Soft Beer Pretzels with Beer Cheese Dip

These soft beer pretzels with beer cheese dip are soft and fluffy pretzels with a warm delicious cheesy dip. This perfect for tailgating, game day, parties or just a mid night snack.

Beer and cheese make a great pair. In fact, they are a much better match than most might think. Beer has a highly complex taste and refreshing carbonation. Especially the carbonation works very well with cheese, as it cuts through the denseness and richness of most cheeses.

Classic German beer styles really shine here; a bright, hoppy pilsner or a dark and malty Dunkel Weizen are great matches. The lagers of Bavaria may be your very best bet when looking for a match for your pretzel.

Soft Beer Pretzels

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of beer (12 ounces)
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• 4½ cups ounces all-purpose flour
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cups baking soda
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• kosher salt for topping
• vegetable oil for bowl

Directions:

1. Warm the beer to 110-115 degrees.
2. In a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, add the warm beer, sugar, kosher salt, then sprinkle the yeast on top. Let the mixture sit for about five minutes, or until it starts to get foamy.
3. Add the butter and the flour. Turn the mixer to low to medium speed and mix until dough comes together.
4. Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead for 4-5 minutes. Dough should be smooth and clinging to the dough hook.
5. In a clean bowl, add enough oil to coat the inside of the bowl and quickly form the dough into a ball and place in the bowl, turning once to coat the dough in oil.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel, then allow to rise for about 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size.
7. Preheat oven to 425 & line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
8. In a large pot, bring 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a boil.
9. Turn the dough onto a lightly oiled surface and divide into 8 pieces. Flatten each piece into a rectangle, then roll into a cigar shape. Bring the two ends of the rope up to form a “U” shape. Twist the two end pieces around each other once, then cross the end pieces back down to the bottom of the “U” to complete the pretzel shape.
10. Add them 2 at a time to the pot of boiling water, allow them to boil for 30 seconds. Then remove from the water with a large spatula and place on the baking sheets.
11. Brush each pretzel with the egg mixture and sprinkle with kosher salt.
12. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until browned.

I divided my dough into 8 pieces, as if you’re cutting a cake or a pizza, because that was easier for the lack of country space. For someone who had very little counter space, my pretzels looked like a 5 year old made them. However, they came out perfectly cooked and still tasted fine. 

This was the first time that I was making pretzels from scratch and I was really excited that they turned out so perfect. The pretzels had a fresh but soft crunch outside with a warm and soft inside and pairs well with a cheesy delicious dip!

Beer Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ¾ cup grated white cheddar
• ¾ cup grated mozzarella, divided
• ¼ cup beer
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• a few dashes hot sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. You can use a medium bowl, I used the mixer bowl. Stir soften cream cheese until it’s smooth. Then add the grated white cheddar cheese and ½ cup of the grated mozzarella cheese, stir them all together.
3. Add the garlic powder & beer, stir until completely mixed.
4. Pour into a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of mozzarella on top.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes or until melted and top is golden.
6. You can serve as is, but I got a French loaf of bread, digged out the center and poured it into that to make a bread bowl.

This recipe is safe for all ages. Yes it has alcohol, no you can’t get drunk off of it. generally a cook/chef will add the beer in then heat the dip to cook off the alcohol, but leave the flavour.

But let me remind you, Drink Responsibly & Enjoy Heineken USA brands responsibly.