dip for these soft pretzels and I'll share the ingredients and process for that later in this post.

How to Make Pumpkin Beer Pretzels

The soft pretzel making process is fairy straightforward... You just need a little time for the dough to rise.

To start, sprinkle yeast over ½ cup of warm (around 100-110 degrees) water in a large bowl. Let rest for about 5 minutes

Stir in sugar and salt. And then pour in the pumpkin beer. The mixture will get a bit frothy and wonderful.

Yeast in water in bowl with pumpkin beer

With a wooden spoon, stir the flour in one cup at a time until you've added 3 cups. Add another ½ cup and continue mixing.

If dough is still sticky, continue adding flour a little at a time, up to ½ cup as needed.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes (If you prefer, you can throw it in your stand mixer with the dough hook for about 2 minutes).

Then place the kneaded dough into a lightly oiled bowl in a warm area, cover with a kitchen towel, and let sit for about an hour to rise.

This is what the dough will look like when you first put it in the bowl.

And here's what it will look like after an hour of rising!

Pumpkin beer pretzel dough risen in bowl

When dough is done rising, bring 8 cups of water and ¼ cup baking soda to a boil.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or Silpats) and preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Now, while the water is boiling, divide the dough into equally-sized 12 balls.

Pumpkin beer pretzel dough balls ready to be formed

Take one dough ball and roll it into a rope (about 15-20 inches long). Shape the rope into a pretzel by forming into a "u" and crossing one end down, followed by the other end, creating a pretzel shape.

Pumpkin beer pretzels formed on wooden board

Drop pretzels (you can do a couple at a time) into the boiling water for about 30 seconds.

Pretzels in boiling water and baking soda

Remove pretzels from water with slotted spoon and let excess water drip off. Place pretzels onto prepared baking sheets.

Pumpkin beer pretzels formed on baking sheet after being dipped in baking soda water

Brush each pretzel with lightly beaten egg and bake for 10-12 minutes, until pretzels are golden.

Baked pumpkin beer pretzels on baking sheet

Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

Now you're ready to dip them in that cinnamon sugar coating!

In a medium bowl (large enough that pretzel can be dipped in), mix together sugar and cinnamon. Put melted butter in a second medium bowl.

Dip each pretzel into the melted butter and then directly into the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat.

And you're ready to start snacking! Oh my goodness, these are especially good when they're still warm.

Overhead closeup view of a cinnamon sugar coated pumpkin beer pretzel with bowl of sweet pumpkin dip in background

But wait... These pumpkin beer pretzels are awesome and don't really need any accompaniments. BUT when dipped into a sweet pumpkin dip, they're taken to whole new levels.

This dip takes less than 5 minutes to make and is SO worth it!

Ingredients

The ingredients for this pumpkin dip are SO simple and the process is so easy. Here's everything you need:

Pumpkin puree
Brown sugar
Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg

How to Make Sweet Pumpkin Dip

All you need to do is put all the ingredients in a bowl...

Pumpkin puree, brown sugar, sour cream, and spices in bowl

And mix them together.

That's it! A deliciously sweet and creamy pumpkin dip is all yours to do with as you please.

Sweet pumpkin dip mixed together in bowl

But I highly recommend dipping those pumpkin beer pretzels into it!

The subtle pumpkin beer flavor of the pretzels with the sweet cinnamon sugar topping tastes like all the best parts of fall when dunked into that pumpkin dip.

I don't want to attend any fall gatherings be they harvest festivals, pumpkin patch outings, or football parties without these soft pretzels in attendance.

Overhead view of pumpkin beer pretzels with sweet pumpkin dip and pumpkin beer

They're even more delicious when paired with a pumpkin beer, of course.

How to Store

I think these soft pretzels are especially delicious freshly baked and warm, but they can definitely be made ahead of time and stored. However, I highly recommend waiting to add the cinnamon sugar coating until just before you're ready to enjoy them.

If making them ahead of time, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. If you want, you can reheat in the oven or microwave before enjoying.

More Fall Pumpkin Recipes

If you're looking for more pumpkin recipes perfect for all your fall gatherings, check out some of my favorites:

Pumpkin Macarons
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns
Pumpkin Spice Energy Balls
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Pumpkin-Swirl Brownies
Pumpkin Fudge
Pumpkin-Chocolate-Chip Squares
Pumpkin Pie Bars
Molasses Ginger Cookies with Sweet Pumpkin Dip
Pumpkin Pudding Snickerdoodles (from Fake Ginger)
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites (from All Day I Dream About Food)

Overhead view of a pumpkin beer pretzel coated in cinnamon sugar with bowl of pumpkin dip and beer bottle in background

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to put on a cozy fall sweater so I can sit in my backyard watching the leaves fall and enjoying another pumpkin beer pretzel.

Have you made homemade soft pretzels before?

📖 Recipe