And Now for the Soft Pretzels...

The hubs has been bothering me for some time to make soft pretzels and beer cheese. Well, while I'm not a huge fan of football, I figured yesterday's Superbowl would be as good a time as any for this very manly food.


These things were so darn cute! Now I understand why other bakers get so attached to their pretzels. Manly my ass, I felt like a new mother when these puppies came out of the oven.


This is the second time I have made beer cheese - way more cheese than should be legal, but if you only have it once or twice a year, it's ok, right? Lots of sharp cheddar, onion, garlic, paprika, cayenne, and of course BEER. I used Goose Island Pere Jacques for a nice sweet Belgian bite. Zippy, gooey, tangy, beery - YUM.

Now that I've broken the ice when it comes to the whole boiled-dough method of baking, I'm fired up to make a batch of bagels. What better way to slog through the winter "blahs" than to bake up a storm?