Categories: Appetizers
Ingredients
- Pretzel Dough
- 1-1/2 cups warm water
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil or cooking spray
- 10 cups water + 1 tbsp (separate)
- ⅔ cup baking soda
- 1 egg, beaten
- Sea salt
- Spicy Beer Cheese Dip
- 1-1/2 to 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1/2 cup light-medium beer
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup green onions chopped, extra for garnish
Directions
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To make your pretzel bites:
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Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Stir, then let everything sit for 5 minutes.
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In a separate bowl, mix together your flour and salt.
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Dump your dry ingredients into the bowl of your mixer with the wet ingredients and mix on low-speed until combined.
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Increase the speed to medium until the dough is smooth and pulling away from the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes.
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Remove dough from the bowl and knead on a lightly floured flat surface for an additional minute.
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Grease the inside of a large bowl with vegetable oil or cooking spray, and return the dough to the bowl, turning until the surface is coated with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm, dry place for an hour.
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In a small bowl, whisk together your egg + 1 tbsp water. Set aside (this is your egg wash).
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Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
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Combine your baking soda and 10 cups water in a large pot, and bring it to a rolling boil.
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While your water is heating, take your dough out of the bowl and divide it into 8 equal pieces.
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One at a time, on a lightly floured, flat surface, roll each piece into a long thin rope, about 22 inches. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces.
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Working in batches, drop your pretzel bites into your boiling water and boil them for 30-45 seconds. Use a strainer to remove the bites from the water, drain them, and then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet (make sure they aren’t touching). Repeat until all pretzel bites have been boiled.
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Brush the tops of your pretzel bites with the egg wash and sprinkle everything liberally with sea salt.
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Bake for 12-13 minutes, until pretzel bites are golden brown (Be careful not to over bake, or the bottoms will start to burn).
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Remove from oven and let cool on a baking rack.
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To make the cheese dip:
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While you are waiting for the pretzel bites to cool, make your spicy beer-cheese dip. Combine beer, cheeses, chile powder, cayenne, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a sauce pan or pot over medium-high heat. Melt down the cheese mixture and stir until it is smooth, about 5 minutes. Stir in green onions half way through the cheese melting. Once mixture is smooth and velvety, remove it from the heat and pour it into a serving bowl.
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Enjoy pretzel bites and hot cheese dip together, immediately.