Monday, January 19, 2015

Recipe: Jalapeno Popper Cheesy Pretzel Bombs

Did you watch the Playoff games? I know that Cleveland no longer has a "dog in the fight" with our Browns, but this time of year it is still fun to get involved with Game Day and rooting for a team. Me? I'm always in for some Game Day fun, including tasty share-able foods like dips, sliders, flatbreads, and more.

Heinen's also wants you to experience Game Day, by preparing delicious recipes to share at home with family and friends. Below is a recipe that we tried recently. You can try this at home, thanks to a $50 Heinen's gift card. See below for details.

To prepare for the upcoming big Game Day, here is a recipe adapted from The Slow Roasted Italian.

JalapeƱo Popper Cheesy Pretzel Bombs (Serves 12; Total Time = 50 minutes)

Ingredients: 
1 1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast (1/2 packet)
6 ounces warm beer (110°-120°)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt + more for pretzel tops
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cups water
4 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces shredded Mexican cheese blend
3 fresh jalapeno peppers, diced
6 ounces bacon, cooked and chopped
1 egg

Preheat oven to 450°.
Pour beer into large mixing bowl.
Sprinkle yeast over top, add sugar and stir.
Allow yeast to bloom for 5-10 minutes.
In a medium mixing bowl combine cheeses, bacon and jalapeƱos.
In a small bowl beat egg, set aside.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
Add flour and salt to yeast.
Knead for 3- 5 minutes until the dough comes together in one ball.
Add more flour a tablespoon at a time as needed, if bread is too sticky to come together.
Place dough on floured counter top and knead in flour until it is no longer tacky, just a minute or two. Form dough into a ball.
Cut this ball into 12 even pieces.
Fill a medium (4 cup) bowl with 2 cups of hot water and add baking soda.
Roll each dough piece (one at a time) into a ball and then flatten it into a circle.
Add 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture in the center.

Pull each side over the cheese to create a ‘cheese package’, pinching the edges closed.
Roll the dough into a ball.
Transfer 3 stuffed dough balls to hot water mixture and allow to set while you prepare the next 3. Remove dough balls from water with a slotted spoon and place on prepared baking sheet.
Repeat until all dough balls are on the cookie sheet.
Arrange all pretzel balls on parchment so they are not touching.
Brush egg wash onto each one and sprinkle with course salt.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until the tops are browned.
They tasted like warm soft pretzels, with the kick of jalapeno popper in the center. I think we could have used a bit more filling, and tried harder to evenly spread the dough between the top and bottom, but they still turned out pretty great.
For a chance to win a $50 Heinen's gift card, leave me a comment below telling me what your favorite Game Day food is to prepare and share. You can also tweet for a second entry (daily) by posting "Game Day is going to be good, thanks to @BiteBuff and @Heinens."

I will select the random winner, using random.org, on Friday, January 23rd at noon.

Disclosure: I was provided with a $100 gift card to Heinen's to purchase products for this post. A $50 gift card was provided to give away to one random reader. All opinions stated above are 100% my own. 

35 comments:

Suzanne said...

Normally I attend a Souper Bowl party where attendees bring a soup the be voted on by everyone at the party. I am sad I going to be missing it this year, but I will take Spanish tapas and wine over soup.

fmayse said...

Chili, obviously. Going to try chocolate and coffee in mine this year. More bitter to balance the heat.

Candy said...

My favorite game day food to prepare is Cincinnati Skyline chili cheese dip! I love repping my hometown here in Cleveland when I can, plus it is always a hit and super easy to make!

Anonymous said...

Taco Dip. I have a bunch of different recipes and any will do, but one is definitely needed!

jt said...

I have to go with bacon wrapped hot dogs with a bunch of awesome toppings so everyone can customize. My favorite is topped with guacamole and a bit of crushed potato chips. :)

rachel said...

I like spinach artichoke chip or something sweet...like cake pops!

alexa @clevelandsaplum said...

Love this giveaway! I spend a small fortune at Heinen's every month so a $50 gift-card would definitely help :)

Okay, Superbowl food...I love a good old fashioned queso dip!

Unknown said...

Tweeted 1-20-15

Renee said...

I always make guacamole during football games. Quick, easy and filling!

Renee said...

I also tweeted.

Unknown said...

nachos, of course!

Anonymous said...

My favorite game day app is a bacon cheese dip made in a sourdough bread bowl.

Anonymous said...

Tweeted on 1/21

Courtney said...

Seven layer dip.

Courtney said...

Tweeted as well.

Unknown said...

I love to make vegan buffalo "chicken" dip! :)

Unknown said...

I tweeted on 1/21. :)

happymjc said...

Buffalo Chicken Dip! Cannot wait to make on 2/1.

Unknown said...

The pretzel bombs look amazing! Buffalo chicken dip made with greek yogurt is my favorite game day dish.

Unknown said...

tweeted today 1-21-15

Unknown said...

We are the basic pizza, chili, taco dip kind of people. I like to make my pizza though with Naan bread and load it with lots of vegetables and goat cheese.

jt said...

Tweeted 1/21.

Crystal @EatDrinkCLE said...

This recipe sounds great! I love to make stuffed dates. There are so many ways to make them and they are always a hit.

Crystal @EatDrinkCLE said...

Wednesday Tweet

Unknown said...

I tweeted 1/22

Unknown said...

Thursday's Tweet complete

Unknown said...

Tweeted on 1/21

Ryan said...

My favorite gameday food has to be buffalo chicken dip. It does not matter how hungry (or not hungry) I am. It is just too addictive. Nothing fancy needed...the Frank's Red Hot recipe is perfectly fine. However, the homemade version from Rego's Lake Road Market in Rocky River is pretty delicious!

Ryan said...

Tweeted it!
https://twitter.com/WestParkRunner/status/558299597597327360

jt said...

Tweeted 1/22.

TribeChic said...

Buffalo chicken dip or the 7 layer mexican dip! I printed out this recipe because my husband immediately wanted it! Pretzel ANYTHING is his favorite!

TribeChic said...

tweeted 1/22/15 @Tribechic

Anonymous said...

It's not game day without hot dogs and beer.

Unknown said...

tweeted 1-23-15

Bite Buff said...

This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to #16, Kayla! Email me by Monday to claim.