DIY: Easy gift idea - Chocolate-dipped Pretzels

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I'm having a really hard time understanding how it's May already!! But I'm excited! I'm actually really looking forward to Bennett being out of school next month! We'll have lots of free time to go on adventures and enjoy the beautiful Summer weather.

May brings to mind a few things for me:

1. Teach Appreciation Week
2. Mother's Day
3. My Birthday

First I should tell you that I already went and bought myself a Birthday/Mother's Day gift. (more on that later!) But, I've been trying to come up with a cute little gift idea that would be easy to make for Bennett's Teacher, as well as a few of my favorite Mama's for Mother's Day. I wanted to create something yummy, but I also wanted it to be something that the kiddos could get involved in and help me with.

I decided on chocolate dipped pretzels! Why?? Because they are the perfect combination of sweet & salty! Something for everyone I think.

I went to Walmart and got the ingredients for the treat. And while I was there, I also found these cute glass cars and ribbon to package them up in!! For Bennett's teacher, I went online and scoured the internet for a fun little "Thank You" tag. I settled on this cute printable that you can download for free right here.

For Mother's Day, I'm going to create a different tag. But I think the Teacher Gift turned out really cute!! Bennett was stoked to give it to her yesterday when I dropped him off at class. She was really thankful and gave him a big hug. Wish I would have gotten a photo of it.

So because it was such a hit, I wanted to share the super easy recipe for the chocolate dipped pretzels with you so you can make them with your family! And maybe show a little teacher appreciation? Or gift these out for Mother's Day perhaps?

First thing... head to Walmart and get your supplies!

INGREDIENTS

• 12 oz (2 cups) of Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• 36 pretzel twists
• Assorted sprinkles or small candies

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with waxed or parchment paper.
2. Pour chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring every 30 seconds.
3. After the first 1 or 2 intervals, stir in 1 tablespoon of shortening. This will help thin out the chocolate a little bit. Continue process until the chocolate is smooth. Be sure not to overcook, chocolate tends to get thicker when it's overheated and it will be unworkable. It only took me between 1:30-2 minutes to melt my chocolate chips.
4. You can either dip the entire pretzel in the chocolate, or you can dip half of it. I chose to do a combination of both.
   If you're dipping the entire pretzel, make sure you submerge it completely into the chocolate, I pulled it out with a fork and then let the excess chocolate drip off before putting it onto the baking sheet.
5. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle your candy onto the pretzels.
6. Once your finished, set baking sheet in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes or until the chocolate is set.
   
   The chocolate-covered pretzels will keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. If temps are warm, store them in the refrigerator to prevent melting of the chocolate.

Easy, right?! I think I found my new favorite go-to gift idea. This whole process took about an hour and that was it!
Hope you all have a wonderful week!!