This recipe uses one of maybe my favorite hacks ever! I take deli or bakery pizza dough and turn it into browned-and-crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside pretzel bites that beg to be dipped in a cheesy beer sauce. Serve these at your next tailgate or party and watch them disappear!
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 55 min |
| Active: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 8 to 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound bakery pizza dough
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- Pretzel salt or coarse kosher salt, for sprinkling
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Half a 12-ounce can lager beer (I like LO-Fi Brewing)
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Pinch Miss Brown’s House Seasoning, recipe follows
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Make the soft pretzel bites: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a cooling rack covered with paper towels.
- Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large stockpot. (It may seem like a small amount of water for a large pot, but once you add baking soda it’ll foam up.)
- While the water comes to a boil, place the dough ball on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 4 equal pieces. Roll each portion into a long rope. Cut the ropes into 1-inch pieces.
- When the water is boiling, add the baking soda and sugar. Cook the dough pieces, in batches, for 30 seconds. Drain on the paper towels.
- Whisk together the egg yolk and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Dip the tops of the pretzels in the egg wash and sprinkle with salt. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake until the pretzel bites are nicely browned, 9 to 10 minutes.
- For the beer cheese: Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook until foamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the beer until the mixture is smooth, then add the half-and-half. Simmer until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and House Seasoning. Gradually add the cheese and stir until smooth. Season to taste. Serve the pretzel bites with the beer cheese.
- Stir together the garlic and onion powders, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 207 |
| Total Fat | 7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 28 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Cholesterol | 33 mg |
| Sodium | 3351 mg |
Reviews
My sons and I made these together on National Son’s Day, both are very delicious. The beer we had on hand was Blue Moon and worked well, we added more of the House Seasoning blend and mustard. We have a convection oven so baked them for about 15 minutes @ 425 degrees, turned out perfect. Definitely became a family favorite! ❤️
I found store-bought pretzel bites in the bread section of the grocery store, so this review is only for the beer cheese dip. But OH MY GOSH it is good. I didn’t pre-mix the spices, just shook a generous amount of each straight into the cheese mixture. This recipe is a keeper!
Accidentally added all of the seasoning to the beer cheese as I didn’t read that the recipe only called for a pinch. Came out great only issue is the pretzels stuck to the parchment paper. Will use cooking spray first next time!
Can these be made day before and cooked the next day
Tasty but pretzels were a little doughy (and needed to bake much longer then 10 minutes). Do they need longer boiling or longer baking to make less doughy inside? Not sure since this is my first time making pretzels. Thx.
The cheese sauce was a hit. I did use a bit more half and half and beer to thin it out. Lots of flavor. Would make it again.
Bake the baking powder in a 250 degree oven for one hour first. Makes a big difference!!
Came out delish!
This review is only for the beer cheese as I did not make the pretzels. The dip is delicious! I could not find the LO FI beer in NY grocery stores so I went with Heineken. It states to add a pinch of the seasoning but I had to add almost half of it to the dip. If not it would have tasted bland. Make sure to use a good brand of cheese and not the grocery store brands (ex: Kraft).