Day 14 - Chocolate Pretzel Rings

Today's recipe is one that Marissa and I have been making for over 15 years.  The recipe was given to me by a coworker, Kate, when I worked at the State.  All of my coworkers knew of my love of baking so swapping recipes was a frequent topic of conversation.  The first time I made these was during a snow storm.  There was an threat of bad weather coming and so we were all discussing what we would do if we had a snow day.  Baking was always on my list of snow day activities.  Kate told me and a couple of others about this simple but delicious recipe, and we were all dying to try them so we stopped at the grocery store to get the 3 ingredients on our way home from work that day.  We waited in long lines with those who were getting the toilet paper and milk in case they were stranded at home in the storm.  We were more interested in having our baking supplies.  We made the pretzel rings during our snow day and haven't stopped making them since.  They are so simple to make and so festive.  You can make them for any holiday. Red and green M&M's for Christmas, Red and White for Valentine's Day, Pastels for Easter and of course you can make them using school colors for team tailgates or parties.  When Marissa was in first grade, we did a cookie baking day with her brownie troop.  These were one of the treats we made since they were so simple to make and the girls could do them by themselves (mostly).  Over the years, these treats were made by a lot of folks at Marissa's school but oddly enough they called them belly buttons.  Sounds so unappetizing and unsophisticated but that didn't stop us from eating them! Hope you enjoy these simple treats and I think you might find that they will be a regular addition to your holidays.

48 to 50 pretzel rings or wheels (Utz makes wheels that we use)
1 package (8 ounces) milk chocolate kisses (you can also use Hugs)
1/4 cup M&M's

Place the pretzels on an ungreased baking sheet (we use a sheet lined with Reynolds Release aluminum foil).  Place a chocolate kiss in the center of each pretzel.  Bake at 275 degrees for 2-3 minutes until chocolate is softened.  We found that 4 minutes works well.  Remove from the oven.  We smooth the chocolate over the pretzel wheel with a knife.  Place an M&M in the center of each pretzel, pressing slightly so chocolate fills the pretzel.  Refrigerate for 10 minutes until chocolate is firm.  Store at room temperature.  Makes about 4 dozen.

Note:  Before baking a full tray, test a few on a small tray to make sure the temperature is right.  I have made the mistake before of putting a full tray in the oven and having the temperature be too hot and scorch the chocolate which then doesn't melt.  Testing a few makes sure the temperature is right.