ROLO PRETZEL TREATS

If you want a little treat to satisfy many taste sensations at once, this is it.  Salty, crunchy, smooth, sweet, and chocolatey all at once, this little snack fits the bill.  You can make LOTS in little time and bring these out for happy snacking.  If you belong in the “I can’t eat just one” clan, then you can make a few at a time in the toaster oven, or even one at time in the microwave.

A BIT OF TRIVIA

For those trivial pursuit aficionados out there, do you know how Rolos got the name? It comes from the package design.  Back in 1937, stacking the candies and making a roll of candies in foil was an unusual way to present a package of chocolate candies. Someone back then must also have figured out that the name Rolo means “famous throughout the land”. Good marketing strategy, I think.

The only problem I have with this recipe is that I really dislike peeling off the foil of individually wrapped Rolos because I end up with irritating little tiny pieces of foil on my clothes and the floor. There must be other people who feel like I do, because now Rolos are available, unwrapped, in a resealable bag.  I wish I knew that before I bought the ones for this recipe post.

ENLIST HELP

My husband Allen knew how much I disliked this, so he would carefully unwrap each Rolo for these little treats that he loved to pop in his mouth.  I would prep the pan with foil and lay small twist pretzels in a single layer over top.  Allen would methodically unwrap all the candy pieces-but not before he counted the pretzels.  When he knew how many pretzels were on the sheet pan, he would count out the exact same amount of Rolos and put them on the counter to the right side of the pan. 

Then he dumped any extra Rolos out on the counter to the left side of the pan.  I am not exactly sure of his system, but I think it went something like this: “Four for the pan, one for me…” Allen never complained about acting as sous chef for this particular recipe. You can ask kids and other adults to help with the unwrapping, if you can trust them to count and snack as conscientiously as Allen did.

After laying out the pretzels on the prepared sheet pan, place one Rolo on top of each pretzel.  Place the tray in the preheated oven just long enough to soften, about 3-4 minutes in my oven. The chocolate will change from dull and flat to a light sheen. Although the recipe states that the treats can bake for as long as 5 minutes, I never do that. If I let them bake over 3 minutes, they start to melt too much and slide off the pretzels.

Remove the pan from the oven and place a nut or pretzel twist on top of each candy. Carefully press down slightly on each one to compress the candy and meld all the pieces together.

You can prep these ahead and leave them on the counter until ready to bake. Leftovers should be kept in a covered container at room temperature.

ROLO PRETZEL TREATS

• 1 (10.6 ounce) bag of Rolos
• 50 small twist pretzels
• 50 almond slices, pecan halves, walnut halves, or additional pretzels

Preheat oven to 250°F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Lay pretzels out in one layer on prepared sheet.  Place an unwrapped Rolo on top of each pretzel.

Bake 3 to 5 minutes or until caramel piece begins to soften, but not melt. Remove from oven, put a nut or pretzel on top of each one.  Press down slightly to get all of the pieces to adhere to each other.

The Hershey’s company notes that you can also do these in the microwave if you put the assembled pieces in for 30 seconds on half power. 

Let cool before serving. 

(Modified from Hersheys.com)