Victory Ale Pretzel Bites with Cheese Sauce
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.
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