As Job and I stood in line at the grocery store together we were discussing food for Super Bowl when we both spied the Martha Stewart Living Magazine featuring homemade pretzels.  I think Job commented on it and so impulsively I purchased it for us to do together.  There are a few things that Job likes to do in the kitchen.  One of them is making shrimp scampi. He was more than willing to try his hand at making pretzels especially since he could shape them anyway he wanted.  At home we read the recipe, made a list of what we needed and he started mixing.  We needed to try out a batch before making enough for Super bowl.  The next day, we did the baking portion.  Pretzels need a baking soda bath before baking to seal in the moisture and get the correct texture on the outside. The recipe from MSL magazine called for 1/2 cup of pale ale as well as water and baking soda.  We shaped the pretzels in many different configurations from traditional to smiley faces with eyes. Job doesn't ever do things conventionally.  After boiling and baking they were ready to try.  Fortunately we had a couple of volunteer boys who ended up eating them for a snack and then breakfast as well.  That sealed the deal, we would make them for Super Bowl as well.  However I wanted to try a different recipe to compare.  I thought they were a bit salty even without the salt on top.  So I headed over to Pinterest to look for another recipe.  I chose my recipes based on the photo so I spent a little time perusing before I found this one from Heart of Gold blog. I thought that the MSL dough was tougher where as the one from Heart of Gold had more of a puffy dough which made a lighter pretzel.  We ended up making three batches in all sorts of shapes which is the fun part.  I can see doing this with kids minus the beer.  They are best when they are fresh from the oven or warmed up.