RECIPE: Soft Pretzels & Cheese Dip

I’m from Canada, which really means 3 things.

1. I say ‘eh where one would likely write a question mark
2. I may overuse the words, please, thank you and “oh no really you first”
3. I watch hockey

Hockey is a big part of our lives, and in this house hold we only cheers for one team, the Vancouver Canucks. Some of our house members however have a bandwagon pass that allows them to hop-on and hop-off as they please. I won’t name any names, but I will say that Sofia and I keep our seat belts buckled the entire season.

I love Hockey Night in our house, as it’s one of those nights that feels really easy. Dinner is served, along with fun snacks, on our ridiculously large ottoman, and we dine in complete style with our feet up. We’re in the comfort of our own home, where nobody can judge us. Not on choice of game time attire, or the fact that Sofia’s Beauty Bar is taking over during commercials and giving makeovers to everyone who has and has not requested one.  Life is pretty peachy on game night in this house.

My newest recipe I tried this weekend for Hockey Night in Canada was soft pretzels and a cheesy dipping sauce. Watch out world, these bad boys will put you in a gluten coma. INCREDIBLE. You can’t stop at just one, might as well clean up, makes for less work in having to store them properly anyways. I swear these didn’t last more than 60 minutes in this house, and words like amazing and twisted morsels of heaven were flying around. Weird how food can do that.
The recipe was actually really simple, and all I needed to get in addition to stocked items in my home were yeast, cream cheese and velveeta. Nothing a quick stop at No Frills couldn’t fix, and with my luck all 3 were on sale. SCORE!

Recipe: Soft Pretzels & Cheese Dip
Original Recipe: Taste of Home

INGREDIENTS

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp butter | softened
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups water
2 tbsp baking soda
Coarse salt
8 oz Velveeta | cubed
3 oz Cream Cheese | softened
1 to 2 tbsp milk

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the butter, sugar, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Punch dough down. Divide into 12 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a 15-in. long strip; twist into a pretzel shape.

In a large non-aluminum stockpot, bring water to a boil; add baking soda. Drop two pretzels into water; boil for 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain. Place on a greased baking sheet; sprinkle with coarse salt. Repeat for each pretzel.

Bake at 475° for 10-12 minutes. Remove from pan to wire racks to cool.

For dip, combine Velveeta and Cream Cheese in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes or until melted, stirring occasionally. Stir in milk. Serve pretzels with cheese dip and mustard.