These delicious gems are made with whole grain flour and protein-packed Greek yogurt. To make them truly game-ready, I shape them into small footballs, then pipe on spicy mustard to make flavorful “laces.”
Yield: 60Mini Footballs
Prep Time: 5 minutesmins
Cook Time: 35 minutesmins
Total Time: 40 minutesmins
Ingredients
2cupswhole wheat white flour, or whole wheat flour
1tablespoonbaking powder
1teaspoonkosher salt
2cupsnon-fat plain Greek yogurt*
1egg, beaten
1teaspooncoarse sea salt for pretzel tops
Spicy brown mustard, for dipping
Warm marinara, sauce for dipping
Ingredient Details to Know
* Pour off liquid before measuring.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder and kosher salt and mix well. Add the yogurt and mix until all of the flour is incorporated into a batter. Knead the dough with clean hands until it’s dry and elastic (this will take about 1 minute—if it’s super-sticky, you can always add some extra flour).
Then, create small balls by grabbing some dough and rolling between the palm of your hands. Place them one at a time on the parchment paper and you can shape them into small footballs yourself (it’s pretty simple) or use a (1- to 2-inch) football cookie cutter.
Press down on each with your fingers to flatten them out since they’ll rise and puff while cooking. Brush egg wash over the tops and generously sprinkle on coarse sea salt. Bake in oven for about 15 to 20 minutes—the tops will become slightly golden brown and they’ll be a soft pretzel consistency inside.
Once pretzels cool slightly, pipe spicy mustard on top to make football “laces” and serve with optional warm marinara sauce on the side for dipping.
Nutrition information is calculated using a leading industry software. That being said, brands can vary, and there may be slight fluctuations in the numbers.