Day 2: Chocolate Pretzel Rings

Hello Readers! Happy Monday!

Today we made one of the cookies (I guess it's more of a confection) that we have made since I was in first grade. We call them chocolate pretzel rings but many people refer to them as bellybuttons. I refuse to call them bellybuttons because eating something called a bellybutton makes me nauseous  and I have been calling them pretzel rings since I sat in a booster seat and still had perfect ringlet curls for hair. My mom keeps telling me about the first time we made these sweet and salty rings of goodness together. She said there was a snow storm approaching that day and her co-worker was raving about this pretzel rings recipe she had found online and talking about how she was going to test them out since the snow storm would keep her inside for a few days. My mom and a few other of her co-workers decided to try them too so that night my mom and I made the scrumptious treats and have been making them ever since. I know many people make these now but these will always be special to me since they were one of the first things I baked in the kitchen.

What you need to make them (and of course this all depends on how many you plan on making):

-A Bag of Utz's Pretzel Wheels
-A Bag of Hershey kisses (Hugs kisses work well too)
-A Bag of M&M's

The recipe calls to preheat the oven to 275 degrees F although my mom and I suggest to test one or two in the oven before hand to make sure this temperature works for your oven. We have found that 225 degrees F works better for us. Once you have placed the pretzels with the Hershey kisses on top on a baking sheet, put them in the oven for 3 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Also, use Reynolds Non-Stick Wrap on the baking sheet. Now here is the trick to really attractive pretzel rings. Rather than pushing the M&M into the kisses after you remove them from the oven, I use a knife to spread out the chocolate on the pretzel so it is melted evenly and there are no clumps.

If you use the knife like I do, this is what they look like. I think they look cleaner and prettier than just pressing the M&M straight into the kiss but do whatever works easiest and best for you.

Thanks for keeping up with my blog and stay tuned for more delicious holiday treats!