Beer Dip

Beer Dip is a pretzel-perfect, cheesy and creamy cold dip that is seasoned with ranch mix and full-bodied beer.

We just celebrated my daughter's birthday.  My sweet girl turned 5!  I love throwing birthday parties for my kids.  I love planning everything: the invitations, the decorations, the games and the food.  I love that my daughter is now old enough to help decide on the theme and food choices to make her day special and all about her.

This year we had a Paw Patrol themed pizza party here at the house, complete with a bouncy house and puppy beanie babies for all of the kids to take home with them.  It was too cute!  The girl is addicted to Paw Patrol, a cartoon on Nick Jr., and would eat pizza with pineapple on it every night for dinner if I'd let her.

While pizza was the main course, I made a few dips for chips for everyone to much on during the course of the party.  I made some Sausage Cream Cheese Dip to go with tortilla chips, some Homemade Onion Dip, and this Beer Dip that I served with pretzel sticks.  I saw some pretzel scoops at the store that I think would be perfect with this dip, so I think I'll get them next time.

See the notes below for my serving suggestions and make this dip for your next party or game day get-together!

Beer Dip



Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 1 packet ranch dressing mix
• 6 oz beer (half a beer)
• 2 cups (8 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated
• shredded cheese, bacon bits and chopped green onions (for garnish)

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, ranch dressing mix, and beer. (I used my kitchen aid with the paddle attachement to do this.)
2. Mix in the shredded cheese.  Refrigerate for a few hours.
3. Top with additional shredded cheese, bacon and green onions right before serving.
4. Serve with pretzels for dipping.

Notes

• I did not add the bacon bits or green onions, but I definitely in the future.  I did sprinkle some smoked paprika on top, which was great, but I felt like the dip alone needed some more spice or bacony cheesy additions.  I might try swapping out some of the cheddar for pepper jack next time.  My husband said he would have liked it more as a hot dip, so I think I'll give that a shot, too.
• For the best beer flavor, a full-bodied beer is suggested, as opposed to a light beer.
• Source:  Balancing Beauty & Bedlam