9 Copycat Auntie Anne's Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret solution for Auntie Anne's pretzels? ›

While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp baking soda. Be certain to stir often. After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet.

Auntie Anne Pretzels are somehow more delicious than your average pretzel. A healthy dose of sugar makes for a tasty dough, and a topping of melted butter and salt makes them positively addictive. Another reason the popular pretzels are so good is they are made and served fresh and warm.

ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), WATER, BROWN SUGAR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF THE FOLLOWING: DOUGH CONDITIONERS (WHEAT FLOUR, MALT BARLEY FLOUR, ASCORBIC ACID, ENZYMES, SALT, VEGETABLE PROTEIN [CORN-BASED]), YEAST, CALCIUM ...

Our Original Pretzel only contains 5 grams of fat, and, yes, it is lightly dipped in butter. Since Auntie Anne's Pretzels are made fresh in our stores, you can request your pretzel without butter for a lower calorie option or order your pretzel without salt.

The answer lies in a brief dip in an alkaline water bath before baking. This bath essentially gelatinizes the outside of the pretzel, preventing it from fully “springing” during baking (as bread does) and giving pretzels their signature chewy crust. It also gives them their unique and indelible “pretzel” flavor.

Freshly Baked Soft Pretzels: Auntie Anne's Pretzels.

When "Auntie" Anne Beiler started her pretzel stand, she said, "Caring for other people is the purpose of Auntie Anne's." Thirty years later, that commitment to giving back continues to motivate us. Meet our charitable partners and see how you can get involved.

Our classic Auntie Anne's Pretzel dough wrapped around a Nathan's Famous^®, all beef hot dog. Individually wrapped and available by the dozen.

In November 2010, Atlanta franchisor Focus Brands, a portfolio company of private equity firm Roark Capital, acquired Auntie Anne's.

Wetzel's Pretzels was founded in 1994 and is based mainly in California, with few stores out-of-state. Auntie Anne's on the other hand, was founded in 1988 in Pennsylvania, and remains the nationally recognized brand.

Why is Auntie Anne's only in malls? ›

Auntie Anne's had access to lots of customers.

Truth be told, Auntie Anne's was not initially intended to become a fixture of malls. According to Restaurant Business Online, the whole love affair between Anne's and the food court fell together because of the high amount of foot traffic.

Even if you order pretzels sans the salt, the menu items at Auntie Anne's are not shy of sodium. As such, you'll likely want to order a drink. But with snacks that tend to be high in calories, Davis warns about the added calories and massive amounts of sugar in many of the beverages at this restaurant.

Both Cinnabon and Auntie Anne's are part of Focus Brands, the Atlanta-based operator owned by Roark Capital, the private equity group trying to buy Subway.

Before any Auntie Anne's pretzel goes into the oven, it's brushed with their special solution of warm water and baking soda. Baking soda is a common ingredient in baked goods but it's usually in the actual dough as part of the "dry ingredients" like flour or sugar.

Lye is primarily used to make pretzels, and it's the reason for their unmistakable shiny, mahogany color. To prepare, shaped pretzels are dipped in a lye bath, then baked in the oven.

As noted above, baking soda is a staple ingredient for making homemade pretzels. Dunking your pretzels in a baking soda bath prior to baking is what enables them to develop their distinctive color and crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside texture.

In a large, wide pot, bring 6 cups water and 2 tablespoons baking soda to a boil. Then, transfer one shaped pretzel to the bath using a slotted spatula and let sit for 1 minute.