Vanilla pretzels that smell like childhood

Put the soft butter and the sugar into a bowl and beat both with the hand mixer until nice and fluffy. This takes a good one to two minutes, until the mixture is light and creamy. Then pour in the beaten egg and mix it in well.

Now the aroma comes into play! Add the vanilla pod seeds and the flour and mix everything only briefly. Don't worry if the dough still looks crumbly at this stage, that's how it should be.

Knead the crumbs together with your hands into a smooth dough. Shape it into a flat block, wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour. Cold, it is much easier to roll out, and the pretzels keep their shape in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 180 °C fan-assisted. Knead the cold dough briefly, dust the work surface with a little flour and roll the dough out to 5 mm thick. Our tip: place two strips or rolling pins on either side of the dough. This way the dough is the same thickness everywhere and all the pretzels are ready at the same time.

Now it gets pretty! Cut out the pretzels as close together as possible. Use the ejector on the cookie cutter to press each pretzel out easily, without it breaking. Place them on a tray lined with baking paper. Knead the dough scraps together again and keep cutting until nothing is left.

Bake the vanilla pretzels for 10 to 12 minutes. They should be firm but still nicely light in colour. While they are in the oven, stir icing sugar and water with the whisk to a runny icing. It is perfect when it coats the back of a spoon evenly.

This is the most important moment! Let the pretzels cool only very briefly after baking. While they are still lukewarm, dip them upside down into the icing one after another, let them drip briefly and place them on a Cake rack.

Let the vanilla pretzels dry completely on the Cake rack. Place baking paper under the rack to catch the drips, so your kitchen stays clean. As soon as the icing is set, you may taste them!