Oktoberfest cupcakes- beer and pretzel

As October is winding down, I wanted to be sure and make some beer-themed cupcakes. I searched all over the internet for a recipe, and couldn't find what I was looking for! So I ended up inventing my own.

These are beer and pretzel cupcakes, make with Paulaner Munich beer (which we drank at the real Oktoberfest) and salty pretzels.

I adapted to recipe from my chocolate stout cupcakes recipe. I omitted the cocoa powder, and used a lager instead of a stout. I also crushed up some pretzels, about 1/2 cup, and added that as well. The batter was a good texture and consistency, and when I tasted it, it wasn't too sweet or too salty.
They baked up great, golden and delicious. A few spilled over a bit, but nothing too bad. The smelled like beer bread coming out of the oven.


I decided to top them with a beer glaze, made from powdered sugar and beer. yum! I also added a pretzel on top, to amplify the sweet/salty flavor combination.


These turned out pretty well, but there are a few changes I'd like to make. They were almost too much like a bread, not tender and flaky enough. So next time I'll use cake flour, and I'll pulverize the pretzels in the food processor to get a finer crumb. Maybe brown sugar will add some depth to these as well.

I'm always apprehensive when trying a new recipe, even more so when creating one! With a few minor changes, I think these will be perfect!