Reindeer Pretzel Rods

My two- year old looooves "big daddy pretzel sticks" - aka - pretzel rods. You can find them by the bag at regular grocery stores, or in a neat plastic canister from Aldi.  It is so fun and easy to dress them up with melted chocolate or almond bark. Here is a fun reindeer pretzel stick I came up with for Christmas! I know Santa would like to get one of these on Christmas Eve, and they are great snacks for a holiday party as well!

Start by melting almond bark in the microwave. I like to melt mine in a ceramic coffee mug so it's deeper and has a handle.  You'll need about 6 squares of the almond bark for this recipe.  Microwave it for about 21 seconds at a time, stirring in between each time until it is all smooth. 

Dip each pretzel rod into your melted almond bark, tipping the mug at a 45 degree angle if you want more of the pretzel to get covered. I like just covering the tip so it doesn't get too overwhelmingly sweet. Lay your pretzel rods on a sheet of wax paper.

Before the almond bark hardens all the way, add mini M&M's or chocolate chips for the eyes and nose.  Use red ones to make little Rudolfs! My daughter (5) was in charge of this part.  She also helped with the dipping above, so this is a very kid-friendly snack! 

Finally, break off small twisted pretzels to look like antlers. You might use up quite a few that break all the way through but just eat up the extras! Place them at the top sides of your pretzel rods, resting in the melted almond bark. Since I made this up as I went along, I was so happy to discover they all stayed in once the almond bark was hardened. Woohoo!

Just let your pretzel rods sit out until they are hardened, which doesn't take very long. Maybe an hour or two. These are super cute and yummy snacks to make. Great to pass along to friends or teachers as well!