Several weeks ago I headed over to Boiling Springs (PA) for a late autumn walk. As the name hints, there is a spring in the vicinity that feeds a small lake; the town is as quaint as can be. The weather was awesome, and after wandering around the lake, I stopped at the Cafe 101 looking for a glass of water and maybe a bite to eat. On the munchie display were bags of pretzel buckeyes. Oh My Goodness! Having a sister who lives in Indiana, I know all about buckeyes (chocolate covered peanut balls) but the pretzel addition was inspired.
Since they were a little pricey, I decided I would buy them (not for myself but) for my son-in-law, whose birthday was a few days away. When I sent a picture to the Indiana sister for inspiration, she asked how they tasted and of course I just HAD to break the bag open to see. Yup, they were as good as they looked. But then -you guessed it - I had to make a new batch for my son-in-law, as his bag was fast disappearing. Here's a recipe that I found on Pajama Chef, which worked quite nicely with a slight modification on the dipping chocolate. I sent some with my daughter to her office and they were a hit. So if you're looking for a fun holiday snack, here goes:
Pretzel Buckeyes
I cup creamy peanut butter
2 T butter, softened
1/2 - 3/4 c powdered sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
small pretzels
1 1/2 c chocolate chips
2 T shortening
Mix peanut butter, butter and sugars. They'll need to be stiff enough to roll into small balls about 1" diameter. Place between two pretzels and gently squeeze. (I'm not sure exactly why, but this was really fun to do!) Put the pretzels in freezer for thirty minutes. Melt chocolate chips with the shortening. You can do this over hot water, but I just stick mine in a glass measuring cup in the microwave for a minute or two, stirring after the first minute, and putting back in if the chips aren't fully melted. (Make sure there's no water in the bowl). Dip half of the pretzels into the chocolate mixture. Makes 4-5 dozen.
For the original recipe click here.
For more detailed dipping chocolate help click here.
Since they were a little pricey, I decided I would buy them (not for myself but) for my son-in-law, whose birthday was a few days away. When I sent a picture to the Indiana sister for inspiration, she asked how they tasted and of course I just HAD to break the bag open to see. Yup, they were as good as they looked. But then -you guessed it - I had to make a new batch for my son-in-law, as his bag was fast disappearing. Here's a recipe that I found on Pajama Chef, which worked quite nicely with a slight modification on the dipping chocolate. I sent some with my daughter to her office and they were a hit. So if you're looking for a fun holiday snack, here goes:
Pretzel Buckeyes
I cup creamy peanut butter
2 T butter, softened
1/2 - 3/4 c powdered sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
small pretzels
1 1/2 c chocolate chips
2 T shortening
Mix peanut butter, butter and sugars. They'll need to be stiff enough to roll into small balls about 1" diameter. Place between two pretzels and gently squeeze. (I'm not sure exactly why, but this was really fun to do!) Put the pretzels in freezer for thirty minutes. Melt chocolate chips with the shortening. You can do this over hot water, but I just stick mine in a glass measuring cup in the microwave for a minute or two, stirring after the first minute, and putting back in if the chips aren't fully melted. (Make sure there's no water in the bowl). Dip half of the pretzels into the chocolate mixture. Makes 4-5 dozen.
For the original recipe click here.
For more detailed dipping chocolate help click here.
