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Easy Pretzel Monkey Bread with Beer-Cheese Dip

Source of Recipe

From "Everyday Grand" by Jocelyn Delk Adams


Recipe Introduction

"During my college heyday, my roommates and I would throw mean parties in our apartment. They would get so turnt up, I wouldn't recognize half the guests midway through the night. This recipe is inspired by our party days, where we scraped together the most economical and barest of ingredients and transformed them into impeccable hors d'oeuvres. In this pretzel monkey bread, each doughy, salty piece is made from refrigerated biscuit dough that you won't believe wasn't a pretzel to begin with! The key is to buy the buttermilk variety and not the flaky kind (I repeat: NOT the flaky kind). And the cheese dip? Baby, bye!"

List of Ingredients

Monkey bread:
â—¦ Nonstick baking spray
â—¦ â…“ cup baking soda
â—¦ 2 (16-ounce) tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough, such as Pillsbury (see headnote)
â—¦ 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
â—¦ Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon or fleur de sel, for sprinkling

Beer-cheese dip:
â—¦ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
â—¦ 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 â…“ cups dark beer
â—¦ 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded
â—¦ 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely shredded
â—¦ 1 teaspoon chili powder
â—¦ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
â—¦ ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
â—¦ Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Recipe

Make the monkey bread: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350° F. Generously grease the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Fill a medium pot with 5 cups water, add the baking soda, and bring to a boil over high heat.

Remove the dough from the tubes, cut each biscuit in half, and roll each piece into a ball—you should have 32 balls. When the water comes to a boil, add the dough balls to the water, working in batches to avoid overcrowding, and cook until the dough puffs up slightly and floats to the very top of the water, 15 to 30 seconds. Using a spider or slotted spoon, transfer the dough balls to the prepared baking sheet to drain. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.

In a glass measuring cup, melt the butter in the microwave. Arrange the dough balls in a single layer in the prepared Bundt pan and brush generously with the melted butter, then sprinkle with the flaky salt. Repeat with the remaining dough, butter, and salt. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the dough turns a beautiful golden brown. Cover the top of the pan with a piece of aluminum foil and bake for about 15 minutes more, until the internal temperature of the monkey bread reaches 200° F. Remove the foil and bake for 5 minutes more, or until richly burnished.

Make the beer-cheese dip: In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and keep whisking until it turns pale buttercup yellow, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the beer until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain, then cook, whisking, until the liquid thickens, bubbles, and turns the color of light gravy, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn off the heat, then stir in both cheeses and whisk until completely smooth and creamy. Whisk in the chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a small serving bowl.

Remove the monkey bread from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Run a butter knife or offset spatula around the edges of the pan, then turn the monkey bread out onto a large platter. Serve warm, with beer-cheese dip on the side.

Serves 8 to 10