Auntie Anne's At-Home Baking Kit {Review}

Walking through the mall, I'm not usually too tempted by most of the sights, sounds and smells... unless there's a really good deal, of course.

However, any time that we walk past the branch where our Auntie Anne's and their delicious pretzels are located... mmm, one deep breath is just never enough. With so many varieties of pretzel flavors and accompanying dips (my favorite is the original pretzel dipped in cheese - yum!) they're always the perfect thing to stop and snack on while shopping.

So, when I heard that Auntie Anne's had created a way for us to enjoy their tasty pretzels right at home whenever our hunger struck, I couldn't wait to try out the Auntie Anne's At-Home Baking Kit.

When this compact box arrived, I was glad to see that just about everything that was needed was included right inside.

Pulling out the ingredients (enough to make 10 plain, salted or cinnamon sugar pretzels), I appreciated that the dough mix, yeast, baking soda, salt, cinnamon sugar and baking instructions were all clearly labeled and ready to use. The most difficult part was deciding what to make!

As well as the classic Auntie Anne's pretzels, this kit can be used to make all sorts of other yummy treats such as monkey bread, apple dumplings, deep dish pizza, pretzel dogs and more! Auntie Anne's has all of the easy-to-follow recipes laid out right online so that you can easily choose whichever tasty dish you'd like to make next right in your kitchen.

Wanting to try something that would be perfect for the holidays that both kids could help me bake, we pulled up the monkey bread recipe and got started mixing and kneading the dough. After letting it rise for 30 minutes, we were ready to start the buttering-cinnamon-sugaring process.

Laying out the dough, melted butter and cinnamon sugar mixture, we donned our aprons and got to work pulling apart small pieces, rolling them into balls and covering them first with the butter and then dropping them into the cinnamon sugar. I supervised placing the balls into the pan (a bundt pan was recommended but since we don't have one, I just used a round pan).

The kids had, oh, just a little bit of fun with it all.

After we had the pan filled, we were ready to put its tasty goodness into the oven.

The result of baking for 30 minutes? Yummy yum yummyness.

But of course no recipe is fully tested until you sample your work, so we pulled apart some of the sweet-smelling monkey bread and my taste-testers happily gave it a try.

When I asked how it tasted, the only response I could get was, "Mmmmmm," possibly due to their mouths being full and possibly because that really is all there is to say about it. The cinnamon and sugar complements the tasty dough and the whole thing just made my mouth happy.

We had such a good time with the At-Home Baking Kit that I am definitely going to pick up another the next time I'm at one of the retail locations that carries them. After all, with so many more creative recipes to try with it (as well as the traditional pretzels), this is a great idea to pull out for a fun day of baking at any time or to give as a gift to any pretzel-lovers that you know.

With a suggested retail price of $5.99 - $7.99, not only did we have a great time baking, but we ended up with something delicious that didn't require getting dressed, driving to the mall, wrangling two kids through the hoards of people, waiting in line... I'd say the Auntie Anne's At-Home Baking Kit was a clear success all completed in our pajamas in the warmth of our house. Yum!

(Other than the Auntie Anne's At-Home Baking Kit that I was provided, I was not compensated or enticed or to do this review in any way. This review is solely my honest opinion of this product and its tasty results.)