Ingredients

The following ingredients have 36 Servings
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 large egg
  • 12 ounces warm beer (110°-120°F, I use Blue Moon (See Notes))
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 12 ounces bacon (cooked and chopped into bite size pieces)
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 8 ounces shredded Mexican cheese blend (or cheddar cheese)
  • 4 ounces pickled jalapeños
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more for pretzel tops)
  • 2 tablespoons baking soda
  • 2 cups water

Instruction

  • Preheat oven to 450°F.Sprinkle clean counter top with ¼ cup flour. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
  • Whisk egg in a small bowl and set aside.
  • Warm the beer (See Notes), then add to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. *See notes if you do not have a stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast over top of beer, add sugar and stir to combine. Allow yeast to bloom for 5-10 minutes. *When yeast has bloomed, the mixture should smell yeasty and look like the 'head' of a beer poured too quickly.
  • While you wait, add cheeses, bacon and jalapeños to a medium-size mixing bowl, then stir to combine. *May need to use a wooden spoon to get it well mixed.
  • Add flour and salt to stand mixer bowl. Knead on medium-low speed for 3- 5 minutes, until the dough comes together in one ball. If bread is too sticky to come together, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time as needed,. *Dough should be tacky when you pull it out of the mixer, but not sticky.
  • Place dough on floured counter top and knead in flour for a minute or two, until dough is no longer tacky.Form dough into a ball. The ball will be cut into 36 somewhat even pieces. First, cut the ball of dough into fourths. *I use a bench scraper, but a butter knife works too. Roll each piece into a fat log shape, then cut each log into 3 even pieces. Roll each of those pieces into a log shape and cut those into 3 pieces each. When you are done, you should have 36 pieces.
  • Fill 4-cup glass measuring cup with 2 cups of hot water; add baking soda and stir to combine. Place baking sheet, baking soda water and cheese mixture on the counter that you are working on.
  • Working with one at a time, roll each dough piece into a ball and then flatten it into a circle. Add 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture in the center. *I use a tablespoon scooper. Carefully pull sides of dough up and over the cheese to create a package; Pinch the edges closed. Roll the dough into a ball. Be careful to make sure you can not see the cheese through the dough. Tap fingers in flour, pinch any tears closed, and roll again. Set aside and repeat until you have 3 stuffed dough balls. Transfer 3 stuffed dough balls to hot water mixture and allow them to sit while you prepare the next 3. Prepare the next 3 dough balls. Remove dough balls from water with a slotted spoon and place on prepared baking sheet. Place 3 newly prepared balls into the water and prepare 3 more. Repeat until all dough balls are on the cookie sheet.
  • Arrange all pretzel balls on parchment so that none are touching. Brush egg wash onto each one and sprinkle with coarse kosher or sea salt.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the tops are browned.
  • The melted cheese may escape some of your pretzel bombs. That is a beautiful thing! Scoop all that cheesy goodness up onto the plate.Serve and enjoy!