This post is so overdue. I made these tasty little treats a few times over the Christmas holiday, as the pictures clearly identify. I needed something quick and easy to supplement the larger desserts and little snack treats to bring to work and share with my student cooking club and teacher book club. I found these Cookie Dough Pretzel Bites on Pinterest and decided to give them a try.
I made them exactly as the original recipe said on my first run. I noticed that they seemed a little bland. They were missing that little zing that made me want to keep eating them. I was looking for that feeling that I couldn’t stop eating them. The second time I made these, I added some extra salt to the warm chocolate, adding that sweet and salty complexity. This time, I kept coming back for more.
The third time I made these, I was running low on time and milk chocolate. First, I purchased a tub of premade cookie dough so that I did not have to make the raw dough and clean dishes from it. I also added a bar of dark chocolate and mixed it with the melting milk chocolate since I was running low on chips. Although it took slightly longer to melt, the dark chocolate added a deep richness to the treat.
This ended up being the perfect easy holiday treat. People enjoyed them and they were quick in a time crunch. Plus, the ingredients are few and they are easy to purchase, making it an efficient treat, too.
Next chance, I may try using peanut butter cookie dough!
Ingredients
40 oz. tub Nestle Tollhouse Cookie Dough
90-100 mini pretzel twists
2 cups Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Chips
3-4 oz. 60% Dark Chocolate, cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons shortening
Sea Salt to taste
Method
1. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside. Also check to make sure there is enough room in the freezer for it.
2. Roll the desired amount of cookie dough into small balls. The sizes may vary depending on how large you would like the sandwiches. Press the dough balls between two pretzels and place the sandwiches on the baking sheet. Freeze the sandwiches for 20 minutes.
3. While the sandwiches are chilling, melt the milk and dark chocolates with the shortening using a small saucepan over low heat. Stir quickly with a rubber spatula so that the chocolate does not burn.
4. Pour the chocolate into a bowl for dipping. I used a small ramekin. Dip the pretzel bites halfway into the melted chocolate and place the bites back on the baking sheet. Sprinkle desired amount of sea salt over the warm chocolate. Refrigerate the dipped sandwiches for at least 10 minutes to allow the chocolate and salt to set. Once they are completely cooled, have a bite and enjoy!
Today is a snow day. Well, not actually snow, but freezing rain, which still means that this teacher has the day off. I decided to try and spend some time doing some things that I haven’t had a chance to do in a while. With the holidays having just past and my mother’s birthday, there hasn't been much free time.
I wanted to bake something for my team of teachers. We have had a rough week back from our holiday break, with deaths in our community and students who aren’t ready for break to end. Plus, our Math teacher has a due date in a few weeks. It’s the perfect time for chocolate.
I pulled up my Pinterest board for all of the tasty looking brownies and bars that I wanted to make and chose to try out the recipe for Red Velvet Truffle Brownies on the Lemon Sugar Blog. I decided to make one change, and that is to the top chocolate layer. The original recipe calls for CandiQuick, but I wanted a "fudgier" feel. I chose to use a different mixture of shortening and melted chocolate chips instead.
I cut them small and brought 30 brownies to work. I came home with zero. The comments I received back was that they were just “so good,” and that they looked so rich, but were surprised that they weren’t overpowering. They were good right out of the oven, a few hours later, and right out of the fridge the next day.
Success!
Ingredients
1 box Red Velvet cake mix
½ cup butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 (3.4 ounces) package instant vanilla pudding
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1 package Oreos
8 ounces cream cheese, cut into three or four chunks
1 bag Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Chips
2 Tbsp vegetable shortening (I recommend Crisco.)
1 bag mini chocolate chips, for garnish (Use how much you like. I ended up using only half the bag).
Method
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, melted butter, eggs, pudding mix, vegetable oil and mix well until thoroughly combined and there are no large, dusty clumps.
3. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
4. Spread the red velvet batter into the pan. Use a rubber spatula to press into corners and even the top.
5. Bake the red velvet layer for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. Crush Oreos in the food processor until a fine dust, then add the cream cheese. When well combined, it will form a large ball.
7. Using a rubber spatula, spread the Oreo truffle mixture on the top of the cooling baked red velvet brownies.
8. Add the milk chocolate chips and Crisco to a large saucepan and melt them together over low heat, stirring frequently so the chocolate doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan. Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the top of the Oreo truffle layer.
9. Sprinkle the top with desired amount of mini chocolate chips while still warm, pressing them gently with the back of a wooden spoon so they don’t fall out.
10. Cut into squares once cooled completely.
