Here at weblogbeers we’re not big on extra work, but in the face of a pandemic, when we can’t visit our local pub, a baseball game or even go to a movie to get a soft pretzel and some beer cheese—I guess the best we can do is make our own with the recipe below!
In the spirit of making this easier, you could just make the beer cheese and find some really good frozen pretzels to heat up or microwave. Either way, stay home, drink beer, eat some pretzels and beer cheese. The recipe below calls for Guinness which will give your beer cheese a smoother maltier beer taste, If you want a stronger beer flavor try an IPA.
Prost! and Bon Appétit
Beer Soft Pretzels with Guinness Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
For the Pretzels:
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 envelope (2 ¼ teaspoons) rapid rise yeast
- 1 cup Guinness beer
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 10 cups water
- ¼ cup baking soda
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
For the Cheese Sauce:
- 2 ½ cups (300g) shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
- ½ cup (4oz) Guinness beer
Instructions
Make the pretzels:
-
Add the flour, sugar and yeast to a stand mixer. Mix until just combined. Heat the beer to 120°F (always defer to the liquid temperature listed on the package of yeast, regardless of what the recipe says. Your yeast package says 105°F? Heat the liquid to that temperature) add the beer to the stand mixer, mixing until all the flour has been moistened.
-
Add the salt and oil, beat until the dough comes together and gathers around the blade. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise until doubled in size.
-
Add the dough to a lightly floured surface, cut into 8 equal sized portions.
-
Roll each portion into an 8-inch log, shape into a pretzel, add to a baking sheet.
-
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
-
Add the water to a large pot, bring to a boil. Stir in the baking soda.
-
A few at a time carefully add the pretzels to the boiling water for 30 seconds, place back onto the baking sheet.
-
Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt.
-
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until dark golden brown.
Make the cheese sauce:
-
Add all ingredients to a blender, blend until smooth.
-
Add to a saucepan over medium heat, heat to the desired temperature.
-
Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use, heat to serve. Can be made up to 3 days in advance.
-
Serve the pretzels with the cheese sauce.
This post gets 5 beer bobs because it is delicious!