Happy Holidays, Astoria! Hope that everyone is enjoying some quality time with the ones you love.
In preparation for tomorrow's family party at my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's house, I decided to make these gourmet, hand-dipped pretzel rods. Originally wanting to make gourmet chocolate bark, I changed my mind at the last minute when I realized I had all these amazing toppings at home and went with the sweet/savory combination instead.
Deciding to preserve the Utz's packaging, I dressed it up with some festive holiday paper and stuffed the decorated pretzels back into the container. I can't wait to see how they're received tomorrow, but I've already had a happy guinea pig (aka Dan) tell me that they've passed the test with flying colors. Hope you enjoy making your own variations.
Homemade Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods
Ingredients:
Large container of Utz's old fashioned pretzel rods (you can use any brand you like, but I like Utz's since they're nostalgic for me)
1 container of dark chocolate melting wafers (such as Ghirardelli brand)
1 container of white chocolate melting wafers (such as Ghirardelli brand)
1/2 cup of artisan toasted coconut chips
1/2 cup of craisins, chopped
1 cup of maple bacon bits
Colorful sprinkles or non pareils
Truffle salt
Chopped walnuts
Directions:
Melt chocolate wafers in the microwave until silky smooth (about 1 1/2 minutes).
Dip each pretzel rod in the chocolate individually and then sprinkle with your favorite topping, above. You can also use any other topping you'd like.
Lay dipped pretzel rods on a parchment lined cookie sheet and then place into the fridge for about an hour, or until the chocolate sets. Place back into the pretzel rod container and serve.
As I had another family holiday party to attend last night and was asked to bring dessert, I wanted to create something low-maintenance yet tasty. Deciding to go with shortbread cookies, as they require just a few ingredients and can be spruced up with frosting and other sugar embellishments, I made two different types - one with dark chocolate and nonpareil dots and the other with chocolate and truffle salt. Particularly excited about the latter, which was a lot more sophisticated, guests at the party were quite surprised by its pungent flavor that juxtaposed nicely with the sweetness and buttery texture of the cookie. Here's the simple recipe, as seen in the pages of Saveur magazine.
Chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies (makes about 2 1/2 dozen)
Ingredients
12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
4 oz semisweet (or dark) chocolate melted
Multicolored nonpareils and/or truffle salt, to decorate
Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl with a hand mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add flour and salt; beat. Transfer dough to a floured work surface, form into a disk and roll until 1/3" thick. Using a 13/4" star cutter (I used a round cutter, as you can see), cut out cookies; transfer to parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spaced 2" apart. Bake until brown, 6-8 minutes (or longer if needed). Cool properly and then dip the top of each cookie in the chocolate and then decorate with nonpareils and/or the truffle salt. Chill until set.
This really easy dish was inspired by an awesome visit I recently took with Kimberly to Casellula, a quaint wine and cheese bar in Midtown Manhattan. But besides the usual suspects, Kimberly and I also ordered the most delicious snack of lavender rosemary popcorn. The combination was so stupendous that it's been on my mind ever since, and I craved to recreate it at home.
I did a bit of research and found a similar recipe on the Healthy Green Kitchen blog, which I altered a little bit. Their recipe called for butter, which I chose to omit, instead just using the maple syrup and diluting it with a bit of water. Unfortunately, I didn't have any lavender on hand, so I had to omit it, but it still came out really good and so crunchy. Instead, I topped the popcorn with generous amounts of truffle salt, which definitely did the trick.
Take a look at this awesome recipe and try it at home - Dan and I loved snacking on it on a random Sunday night, while we watched Puss in Boots. Crunch on that.
