smoked gouda beer cheese

Homemade Beer Pretzel Bites Recipe

I think it’s safe to say that regardless of how warm the weather is wherever you are, we are totally rolling into fall.  There are apples and apple recipes everywhere, I’m seeing pumpkins at the Publix and the Teeter, Halloween costumes at Costco and Halloween candy all over the dang Walgreens.

I get it.  Everyone is excited to bust out the boots and sweaters, but let’s not get our cart in front of our horse.  It’s still September and you know what that means? Besides apples, of course.  Oktoberfest officially kicked off over the weekend and that, my friends, is cause for celebration!

I got the party started by kicking off the weekend with some Smoked Gouda Beer Cheese last week, and today I’ve made you some Homemade Beer Pretzel Bites to drown in it.  Of course, you could always put the pretzels on a string and wear them around your neck at the next beer festival.  That would be ok too, and who am I to judge?  They’re the perfect bite size snack and they’re made out of beer!!  That’s a win in my book!

You know what else these little nuggets would be good for?  Well, all the football games this weekend! Take them to the tailgate or have a few friends over to root on your favorite college or NFL teams and serve them up with some of that beer cheese we talked about or some spicy mustard and your friends will be smitten.

Whether y’all are cheering on your favorite team (or teams!) or feel like throwing on your lederhosen this weekend, you should absolutely be swinging around a beer and noshing on some tasty homemade beer pretzel bites.

P. S. They’re small enough to throw at the TV without hurting anything when the refs make those ridiculous calls or the wrong guy catches the ball.

Because you know they will.

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Homemade Beer Pretzel Bites Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups brown ale
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 package dry active yeast
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 5 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 - 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt or pretzel salt

Instructions

1. Combine beer, sugar, salt and heat to just warm - not hot or it will kill your yeast - remove from heat
2. Stir in yeast and let sit 5-7 minutes - until foamy
3. Add butter and beer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook
4. Turn mixer on low and gradually add flour one cup at a time until combined
5. Add vegetable oil to a bowl and turn to coat
6. Transfer the dough to the bowl and turn to coat all sides
7. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour
8. Separate dough into 8 equal pieces
9. Working with one piece at a time, roll out into about 18 inch pieces with your hands and cut into 1 inch pieces
10. Transfer all pieces to a large parchment lined baking sheet
11. In a large pot, combine 9 cups of water and 2/3 cup baking soda and bring to a boil
12. Working in batches, drop the pieces of dough into the boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds, remove from water, and return to baking sheet
13. Preheat oven to 450
14. Combine egg and 1 tablespoon water in a bowl and beat lightly
15. Using a pastry brush, coat the top of each piece of dough with the egg wash
16. Sprinkle salt on top of each piece
17. Bake 12 - 14 minutes or until golden brown

NOTES:

1. I made this dough, divided it in half, and froze the other half.  I thawed the frozen half in the refrigerator and they turned out just fine.
2. Each half batch made about 3 dozen depending how big you make the pieces.