Because so many of our desserts for the restaurants are plated and served by a surly kitchen of 99.9 percent men, we wanted to come up with a deep, malted, surly crunch. This pretzel crunch straddles the line between savory and sweet. Toss this into some Chex Mix on Super Bowl Sunday, or serve it solo in a bowl at your next cocktail party.
- In a pinch, substitute flour for malt powder, but part of the malty depth will be lost.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 250 g (2 cups )
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
1. Heat the oven to 275°F.
Step 2
2. Pour the pretzels in a medium bowl and crush them with your hands to one-quarter of their original size. Add the milk powder, malt powder, sugar, and salt and toss to mix. Add the butter and toss to coat. As you toss, the butter will act as glue, binding the dry ingredients to the pretzels and creating small clusters.
Step 3
3. Spread the clusters on a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes, at which point they should look toasted, smell buttery, and crunch gently when cooled slightly and chewed.
Step 4
4. Cool the pretzel crunch completely before storing or using in a recipe. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the crunch will keep fresh for 1 week; in the fridge or freezer, it will keep for 1 month.
