Soft Beer Pretzel Nuggets

Name: Soft Beer Pretzel Nuggets
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 8 dozen pretzel nuggets.
Ingredients: 1 bottle (12 ounces) amber beer or nonalcoholic beer; 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1-1/2 teaspoons salt; 4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 10 cups water; 2/3 cup baking soda; TOPPING:; 1 large egg yolk; 1 tablespoon water; Coarse salt, optional

What goes together better than beer and pretzels? Not much that I can think of. That’s why I put them together into one recipe. I’m always looking for new ways to combine fun flavors. I love the way this recipe turned out! —Alyssa Wilhite, Whitehouse, Texas

Ingredients

1 bottle (12 ounces) amber beer or nonalcoholic beer
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
TOPPING:
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
Coarse salt, optional

Directions

In a small saucepan, heat beer to 110°-115°; remove from heat. Stir in yeast until dissolved. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, salt, yeast mixture and 3 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425°. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide and shape into eight balls. Roll each into a 12-in. rope. Cut each rope into 1-in. pieces.
In a Dutch oven, bring 10 cups water and baking soda to a boil. Drop nuggets, 12 at a time, into boiling water. Cook for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain well on paper towels.
Place on greased baking sheets. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water; brush over pretzels. Sprinkle with coarse salt if desired. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to a wire rack to cool.
Freeze option: Freeze cooled pretzel nuggets in airtight containers. To use, thaw at room temperature or, if desired, microwave on high 20-30 seconds or until heated through.

Test Kitchen tips

To Make Pretzel Rolls, divide and shape dough into eight balls; roll each into a 14-in. rope. Starting at one end of each rope, loosely wrap dough around itself to form a coil. Boil, top and bake as directed.

You can also make traditional pretzels with the same dough.

Nutrition Facts

6 pretzel nuggets: 144 calories, 2g fat (1g saturated fat), 8mg cholesterol, 302mg sodium, 26g carbohydrate (2g sugars, 1g fiber), 4g protein.

Originally published as Amber Beer Soft Pretzels in Taste of Home September/October 2018

Reviews

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mmdoll

Jan 30, 2019

Oh my goodness!!! These are so amazing! The last time I made them, I doubled the recipe and they were devoured in 11 minutes flat! Granted, we had 11 people eating them, but still! The only thing I did different was, I used the whole egg instead of just egg yolk. Amazing and well worth the effort to make them!