Chocolate Pretzel Crack

A tiny bit like Christmas crack - - you know, that crazy Christmas candy that people make with Saltine crackers?  Same idea... but better more interesting shape and more salt when you use pretzels.

I found this recipe online on a cute little blog and was immediately intrigued and wanted to try it myself. I give the credit for the recipe to her, however, I know that this same basic recipe exists in a lot of family homes already.  I just never tried it before the other day.

Hey, I know it's not Christmas, so make this for Valentine's day or something.  
No one, just no one will say NO to this candy treat because it isn't Christmas.

Makes quite a lot...

Ingredients

2 stick butter (1 cup)

1 cup light brown sugar

1 bag pretzels (reg size bag- you'll use 2/3 bag)

12 oz chocolate chips

sea salt for sprinkling, optional

Preheat the oven to 400.

Line a large bar pan with parchment paper, cover with pretzels. (you can see I didn't use parchment, but I suggest you do! I had a time getting it off my pan once it was cold!)

In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium-low heat. When it begins to bubble add the brown sugar. Stirring occasionally let the butter/sugar mixture meld together and brown. This should take about 3-4 minutes. It doesn't look like its going to bind together at first, but it comes together. Do NOT let it boil. When you have a nice, brown caramel pour it over the pretzels, slowly and evenly. 

You can then use a spatula to spread it out, you have to work quickly and gently. It hardens fast so even pouring is the best method. Don't worry too much about gaps, it will spread out more in the oven.

Bake the sheet for 5 minutes.

Remove the sheet from the oven and sprinkle the whole bag of chocolate chips evenly over the mixture.

Place back in the oven for less than one minute. Chocolate burns so don't leave it in there too long.

Remove from the oven and use a silicone spatula to evenly spread the chocolate over the top. Don't worry too much about getting it on every single piece, as it can be tricky to do as the caramel below is hot and keeps shifting around as you try and "spread" it around.

Sprinkle with sea salt (if desired) and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour. Break into chunks and store in a tin.  It's best to give it away right away before eating too much of it yourself.

Beast Mode Skittle Martini

Some of you know I've been working on a recipe for a Seahawks martini for a while.
The first couple looked and tasted like Nyquil, as I was trying to do layered blue and green and it just didn't work out.

I'd seen one other Beast Mode recipe online using only Vodka and Skittles.  The concept is to shake your vodka, ice and candies until the color comes off and colors your martini.  
So I tried that.
Except it was really wasn't that good... just cold colored vodka, which depending on who you are, might be fine, but it wasn't really that interesting and frankly, a bit too boozy.

So, I dumped the mixture back into the shaker, added a green liqueur and a bit of lime.  
Viola, a yummy tangy, a bit sweet martini that was an appropriate testimony to both Skittles and Seahawks.

The hard part of this recipe?  Separating your skittles by color and deciding who gets the GREEN one at the party.  If you're lucky enough to have found some of the "Seattle" skittles this will be easier as you will have the green and blue versions.

I used about 25 skittles to make our drinks.

Not pictured.... Apple Pucker and limes!

Makes 2, because why would you want to drink one of these alone?
Ingredients

2 jiggers vodka, plain or citrus
1 jigger apple pucker (or Melon Midori would be nice too)
25 skittles of ONE color
Lime juice (optional, if you like it tart)


Pour all ingredients over ice and SHAKE for about 3-4 minutes until the color has come off all the candy and the drink is super cold.  The skittles will NOT fully dissolve, and you will be left with white candies in your ice when you strain into glasses.

 ***If you wanted a sweeter martini, add a bit of Triple Sec and omit the lime 

Go Seahawks! I hope you win the Super Bowl.