This week in honor of Oktoberfest, I decided to make homemade soft pretzels with honey mustard and beer cheese.  And I have to say these pretzels are even better than Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.  And I usually don’t make claims like that but I made these pretzels for my family and the first thing my sister in law said was “Oh my god,Aimee.  These are even better than Auntie Anne’s.  These are incredible!”  And I can definitely concur with that sentiment.  Because of the crazy things going on in the world right now with Coronavirus, Oktoberfest this year will likely be canceled.   If you are reading this in the future, this was written in 2020 when we had an outbreak of coronavirus.  Everything is getting canceled basically.   But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have all the classic Oktoberfest dishes.  One of which being soft pretzels but you also need beer cheese.  I am going to show you how to make that today, along with my favorite pretzel dipping sauce.  Honey Mustard.  They are both so easy you won’t even believe it.

Beer Cheese

    Beer cheese is actually super simple to make and it’s a recipe that I really think is cool because it involves so much customization.  A lot of times in cooking you have a situation where you add this, this and this and you get this and that is the only way to make it.  But then you have those recipes that allow you to customize the recipe to your preferences.  I like cheddar in my beer cheese.  But you may not like cheddar.  Maybe you want to use gruyere.  That is totally up to you here.  There are just a few things to keep in mind to make this recipe as great as it can be.

Grating The Cheese Vs. Buying Pre Grated Cheese

    There are 2 ways that you can go about this.  You can grate your own cheese or you can buy pre grated.  The thing about the pre grated stuff is that it comes coated in a powder that makes it so the cheese won’t clump together.  Which is great but it also makes the cheese harder to melt.  It melts but you won’t get the same creamy texture to the sauce that you would get if you grated your own.  It is an extra step and I won’t lie, it’s a pain in the neck but it is well worth it. I use a box grater to grate my cheese. This particular one has a box to catch overhang and also has lots of other attachments to chop and grate other foods.

Liquid to solid Ratio

        The big thing about this sauce to remember is the liquid to solid ratio.  The liquid being the beer and the milk.  And the solid being the cheese.  If you would like a thicker cheese,  go with less liquid and more solid.  If you want it thinner, go with more liquid and less solid. And again that is up to you.  And also keep in mind that the beer you use plays a role.  I used Guinness because I wanted a good, strong, dark beer.  However, I used a whole beer which was 11.9 oz.  That made the sauce a tad bit too thin and a bit too overpowering of beer.  Not much but just a little.  So in retrospect I loved how the cheddar and the Guinness complimented each other so I would stay with that combo but I would dial the beer back to 8 oz. 

How To Form The Soft Pretzel

      Forming soft pretzels is definitely an art form but I promise it isn’t as hard as they make it look watching the guy do it at the window of Auntie Anne’s.  I am no where near that caliber yet. But it just takes practice.  Let me show you how it’s done.  

1. First, rip off a palm sized piece of dough from the original ball of dough and roll out a 30 inch long snake.

2.  Form the snake into a horse shoe with the ends facing you.

3.  Cross the 2 ends over 2 times.

4. Fold the 2 ends up and attach them to the bottom of the pretzel.

If you would like a video of how it’s done you can find it down below or click here.

Can I Make any of These Things in Advance?

    So, the pretzels really need to be made fresh the day of,  but the 2 dips can be made the night before.  The beer cheese will need to be heated back up but the honey mustard is served cold.

     I hope you all try this recipe.  I know you’ll love it.  It’s so surprisingly easy if you follow the tips and tricks I outlined here.  If I missed anything it will be in the video down below.  I hope you all have an amazing Octoberfest.  Stay safe and I’ll see you next time.  Follow me on facebook, twitter, instagram, Youtube and snapchat for more delicious recipes.

Homemade Pretzels with Honey Mustard and Beer Cheese

Yield: 7-8 Pretzels depending on size

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 37 minutes 35 seconds

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 3 hours 37 minutes 35 seconds

Warm and buttery soft pretzels with tangy homemade honey mustard and a rich, creamy and dark beer cheese.

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Ingredients

Soft Pretzels

• 1 Cup of Warm Water (100-110•F)
• 1 Packet of Yeast
• 3 1/2 Cups of Flour 
• 1 Tbsp of Salt
• 2 Tbsp of Granulated Sugar (divided)
• 1/4 of a Cups of Melted Unsalted Butter
• 2/3 of a Cup of Baking Soda
• 1 Tbsp of Salted Butter
• 10 Cups of Water

Honey Mustard

• 1/2 of a Cup of Mayonnaise
• 3 Tbsp of Honey
• 3 Tbsp of Yellow Mustard
• 2 Tbsp of Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 of a Tsp of Salt
• 1/4 of a Tsp of black pepper
• 1/4 Tsp of Garlic Powder
• 1/4 of a Cup of Paprika

Beer Cheese

• 3 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter
• 3 Tbsp of All Purpose Flour
• 1  Cup of Milk
• 8 oz of Guinness or Beer of Your Choice
• 3 1/2 Cups of Fresh Grated Cheddar (White or Yellow)
• 1 Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 Tbsp of Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 of a Tsp of Salt
• 1/4 of a Tsp of Pepper

Instructions

Pretzels

1. Grate the cheese for the beer cheese sauce and sift together the dry ingrediants: 1 Tbsp of salt, 1 Tbsp of granulated sugar and 3 1/2 Cups of all purpose flour for the pretzels. As well as melt the 1/4 of a cup of unsalted butter for the pretzels.
2. Add the 1 cup of warm water to a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attatchent along with 1 tbsp of granulated sugar and the packet of yeast. Leave for 5-10 minutes to activate.
3. Once the yeast has activated start the mixer on medium/low speed and add in the dry ingrediants and melted butter. Once the dough comes together into a ball, knead for another 4-5 minutes or until you get a smooth ball.
4. Add a tbsp of vegitable oil to a large bowl and add the dough ball to the bowl and coat the whole ball with the oil. Leave to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 450•. and get a baking sheet prepared lined with some parchment paper.
6. Once the dough has risen, place it onto a clean, wide surface. I used my kitchen table.
7. Rip off a ball of dough from the larger ball and roll it out into approximately a 30 inch snake.
8. Form the snake into a horse shoe shape with the ends facing you. Overlap one end over the other and then again. Lastly, take the ends and fold them down and pinch them to the bottem of the pretzel.
9. Bring a pot of 10 cups of water and 2/3 of a cup of baking soda to a boil over medium heat. Boil each pretzel for 30 seconds. Take them out and lay them o the baking sheet. When they cool you can reform them if they need it. Then brush them with egg wash and sprinkle with pretzel salt.
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and in the meantime melt 1 tbsp of salted butter.
11. While the pretzels are still warm brush them with some the melted butter. Serve.
12. Store leftover in an airtight container at room temperture for up to 3 days.

Honey Mustard

1. Add the mayo, honey, dijon mustard, yellow mustard, salt and pepper, paprika and garlic powder in a medium size bowl. Mix until all combined.
2. Refridgerate until ready to serve.

Beer Cheese

1. Heat a large saucepot under medium low heat.
2. Melt the butter and add in the flour. Stir together with a whisk for about 30 seconds to get rid of the raw flour flavor.
3. Add in the milk and heat to a simmer and until slightly thickened.
4. Add in the beer and bring back to a simmer.
5. Add in the cheese, one handfull at a time and whisk until completely melted before you add more.
6. Add in the rest of the ingrediants and cook for about 5 more minutes. Then shut off the heat. Let cool.

Products That I Used

      If you have any questions or comments please don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below, message me on instagram, facebook or leave me an email. 

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