Sick of baking cookies and cupcakes to contribute to potluck parties? Forget the oven! You can make tasty, attractive dessert treats using just your microwave and your freezer.



Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods

1 pkg pretzel rods (Newman's Own Organics)
1-12oz pkg vegan dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup each of the toppings of your choice

For this batch, I used sliced almonds, instant coffee, rainbow sprinkles and crushed peppermint candies as toppings. Shredded coconut would be another great option, but we were out.

Prep your work station: Cover a large baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. Place toppings on plates or in wide, shallow bowls. Sort your pretzel rods to make sure there are no broken ones in your way!

Place chocolate chips in microwave-safe bowl and melt (1-2 minutes on 10% power should do it). After 1 minute, stir with a silicone spatula. If it looks like half the chips are melted, keep stirring until the rest of them are melted and smooth.

Dip the pretzel rods: Tilt your bowl of melted chocolate a bit and dip the pretzel rod at least 2 inches into the chocolate. Lift it out of the chocolate and give it a little shake to remove as much excess chocolate as possible. I use the side of the bowl to scrape off some of the chocolate as well.

Still holding the un-chocolated end of the pretzel rod, roll the chocolate part in the topping of your choice. I typically just go with one topping per pretzel rod, but feel free to mix it up and get creative!

Place the pretzel rod on your wax papered baking sheet. Repeat the process until you run out of pretzel rods or melted chocolate. This project might take a little while and if your chocolate seems to set up on you, just pop it back into the microwave for 30 seconds on 10% power and stir again.

When you're done, place the baking sheet in the freezer. It only takes about 15 minutes for these babies to set back up, and then they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature, or packaged in seasonal cello bags and shared with all your hungry friends!