Salted Beer Soft Pretzel Footballs

These pretzels from Hungry Happenings are a fancy alternative to a classic twist. Using store bought pizza dough makes this recipe surprisingly easy to make.

Cook Time:40 min

Prep Time:20 min

Total Time:1 hours

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 tube Pillsbury Thick Crust Pizza Dough

2 - 12 ounce cans beer or 3 cups water

3 tablespoons baking soda

Pretzel salt or kosher salt

Mustard or other sauces for dipping

pizza wheel or knife

large slotted spoon or flat strainer

baking pans lined with non-stick tin foil or a non-stick mat

kitchen sheers

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Unroll tube of Pillsbury Pizza dough onto a cutting board and cut 12 half inch wide strips and 6 quarter inch wide strips across the short side of the dough. Cut across the dough about a 1/3 of the way from the long edge.

Roll each piece into a log. Cut the thin short log into three pieces.

For each pretzel you'll need 2 thick long pieces, 2 thick short pieces, 1 long thin piece, and 3 very short thin pieces,Tip: Lift up the strips of dough holding onto both ends. If you lift just one end, you will stretch the dough too thin.

Combine the baking soda and beer in a 10 inch skillet or a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low.

Set a few of the pizza dough pieces into the hot beer solution. After about 10 seconds, flip the pieces over. Remove after 10 more seconds. The dough should have puffed up slightly.Allow excess beer to drain off. I found this handy flat strainer to work great for this job. A large slotted spoon will work too.

Arrange dough pieces into footballs. Use the two long thick logs, to make the outline of the football. Set the long thin log across the football from tip to tip. Use the short thick logs to make the football stripes on either end of the football then add the remaining three small thin logs in the middle for the laces. Use kitchen shears to cut off any excess dough. Sprinkle on some pretzel salt.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until golden brown. If you used water, your pretzels will get very dark brown, if you used beer, they will be more golden brown.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. These pretzels are good warm or cold, but are best the day they are made.If you need to make these in advance of your Super Bowl party, make them, bake them and freeze them, then reheat them the day of the event. I haven't done this with these pretzels, but reheat frozen soft pretzels all the time, and know it works out pretty well.

-Do not pick up and move your pretzels or they will stretch out and loose their shape. This is why I didn't shape them before they went into the beer bath. -Keep your hands clean and wet, this will make working with the sticky dough easier. -Pinch together the seams with your wet fingers. -Each of my pretzels looks a little different and that is O.K. -Before you stick them in the oven, reshape them to your liking.