Happy Super Bowl Sunday everyone! In case you haven’t gotten your snacks ready yet I have a delicious recipe for pretzel bites with a creamy, smooth beer cheese dip. Most pretzel bite recipes I’ve found serve 10-12 which is just a lot of pretzel bites when you are a single gal or not going to a huge party. Since I love pretzel bites so much I wanted to create a small batch recipe that you could make for sharing with just one other person or make for yourself and save the rest for the second half. These pretzel bites are crunchy and salty on the outside and perfectly soft on the inside.
I seriously think this beer cheese dip is one of the best things I’ve ever made. I had an idea and decided to give it a try and it worked so well! Sometimes with cheese sauce it can be kind of gritty and the cheese doesn’t always melt into a super smooth sauce. I decided to try warming up the milk before adding it to the melted butter and flour. This made the sauce so much smoother and is a trick I’m going to use for any roux in the future. Plus, I added some American cheese slices since processed cheese melts really well and helps make the sauce nice and thick. Most recipes use Velveeta which comes in a huge block. The individually wrapped Kraft singles were perfect for this recipe and aren’t super wasteful as I can save them for a grilled cheese. So, enjoy the game and more importantly enjoy some delicious apps!
Small Batch Pretzel Bites with Beer Cheese Dip
Ingredients
Pretzel Bites
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp yeast
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1 egg + 1 Tbsp water
- sea salt for sprinkling on top
Beer Cheese Dip
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup beer brown ale works best
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 slices Amercian cheese
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Pretzel Bites Instructions
- Heat milk for 30 seconds in the microwave. You want between 100-110 F to not kill the yeast. Add milk to the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the honey and yeast. Stir to combine then let sit for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
- Add the melted butter, flour and salt to the bowl. Use the dough hook to combine the dough and knead for 3 minutes. The dough should form a ball and no longer stick to the sides of the bowl at all.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a ball. Add the olive oil to the boil so that the sides are coated to just above where the call of dough will sit. Roll the dough around in the oil so that all the side are coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 45 minutes.
- With 10 minutes left in the rising time pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the 4 cups of water in a medium pan and bring to a gentle boil. Then add the baking soda so that it dissolves.
- Roll out the dough onto a clean surface. You don't need to use any flour since the dough is coated in oil. The flour will actually cause the dough to split some. Roll so that it is about 1-inch thick and 24-inches long. Cut into 1.5-inch long pieces. Place half the pieces of dough into the boiling water and cook for 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to remove and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the second batch.
- Make an egg-wash by whisking the egg with 1 Tbs water. Brush the pretzel bites with the egg-wash and then sprinkle with sea salt. Make sure that there isn't extra egg-wash at the bottom of the pretzel bites. You can use a paper towel to soak up any extra.
- Bake at 450 degrees for 12-13 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and enjoy while warm.
Beer Cheese Dip
- White the dough is rising you can make the beer cheese dip so that it's all ready once the pretzel bites come out of the oven.
- Place a small pan over medium heat. Melt the butter and then add the 1 Tbsp flour. Whisk until the flour is all absorbed and cooked for about 1 minutes.
- Warm the milk for 30 seconds in the microwave. Slowly add in the milk whisking with each addition so that the sauce is nice and smooth. Continue to cook for 2 minutes so that the sauce starts to thicken.
- Add the beer, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and salt. Stir until combined. Add the cheddar cheese and stir until completely melted. Cut the slices of American cheese into fourths one way and then again into fourths the other way. Add to the cheese sauce and stir until fully melted. Serve warm alongside pretzel bites.
