Homemade Soft Pretzels with Cheddar Beer Chipotle Dipping Sauce

I was wanting to bake something, but didn't want to eat a bunch of cookie dough/cookies, so I opted for something savory. Pretzels popped into my head. I found a generic pretzel recipe from Alton Brown and made a few tweaks.

Combine and let set 5 minutes:
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast

Add in:
4 cups flour

Knead dough for 5 minutes until elastic. Then oil, cover, and let sit for an hour in a warm place. Your dough should double in size.

Divide the dough into 20 pieces. Then roll each piece into a long strand and fold into whatever shape you want.

Boil each pretzel for 45 seconds in water/baking soda mix (about 1/2 cup baking soda per 6 cups water)

PPreheat oven to 450 degrees.

Spray pan with nonstick spray.

Brush pretzel tops with:
1 large egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons melted butter

Sprinkle with salt and bake for 10-12 minutes (until tops are brown).

Then you can make a dipping sauce. I chose a spicy cheddar beer sauce.

Melt together in a saucepan:
3/4 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup beer
1 T corn starch
2 T adobo sauce (from chipotle peppers)
2 finely diced chipotle peppers
1 t garlic powder

You could really do so many things with these. I want to try making 'bites' and sprinkle with ranch dressing mix next.