merryb wrote:

>>> Hey all- my Mom "suggested" to a co-worker that I would be willing to
>>> make pretzels for an open house party- thanks Mom! So, I am going to
>>> be baking pretzels for 100 people. We have a local brewery that makes
>>> some pretty good beer, so that will be served also- not sure what
>>> else. I assume there will be a lot of standing around, so I'm thinking
>>> sticks would be easiest, probably 8 inches long or so, and 3 per
>>> person- tomorrow will be my first test baking day. I think I need a
>>> few flavors, and I hope you all can offer advice- here's what I'm
>>> thinking;
>>> Salted
>>> Parm and/or rosemary
>>> Mustard
>>> Should a few salted ones be dipped in chocolate? I know beer and
>>> chocolate can pair nicely...If you have an idea, I'd love to hear it-
>>> thanks!
>>
>> Peanut butter
>
> Love the peanut butter idea- how would you use it? I have heard from a
> couple of people regarding the mustard flavored- they advise a dipping
> sauce as opposed to incorporating it into the dough. Maybe the same
> idea?

I can think of three options:

1. Incorporate it into the dough: This will make it a bit like a savory
peanut-butter cookie, and ought to go well with beer. The thing to worry
about is getting the peanut-butter flavor without losing the pretzel
texture; it's probably a bit more complicated than simply adding peanut
butter to pretzel dough: If you add enough peanut butter to give a
strong flavor, then you've also significantly changed the cooking
characteristics of the dough, because of the fat and bulk of the peanut
butter.

2. A peanut-butter coating similar to the "yogurt" coating on pretzels:
This would be sweeter, and pairing with beer might not be for everybody
because of that, but it would be good with most sodas (especially grape
soda for that PB&J flavor combination).

3. A peanut-butter dipping sauce: While this would be tasty enough and
would provide the ability for some novel flavor combinations which might
not otherwise be available, I'd put it at the bottom of the list because
guests would likely drop and drip the sauce all over the place, and even
if they didn't, they'd have to go to the trouble of carrying the little
cup of sauce around and then finding a place to put it down.

Bob