Here in Westford, kids are no longer allowed to have sweet treats at school parties.  But I’m a “let’s make lemonade” kind of gal.  So, we’ll just have our sweet treats at home!

I gathered up the Robinson School Destination Imagination Team to make one of my favorite treats:  chocolate dipped pretzels.  It’s fun, easy, and delicious!  Not exactly a neat recipe—chocolate and sprinkles end up all over the place, especially on kids’ faces.  But it’s all easily cleaned up and well worth the mess.  And if I can do it with six 1^st and 2^nd graders, anyone can!

I almost always make too much melted chocolate when I make these, so I end up raiding the pantry after we’ve dipped the pretzels.  Feel free to get creative:  marshmallows, fruit, potato chips, cookies, and so many other things are super delicious dipped in chocolate.  This time, I pulled out a bag of mixed nuts that I picked up from Fastachi at the Westford Winter Farmers Market.  I put a couple of nuts on waxed paper, drizzled chocolate over the top, and added a few heart-shaped sprinkles.  Lovely, and oh so yummy!

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces chocolate chips (it’s fine if you have a little more or less—this is just approximate)
• 6 ounces white chocolate chips (optional)
• 2 cups mini pretzels
• Assorted sprinkles—start with about 1 to 2 tablespoons per child, but you’ll definitely need to add more!
• Anything else you feel like dipping in chocolate

Directions:

1. Pour sprinkles into small bowls.  You’ll want at least one bowl per child.  Put only about 1 to 2 tablespoons of sprinkles into each bowl.  They tend to get covered in drips of chocolate, so I find it easier to put a relatively small amount in each bowl, dump out any that get too covered in chocolate, and then refill the bowl with new sprinkles as necessary.
2. Place chocolate chips in a medium glass bowl.  Microwave for 20 seconds.  Stir chips well.  Microwave in additional 15 second increments, stirring well after each 15 seconds.  The chocolate is ready when you can stir all the remaining chips until they are totally melted.  The chocolate should not be really hot—check it yourself before you let your kids dip into it, but it should not be hot enough to burn.
3. Dip half of a mini pretzel into the melted chocolate, then dip immediately into a bowl of sprinkles.  Place on a sheet of wax paper to cool.  Or eat immediately if you don’t mind getting a little messy!
4. If you’d like, you can also melt some white chocolate chips.  Follow the same directions as melting the chocolate chips, microwaving in 15 second intervals, stirring well in between.  You can dip pretzels directly in the white chocolate, or I like to spoon the melted white chocolate into a sandwich-sized zip top bag.  Push the chocolate down to one corner, then use a pair of sharp scissors to snip off a tiny bit of the corner.  Now you can use the bag to drizzle chocolate over the previously dipped pretzels.

One last tip:  clean up the bowls, spoons, and anything that touched chocolate before the chocolate hardens.  If your chocolate does harden in the bowl, re-microwave until it’s soft enough to scrape the remainder into the garbage.  If your spoon or something else metal gets stuck in the bowl and you can’t use the microwave, place the bowl in a larger bowl of very hot tap water.  You might need to change the water a time or two, but eventually the chocolate will soften enough to get the spoon out.  Yes, I do speak from experience—now I know to clean up the chocolate right away!

If you’re looking for another Valentine’s Day recipe, check out the recipe I shared last year for Texas Fudge Cake.  It’s a can’t-be-beat chocolate favorite!  Many wishes for a chocolate-filled Valentine’s Day for you all!