Pecan and Butter Pretzel Coffee Cake

Ingredients

 * ½ lb butter room temperature
 * 1 lb chilled butter or 4 more sticks chilled butter
 * 1 cup sugar
 * 2 whole eggs
 * 2 cups of warm milk
 * ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
 * ½ tsp ground cardamon
 * ½ tsp salt
 * 7 cups of flour
 * 2 packs dry yeast
 * ½ cup warm water
 * 1 tsp sugar

Directions

 * 1) In cup, mix yeast, ½ cup warm water and 1 tsp sugar and let yeast develop.
 * 2) Cream ½ lb butter or 2 sticks butter, sugar, eggs in mixing bowl.
 * 3) Add warm milk and yeast mixture and beat well.
 * 4) Add 6 cups of flour along with the salt, nutmeg and cardamon till you have a soft dough. If it is too sticky, add the last cup of flour.
 * 5) Knead for 5 minutes.
 * 6) Cover and put in a warm place till double in size.
 * 7) Divide dough into 4 sections. One for each pretzel.
 * 8) Take one section of dough and divide it into 3 equal strips.
 * 9) On floured surface stretch each strip of dough lengthwise to about 15 inches. Use fingers to do so.
 * 10) Take one stick or ¼ lb chilled butter and cut stick into 8 or 10 long narrow slivers of cold butter.
 * 11) Lay these slivers of butter on top of each of the three dough strips, about 3 slivers to a strip.
 * 12) Use up all the butter in the stick.
 * 13) Using fingers, enclose the slivers of butter by wrapping the dough over the slivers. The object is to seal the butter in the strips.
 * 14) Now braid the 3 strips with the butter enclosed. Do it gently and keep it loose.
 * 15) Put the braided pretzel into a circle in an ungreased pan.
 * 16) Sprinkle over the top of pretzel at least ¼ of a cup of coarse chopped pecans.
 * 17) Bake at 350°F oven for 30 – 35 minutes or until light brown. Do not let the pecans burn.
 * 18) While pretzel is still warm, drizzle over almond sugar icing.