The Cheese & Cracker Combo Perfect For Soft Pretzel Fanatics

Soft pretzels offer a series of almost magical contrasts. On the inside, they're soft and pillowy with a buttery, nutty flavor. Smooth and shiny on the outside, their salt-laden exterior cracks gently when you take a bite and features the subtle bitter flavors.

But given that soft pretzels are street food and taste best fresh out of the oven, they might not make sense as an hors d'oeuvres option at your next cocktail party where a cheese and crackers type platter might be more befitting to the event's genre. So, to satisfy the yens of soft pretzel fans who might be in attendance (including yourself), consider pairing Ritz Pretzel Thins with either a melty Swiss cheese-based cheese fondue or a cheddar-based pub cheese, aka beer cheese just without the alcohol.

Ritz Pretzel Thins deliver the classic buttery-flavored Ritz cracker flavor on one side and a crunchy pretzel-like flavor experience on the other. Paired with a Swiss cheese-based fondue, you've got the hard and the soft, and the sweet and the salty all in one bite. Paired with a cheddar cheese-based beer or pub cheese, you've got all that, plus the cheddar also offers a slight tang that soft pretzel fans can enjoy.

Soft pretzel fanatics will instantly warm to the sight of those pretzel-shaped Ritz munchables, so the only question remains, whether to accompany it with a Swiss cheese-based fondue versus a cheddar-based pub cheese. Both are easy to make at home, and both are also available ready-made from the supermarket. On the other hand, even if you go with the ready-made cheese fondue, you'll still have to heat it up and serve it in a chafing dish-type vessel that has a heat source beneath it. So that mild inconvenience may put pub cheese slightly ahead in terms of desirability.  

If you do decide to make a cheddar-based pub cheese yourself, consider this beer cheese recipe because it's flavored with mustard, which, for many soft pretzel aficionados is a non-negotiable accouterment. And if you don't want the beer flavor, you can leave it out. You'll also find mustard features prominently in this classic cheese fondue recipe, which offers a mouth-watering combination of Gruyère, Jarlsberg, and fontina cheeses.  

If you're like us, however, both choices will appeal equally. In that case, feel free to serve your pretzel-y crackers with both a fondue and pub cheese. Soft pretzel fans will love the selection that together, checks all the soft pretzel boxes.