Happy mid-January: a time of wavering resolutions and intense longing for endless carbs and sugar-crusted sweets. The good news is the Super Bowl is only 18 days away, which gives you a perfect excuse to indulge in a cheese-and-bread bowl or two in honor of the home team. To help you prep for that glorious day of snacking, here's an easy football-shaped soft pretzel recipe that uses store-bought pizza dough to speed things up. A quick dip in a beer-and-baking-soda solution before baking gives these twists a deeper flavor and a nicely browned crust -- no lye required. Set them up with a duo of mustard and cheese sauce and let the carb-loading games begin!

Feast your eyes on more pretzel-centric recipes from Cooking Channel below:

• Soft Pretzels
• Baked Pretzel Chicken Nuggets
• Caramelized Onion Pretzel Rolls with Caraway Salt
• Ballpark Pretzels
• Pretzel Cinnamon Rolls
• Soft Pretzels with Queso Poblano Sauce and Mustard Sauce
• Beer-Pretzel Cheese Ball
• Smoky Kielbasa in Pretzel Blankets