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You guys!!! Happy first day of Fall! ??
I know I’ve probably talked your ear off about the start of fall this week, but I am just so excited!
It’s finally my very favorite time of the year!
OK, with the exception of Christmas, but weather-wise this is my favorite time. So basically, the next three months are MY months. I love September, October, November, and December. UGH. Sorry, I’m being totally beyond annoying right now.
I’ll stop…
WATCH THE HOW-TO VIDEO:
Oh but wait! I have something VERY fun and exciting to share! Because it’s the first day of fall, and because I love you guys all so very much, and because I really wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who supported and voted for me in the recent Bloglovin Awards, I’m hosting an autumn-themed GIVEAWAY!
Yes, a giveaway, and it’s a really good one! My friends at Staub offered to send three of you my very favorite Staub Pumpkin Cocotte. I LOVE this pot and ok, I have totally been using it since the start of September. Sorry, not sorry…
Here are the details, this is an Instagram only giveaway, so head on over to the HBH Instagram for all the details AND watch a brand new video for this Pumpkin Spice Latte. Hehe! You see, so many fun things!! Now do you understand why I am so excited for today? It’s the first day of fall, major giveaways are happening, a new pumpkin spice latte video is up, AND… we are talking about cheesy soft pretzels right here, right now.
I mean, yes please! 🙂
Ok ok, so maybe we should ACTUALLY talk about these cheesy soft pretzels, yes let’s do that!
Oh, how I love soft pretzels…
…one: hot buttered rum cinnamon sugar stuffed soft pretzels
…two: peanut butter cup soft pretzel ice cream sandwiches
…three: warm chocolate chip cookie dough stuffed soft pretzels (legit, these are the BEST thing ever)
…four: spinach, artichoke + bacon stuffed soft pretzels
Ahh, yeah. I may be slightly obsessed with soft pretzels, apparently stuffed soft pretzels in particular. Whatever, they are just so good! Pretty sure I get my love of buttery soft pretzels from mom. She loves them too, but then are you surprised?
What’s not to love about salty, buttery carbs? Too good!
Today though, I made us something that’s one, probably totally expected out of me (hello carb and cheese freak here), two, completely addicting, and three, the bestest autumn appetizer/snack there ever was!
Pumpkin Beer Pretzels with Chipotle Queso
Um, YES… that’s right, soft buttery pretzels dipped in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce. We are so going there today, and it is going to be everything!
SIDE NOTE: after all, it is game day, so these pretzels are totally worth every calorie and every carb. Just make sure to be an active fan.
If you’ve never made soft pretzels before, please don’t be intimidated. I promise they’re actually pretty simple and easy to make, and the dough is very forgiving. The trickiest part is boiling the pretzels, but it’s really not a huge deal. So please, don’t fear them. You really have to give them a try – soft pretzels are one of my favorites!
Everything starts with the pretzel dough, and the secret here is the pumpkin beer, it adds SO much flavor. Personally, I always think of beer and pretzels together since that’s kind of my dad’s thing when watching football, beer, and those hard sourdough pretzels. So I just combined the flavors and made one seriously delicious soft pretzel. Honestly, these are so good. Soft, doughy, buttery, and with the slightest hints of beer and autumn.
Then just add that chipotle cheddar queso for dipping?
PERFECTION.
Who’s ready for Cheesy Pretzel Thursday? Cool, me too! First up though… I’m off to read all of your comments on what your favorite things about fall are on Instagram!
Pumpkin Beer Pretzels with Chipotle Queso.
Servings: 8 Pretzels
Calories Per Serving: 574 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 cup pumpkin beer or any beer you love
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter melted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup baking soda for boiling the pretzels
- 1 egg beaten, for brushing before baking
- coarse sea salt or pretzel salt
Chipotle Queso
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 chipotle peppers adobo finely minced
Instructions
- 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, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands. Coat a large bowl with canola oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size. This will take 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. To shape into pretzels, take the right side and cross over to the left. Cross right to left again and flip up. Slowly add the baking soda to the boiling water. Boil the pretzels in the water solution, 1-2 at a time for 30 seconds, splashing the tops with the warmed water using a spoon. Remove with a large flat slotted spatula or a spider. Place 4 pretzels on each baking sheet, brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with sea salt. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until pretzels are golden brown.
- Meanwhile, make the queso. 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. EAT!
