Pretty pumpkin pretzels

If you have a little time between now and Halloween, pick up just a few ingredients to make this quick and easy Halloween treat.

My daughter saw these sweet pretzel treats on Pinterest and suggested we make them for the food column.

She made Pretzel Pumpkins one afternoon while I worked on another food column recipe. In no time, she had a small army of little pretzels covered with orange-tinted melted chocolate that looked very much like jack-o-lanterns.

The process is simple. You just melt the white chocolate chips with a tablespoon of shortening and stir in food coloring to make them the shade of orange you desire. Next, dip the mini pretzels into the melted chocolate, place on wax paper and add a green M&M for the stem. The chocolate sinks into the recesses of the pretzel and leaves an appearance of spooky eyes and a mouth.

Let the chocolate harden, and you have a lot of sweet treats for very little effort.


Pretzel Pumpkins

• 1 bag mini pretzels (You won’t use the whole bag)
• 1 bag M&Ms candy, needing only the green ones (We used M&M minis)
• Orange food coloring (We used liquid food coloring)
• 1 12-oz. bag white chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon shortening

Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute; stir until all chips are incorporated. If they don’t melt completely as you stir, microwave in 10-second intervals. Mix in food coloring. Dip pretzels into melted chocolate to cover and place on wax paper or parchment paper. Add a green M&M mini at the top of the prezel for the stem.

Adapted from Butter with a Side of Bread Blog