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.

Jalapeño 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 jalapeños.

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.