Hope you guys have a great first day of fall! 🙂
If you make this Pumpkin Beer Pretzels with Chipotle Queso be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
This post was originally published on September 22, 2016
Hi there, I’d like to make these for a friend this Sunday. We are social distancing in her backyard and she lives a little bit away. Will the cheese sauce keep on the way there?
Hey Melissa,
Yes totally fine, just heat it at your friend’s house. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Question—to make these a little bit ahead of time, would you recommend forming the pretzels and refrigerating until ready to boil and bake? Just trying to prepare ahead of time, if possible! They look delicious!!
Hey Jess,
Yes that would be a great idea! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Yum!!
If I wanted to not have the pumpkin part (and just the plain pretzel recipe) would it be the same if I take out the pumpkin beer? Or do I need to add something?
Also, I want to make the pretzels into bite size pretzels so it’s a quick bite appetizer. Would that affect the amount of time I put them in the oven?
Any help and ideas would be great! I’m excited to try your recipe!
Kirsten
Hey Kirsten,
You could use another beer that you enjoy. I have not tested making these into bite size pretzels but I would recommend reducing your cook time, just be sure to keep an eye on them! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This was my first time making homemade pretzels. This recipe was so easy to follow and the results were fantastic! I made them for my family’s Oktoberfest celebration and they were a huge hit. Definitely make the cheese sauce!
I am so happy to hear that, Jill! Thank you for trying this! xTieghan
I made this a few days ago and omg they were delicious!! The queso was awesome as well. I have a question though… My dough was super sticky, even after adding additional flour a few times! Does it matter what the temp of the beer is? Mine was cooled from the fridge.
Hey Liz,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, it does help to use room temp beer! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Delicious BUT the recipe does not say to spray or line the baking sheet. Admittedly, I didn’t think to do it on my own so half my pretzels were glued to the sheet pan. Would recommend adding that to the recipe instructions in hopes that another hasty baker doesn’t miss that key step. Oh well, four pretzels for me and four pretzels to share. Could be worse! Oh and they really did turn out tasty!
I am really glad this turned out so well for you, Kat! Thank you for trying these! xTieghan
Wow wow wow! These are insane! So much fun to make and they turned out perfect!!
Thank you Ashley! xTieghan
Hi! I am making these for the first time tomorrow for football Sunday!! Can the beer be cold or does it need to be room temperature? Thank you!
Hey Lauren,
Room temperature beer works best. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These turned out Awesome!! I also made the butter chicken meatballs that turned out amazing. This is new favorite recipe site!
Thank you Shannon! I hope you continue to enjoy my recipes! xTieghan
Hi!
I am so excited to try this!
I have two questions:
Do you know if I can make this ahead of time and store in Tupperware?
Also, best way to reheat? Thank you!!
Hey Megan,
I would recommend serving the pretzels fresh, but you could certainly make the queso ahead of time and just reheat on the stove top. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Love this! Tip for those looking to take to the next level: instead of baking soda try using food grade lye (can get on amazon in US). Will give you that amazing authentic German pretzel crust! Before adding toppings and baking, dip shaped pretzels (using clean rubber kitchen gloves!) into 1:20 lye to cool water ratio (I usually do 5 cups water, 1/4 cup lye) in large Pyrex or plastic bowl for about 10-15 seconds before transferring to silpat or parchment paper and adding toppings prior to baking. NOTE: Need to be very careful not to touch your skin/eyes as lye is very alkaline, and keep it away from anything aluminum, but its so worth it! Totally safe to eat pretzels once cooked as the lye cooks off in the oven within first few minutes. This is how they make them in Bavaria and I’ve been doing it for years since I lived there.
Thank you for sharing! I have not tried this, but I would love to!! xTieghan
How can I still get the pumpkin flavor without using pumpkin beer?
Hey Jessalyn,
I would use a sparkling cider in place of the beer. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi! What can I replace the beer with?! Looks so yummy!
Hey Rebeccah,
You can use sparkling cider in place of the beer. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Please don’t hate me, but if I use regular beer instead of pumpkin, will I get regular pretzels or do I need to sub something else. I’ve been searching for a killer homemade pretzel recipe & I think this is it, but I’m the only person in my family that eats all things pumpkin.
Hey Lisa,
LOL you can use whatever beer you enjoy:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
What can you sub for beer
Hey Nida,
You can sub sparkling cider for the beer. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan