Tasty Tuesday--"Take 5" Pretzel Sticks

Happy Tuesday! Hope this week is off to a great start! It's cold and windy here in Northern Illinois! I'm so over winter! Today I am featuring a very popular sweet treat that I took to a Super Bowl party. It really was a "duh" moment when I realized that I never thought to put this combination together before. Originally I was planning on bringing chocolate dipped pretzel sticks because I know the kids like them, but when I was grabbing the pretzel rods out of the pantry, a bag of caramels appeared and the lightbulb went off!! I love Take 5 candy bars--they have every bit of goodness in them--sweet, salty, crunchy! YUM! So, why not make Take 5 Pretzel sticks? Thought it was worth a try and OMG--seriously, they are delicious. I dunno about you, but I've never had them before, never heard of them before--so if they are out there and I was blinded, so sorry--this was a new discovery for me and I'm glad it happened!

So, here is the quick and easy low down on how to make these bad boys! Melt your caramels according to the package instructions (I used an entire bagged of wrapped caramels). Pour the caramel into a tall, heat proof glass (this is a trick to get the caramel on as much as the pretzel as possible!!). Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and spray with cooking spray (caramel sticks to waxed paper!). Dip pretzel rod into the caramel and let drip over glass. Place on the cookie sheet. Continue until the caramel is gone or you run out of pretzels. (Side note: you may need to reheat the caramel during this process, try not to overcook the caramel--low setting, for only a few seconds at a time)

Chop a handul of peanuts to sprinkle on the finished pretzel rod and set aside. Once the caramel is set, melt chocolates. I used 1 bag of chocolate chips. Pour the chocolate into a tall, heat proof glass. Dip the caramel dipped pretzel rods into the chocolate. Let chocolate drip off into the glass. Replace the pretzel back to the waxed paper and sprinkle with the chopped nuts. Let set. I covered mine and put them in the garage to firm up quicker. I couldn't wait for them to set to taste the ooey, gooey goodness I created!

Here it is:

Take 5 Pretzel Sticks

Ingredients
1 bag of pretzel rods
1 bag of wrapped caramels, unwrapped
1 bag of chocolate chips
handful of peanuts, chopped

Instructions
Melt caramel per instructions on bag. Pour the caramel into a tall, heat proof glass  Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and spray with cooking spray . Dip pretzel rod into the caramel and let drip over glass. Place on the cookie sheet. Continue until the caramel is gone or you run out of pretzels. (Side note: you may need to reheat the caramel during this process, try not to overcook the caramel--low setting, for only a few seconds at a time)

Once the caramel is set, melt chocolates. I used 1 bag of chocolate chips. Pour the chocolate into a tall, heat proof glass. Dip the caramel dipped pretzel rods into the chocolate. Let chocolate drip off into the glass. Replace the pretzel back to the waxed paper and sprinkle with the chopped nuts. Let set.

So, who's with me--are Take 5's one of your favorites?


Cindy
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Tasty Tuesday--Awesome Cinnamon Pretzels

These have got to be one of the easiest and tastiest snack-slash-dessert you will ever try. And they are perfect for holiday giving (packaged up real cute!) or for snacking at your holiday party or for after school snacking or just because they are amazingly awesome! 
If you have 30 minutes, pretzels, oil, cinnamon, sugar and an oven,  YOU CAN MAKE THESE!

 Here is the simple recipe:

Cinnamon Pretzels

16 oz bag pretzels
2/3 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Combine everything but the pretzels in a large bowl. Add pretzels and carefully stir. Pour onto a baking sheet. Put into a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Stir twice. Allow to cool (if you can wait), package up for gifting or dig in! Store in sealed container, if they last long enough for you to store!

I packaged up these for my friends that visited over the weekend! I got the small plastic paint cans at the Dollar Section at Target. I made a cute little tag to attach!

Hope you have a great Tuesday! Visit me over on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Stop back again soon!

Cindy