Pretzel Hugs and the Easter Bunny

Once again, I've stumbled upon a perfectly addictive little treat! Pretzel Hugs!!! These came onto my radar when a friend of the family gave us a gift bag of these at Christmas. They tasted so good and looked so adorable, I knew I had to make some of my own. Since M&Ms always come in such festive colors, these little babies make perfect party favors! (Or just make a whole batch for yourself--I won't tell!) 

Yesterday was Easter, and I have to say, I think the Easter Bunny has one of the best jobs I can think of. He works one night a year, and best of all, brings baskets full of sweets to everyone! I'm not sure what makes a rabbit particularly suited to that task (I mean, rabbits prefer leafy vegetables, right?), but he really does have a fantastic job. Now, I'm not trying to go after the Easter Bunny's job, but I couldn't help giving some Easter treats of my own yesterday. And so, I made little bags of pretzel hugs to give to my aunt and cousins.

Pretzel hugs are a breeze to make, they look cute, and they are dangerously addictive. I brought a batch into work last week, and they were gone by noon. There are plenty of recipes out there for these simple treats, but I found that I needed the Hershey Hugs to be completely melty before I would drop the M&M on top, so here's my method:

Pretzel Hugs

Ingredients:
small pretzels  (little wagon wheels or square waffle ones are perfect)
M&Ms  (festive colors are great!)
1 bag Hershey Hugs

(You will also need parchment paper. Without it, the pretzel hugs will become melded to the cookie sheet.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Farenheit. Line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.  

Spread out enough small pretzels onto the cookie sheet for each Hershey Hug.  

Place one unwrapped Hershey Hug on top of each pretzel.  Bake at 175 for 7-10 minutes.  When the Hershey Hugs have melted enough that they have relaxed their shape, take them out of the oven.  (Note: The white chocolate on the outside will melt faster than the milk chocolate on the inside.  You will need to wait until the entire thing is soft, inside and out.)

Place an M&M on top of each melted Hershey Hug.  Let them set in a cool place.  (It's cold up here in the north, even in springtime, so I just put the cookie sheet outside for 10 minutes, but you can use the freezer or the fridge.)

And remember:  Give a friend a hug, and they'll love you all day.  Give a friend a Pretzel Hug, and they'll love you for a lifetime! (Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but you get the picture.  These are really, really yummy!)