Victory Ale Pretzel Bites

I have been a football fan since my early teenage years.  I was a Broncos fan when everyone around me were Dallas Cowboy fans.  I was quite pleased to be surrounded by Broncos fans when I moved to Wyoming.  I have to say I am especially pleased to be a Broncos fan with Tim Tebow on the team!

Even though my team didn't make it to the Super Bowl, I will still be watching and chowing down on some mighty fine food!  Any excuse to make a bunch of appetizers is good in my book.  Today I'm sharing Pretzel Bites that I made with the Victory Headwaters Pale Ale and a super easy cheese sauce.

Victory's Headwaters Pale Ale is described as firmly crisp and aromatically arousing pale ale integrates a softly supportive malt base with underlies streams of herbal hop complexity. 

I was pleased at how well the flavors of the ale came through in the finished pretzels.  I thought pretzel bites were well suited to Super Bowl snacking and I know that you and all of the guys at your Super Bowl bash will love them!

 

Victory Ale Pretzel Bites with Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

for pretzel bites:

¼ cup warm water

1 tablespoon yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons melted butter, cooled slightly

1 cup Victory Beer

1 teaspoon sea salt

3 ¾ - 4 cups all purpose flour

3 quarts of water

¾ cup baking soda

1 egg, beaten

coarse salt for garnish

for cheese sauce:

8 oz Velveeta

2 tablespoons Victory Beer

Cooking Directions:

In a large bowl, add warm water and stir in yeast and sugar.  Let stand 5 minutes or until yeast starts to bubble.  Stir in beer, olive oil, and melted butter.

Stir in 1 cup of flour, add salt and continue adding flour 1 cup at a time.  When dough comes together and pulls away from bowl, pour onto a floured surface.  Knead dough for 3 to 5 minutes, adding flour as needed.  Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a flour sack towel.  Allow to double in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Knead dough to remove any air bubbles.  Divide dough into 8 pieces.  Roll each piece into a rope about 1 inch in diameter.  If pieces are too hard to handle, just divide them again. Cut each rope into 1 inch pieces.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Bring 3 quarts of water to boil with baking soda.

Drop about 12 dough pieces at a time into boiling water and cook about 30 seconds.  Remove with a slotted spoon onto a greased or lined baking sheet.

Brush dough pieces with egg and sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until pretzel bites are golden brown.

Meanwhile prepare the cheese sauce.

Cut Velveeta into small chunks and place in a microwave safe bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons beer and cook in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth.

Enjoy!

Miss