DIY Sweet and Salty Caramel Turtles Recipe

To follow up on my last post, I wanted to share the quick and simple recipe for my Sweet and Salty Caramel Turtles. It will take you less than 15 minutes total and will be sure to be a hit.

Sweet and Salty Caramel Turtles:

Here is what you need:

• A bag of Rolos (found at Target, Walmart or any supermarket). A 12 oz bag contained about 57 pieces.
• A bag of Snyder's Butter Snaps (you could use mini pretzels as well but the butter snaps have more surface area)
• Any Topping(s) of your choice. I did cashew nuts, almonds, pistachios and Holiday M&M's.
• Parchment paper (I use the Reynold's brand because they were on sale for $2.50/roll at the supermarket) 

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line parchment paper on two cookie sheets. 

Step 2: Unwrap the Rolos and place them on the Butter Snaps. Unwrapping the individual Rolos will take the longest in this whole process. 

Synder's Butter Snaps & Bag of Rolos:

Unwrapped Rolos on Butter Snaps Lined Up and Ready for Baking:

Step 3: Place the cookie tray in the oven for 3-4 minutes until the chocolate starts looking "wet". Try not to overcook or else the chocolate will start burning. I did 3 minutes in my oven and it turned out fine. 

Step 4: Place a topping on top of the Rolo and push it down. Be careful not to touch the chocolate with your finger.

Finished Sweet and Salty Caramel Turtles: 

Step 5: Let it cool. If you are in a rush to leave, you can place them in the refrigerator or freezer. Just remember to serve them at room temperature or else you will be eating hard cold caramel. 

That's it. You're done! You can place them in individual mini cupcake cups or just toss them in a box like I did. 

Finished Sweet and Salty Caramel Turtles. I placed them in parchment paper over a sheet of green tissue for a festive look. 

Gabby checking out the yummy goodness:

My Little Monkey:

DIY Christmas White Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Sticks Recipe

I've been taking Gabby to storytime at the library for awhile now but wanted more opportunities to take Gabby out. There's only so many times you can go to Target or the mall play area. The park is only so much fun by yourself too. So I recently joined a local Mom's group so Gabby can have playdates with other children around our area. She really enjoys being around other kids and I get to have some adult interaction and conversation too. So far, it's been so much fun! There are several events every week so there's always something to do if we wanted. We've done playdates at a gymnastics studio (for free), the park, a craft day at a fellow mom's house with about 15 other kids.

Tonight I'm going to a kid-free Mom's Night Out and White Elephant Secret Santa Exchange which should be fun! We are going to craft some gift tags and munch on home-made goodies. With Gabby's help this morning, we made about 20 of these babies.

Christmas White Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Sticks with Holiday Sprinkles:

Gabby helped crush mini peppermint candy canes for the pretzel sticks on the right. 

Here is what you need:

• Pretzel Rods (can be found at Target, Walmart or any supermarket)
• Almond Bark, Baker's Chocolate or Candy Melts. I used about half a package of almond bark for twenty pretzel rods (see picture below). 
• Parchment Paper
• Optional: sprinkles, chopped up nuts or candy, crushed Oreos or whatever you want. This time I didn't add any nuts just in case some people have peanut allergies.
• Optional: Wilton Pretzel Rod Bags.

Step 1: Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. On a large plate, break off and melt two portions of the almond bark in the microwave in 30 second increments. You don't want to overheat the chocolate. 

Step 2: Roll a pretzel rod on the melted chocolate until it has a thin coating. If you add too much chocolate, it may drip and make your pretzel have a flat bottom instead of a round shape. Cover approximately 2/3rds of the pretzel rod length-wise.

Step 3: Add on your toppings and let cool on the parchment paper. You can also melt a different color chocolate and drizzle it on for a different look. By the time I was covering the pretzel rods and topping them, the first pretzels had hardened and were ready to be bagged for freshness. 

Step 4: Place finished pretzel rods in plastic bags or airtight container. The hardest part on this whole project is opening up the plastic bags! You can spice up the packaging by adding ribbon or labels if you wish. So many choices and super easy too. 

Finished White Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods:

I had enough leftover chocolate to cover the broken pretzels for us to sample now, you know, for quality assurance. ;)

We are planning on making some sweet and salty caramel turtles this afternoon so please check back tomorrow.