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Serve up these savory, salty Pretzel Dogs with Beer Cheese Dip at your next gathering, or make them as a fun snack to eat while watching your favorite sports team on tv!
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Pretzel Dogs with Beer Cheese Dip were a very frequently requested recipe in my house. So much so that I put a ban on them for a while. I recently realized that ban has now turned into almost two years, so I thought it was time to surprise my husband with a much needed end of the Pretzel Dog ban!
This would be a perfect appetizer for a party or a perfect treat to eat while watching your favorite sports game on tv. We also make them in our house for a fun Friday night dinner and snack on them while watching movies.
Preparation Tips for Making Pretzel Dogs with Beer Cheese Dip
Making homemade pretzels may sound a little intimidating, but they're actually super simple and quick! I use pre-made pizza dough that I find in my local grocery story bakery refrigerated section. Make sure to leave out your dough about an hour before you start. You need to let the dough come to room temperature and let it rise a little. This will make it much easier to work with.
When cutting off sections of the dough to wrap around the dogs, just remember it doesn't have to be perfect. I just slice off a section a little shorter than the width of the sausage, and just stretch it out to wrap around. Below is a picture of what they will look like.
The pre-boiling step with baking soda also may sound a little strange, but don't skip this step! This is what gives them their chewy, yummy, pretzel texture. Below is what they will look like after boiling. In this picture, these have been boiled and brushed with egg wash, and topped with sea salt. I used a mixture of regular coarse sea salt, and a specialty salt my husband got me for Christmas. The salt on the right side is FalkSalt Crystal Flakes with a Smoke flavor, and it gave the pretzels a unique flavor and crunch. Amazon does carry the salt and you can buy it here.
Brushing the dough with egg wash before baking is what gives them their shiny, toasty brown color. Don't skip this step either!
For the beer cheese dip, if you don't want to use beer, you can use milk instead. The alcohol in the beer does cook away, and it leaves an extra depth of flavor that you won't get from using all milk. You can use any type of beer that you like, just make sure you like the flavor of the beer to begin with.
Pretzel Dogs with Beer Cheese Dip
Ingredients
For Beer Cheese Dip
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups beer
- 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
For Pretzel Dogs
- 1 bag pizza dough pre-made in bakery section
- 1 package Lil Smokies sausages
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- 1 egg
- sea salt coarse
Instructions
For Beer Cheese Dip
- Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and cook for 2-3 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. Slowly add in beer, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Add shredded cheese, mustard and salt and pepper. If cheese is too thick, you can add more beer to thin it out.
For Pretzel Dogs
- Let dough sit out for about an hour so it can come to room temperature and rise a little.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add two Tablespoons of baking soda.
- Cut off small pieces of the dough a little less than the width of the sausage, and about 2 inches long. Stretch it out longer, and wrap around the sausage. Pinch the end of the dough into the dough that is already on the sausage. Continue until all sausages are wrapped. If there is leftover dough, I like to cut it into small pieces to make plain pretzel nuggets.
- Spray a sheet pan with cooking spray.
- Preheat oven to 425° F.
- Drop pretzel dogs into boiling water, letting them cook for about 30 seconds. They will rise to the top when they are ready. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on the prepared sheet pan.
- Beat one egg in a small bowl and add a couple teaspoons of water.
- After all pretzel dogs have been boiled, brush with the egg wash and sprinkle sea salt on top.
- Bake for about 8-12 minutes. They are done when they are a golden brown color.
Nutrition
Cooking Tools Used
Calphalon Classic Ceramic Nonstick Sauce Pan with Cover, 2.5 quart, Grey/White
OXO Good Grips Better Silicone Whisk, 9-Inch, Red
Cuisinart Advantage Color Collection 12-Piece Knife Set, Multicolor
Calphalon Classic Stainless Steel Cookware, Dutch Oven, 5-quart
Cuisinart CTG-00-3MS Set of 3 Fine Mesh Stainless Steel Strainers
Gotham Steel Nonstick Copper Cookie Sheet and Jelly Roll Baking Pan 12" x 17" (I actually don't have this yet, but it's my next purchase, since I LOVE all of the copper products I have already. They are completely non-stick and it's no joke! Gotham Steel and Red Copper are my go to brands.)
M. Ellithorpe
I have had these before and they were delicious. I'm not sure if they were boiled as you suggested but then again, I don't cook, I just eat.
Thanks for sharing your yummy food with us.