Chocolate Pretzels: Turtle Power!

I was reading beautiful Delishhh the other day and as soon as I saw the photos of the Rolo Pretzel Turtles I knew they would be the perfect Sunday treat, so I just had to try and make them, no matter how hard they could be. It turns out that, as said, it was really easy - so, lucky me!!! Ahahah! All the more time I have this Sunday to clean the house! ........ Oh... wait. 

First, spread a sheet of greaseproof paper on a tray. Then place as many little pretzels as you want. 

I didn't have any Rolo chocolate candies, so I used what I had: chocolate candy filled with hazelnuts. But a fun part of it all would be the "turtle look", so on the other half I used squares of a dark chocolate bar I was going to save for sadder days.

And it just gets easier! Put the tray in the oven for about 5 minutes to 180º for the chocolate to soften a little bit - it depends on the chocolate, really. I found that in my case I had to give it about 7 minutes, so the best solution is to keep checking if it needs more time when it reaches the 5-minute limit.  

Take the tray out of the oven and squish the softened chocolate with a walnut (only the not-stuffed ones, of course). There you go: Heroes in a half shelf!

Don't forget to let them cool before you serve them.

I was also thinking how nice these would be as a Christmas or birthday gift (in a little bag, a colourful ribbon and some special words).

Anyway, a special Thank You, Delishhh: you made my Sunday morning really delishhhious! 

Almond treat

This is one of my dad's favourites, so whenever I do it it always reminds me of [my first] home. Recently, my dad - who is as handy in the kitchen as I am changing a flat tire - has tried different varieties: with walnuts instead of almonds, with walnuts and almonds, with any kind on nuts with or without almonds... I must confess I prefer the original version. The walnut gives it a touch of bitterness which I can set aside for my Monday mornings.

Beat 3 eggs, 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of milk. Heat the mixture in the oven until it thickens. When it gets a creamy texture, add 1 cup of almonds in their skin [believe me: the taste of the skin is important for this treat]. 

Divide it in little individual bowls like the one in the photo. Sprinkle the bowls with sliced toasted almonds. 

Let it cool and finally it's ready to eat.

Enjoy!