Beer Pretzels with Chipotle Queso

• Vegetarian

• Refrigerated

  • 1 Egg

• Canned Goods

  • 1 Chipotle chili pepper in adobo

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 package Active dry yeast
  • 2/3 cups Baking soda
  • 2 tbsp Brown sugar, light
  • 4 9/16 cups Flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1 Sea salt or pretzel salt, Coarse

• Dairy

  • 1/2 cup Butter, unsalted
  • 1 tbsp Butter
  • 12 oz Cheddar cheese, sharp
  • 4 oz Cream cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups Whole milk

• Beer, Wine & Liquor

  • 1 1/2 cups Beer

• Liquids

  • 1/2 cup Water

Found on miriinthevillage.com

Ingredients

• • 1/2 cup warm water
• • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• • 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• • 1 1/2 cups beer (any flavor)
• • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• • 2/3 cups baking soda, for boiling the pretzels
• • 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• • coarse sea salt or pretzel salt (optional)
• • 1 tablespoon butter
• • 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• • 12 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• • 1 chipotle chili pepper in adobo, finely minced

Directions

• Combine the water, brown sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Add the beer, melted butter, salt and all-purpose flour to the mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour until it feels right.
• Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands, then place in a large bowl coated with oil.
• Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size (about 1 hour).
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope (as thin as possible). Make the rope into a pretzel she by twisting the two ends around each other, then pressing the ends slightly apart in the middle of the rope.
• Slowly add the baking soda to the boiling water. This is important, because the water will fizz and spit, and you dont want it to get everywhere.
• Boil the pretzels in the water solution, 1-2 at a time for 30 seconds, flipping them on both sides.
• Remove with a large flat slotted spatula. Place 4 pretzels on each baking sheet, brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with sea salt (or not - I think next time I will not add salt at all.
• Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until pretzels are golden brown.
• Add the butter to a large skillet to melt. Add the cream cheese and milk.
• Cook over medium heat until the sauce is smooth and the cream cheese has melted.
• In a bowl, toss together the shredded cheddar with the flour.
• Little by little, add the cheddar to the warm milk, whisking until the sauce is smooth.
• Stir in the chipotle peppers.
• Keep the queso warm over warm heat. Serve along side the warm pretzels for dipping.