Flavored Pretzel Pieces

I have always wanted to make these. After I got my heart transplant I couldn't cook for ~4 months and this was one of the first things I made. If you noticed some of the pictures are missing, it is because my Anti-Rejection medication sometimes causes severe hand tremors. In this instructable I made Honey Mustard and Ranch, enjoy the recipe.

Regards,
Ryan

Equipment:
• Rimmed Cookie Sheets
• Bowl with lid
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Whisk
• Oven

Ingredients:
• 4-4 1/2 cups Pretzels, we use pretzel rods or sourdough nuggets broken into pieces
• Seasoning (ideas below)

Seasoning Powder
• 1/2 cup oil
• 4 tablespoons of seasoning

Liquid Seasoning
• 1/6-1/4 cup Oil
• 1/6-1/4 cup Sauce/Liquid

Honey Mustard
• 1/3-1/2 cup Canola Oil or Olive Oil
• 5 tablespoons honey
• 3 1/4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Alternative Honey Mustard
• 1/4 cup Canola Oil or Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Traditional Yellow Mustard
• 2 tsp Ground Mustard
• 1 1/3 Tbsp Honey
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 250. Crush the pretzel rods or sourdough nuggets into small pieces no larger than ~1"^3. You will need ~4-4 1/2 cups of pretzel pieces.

In a measuring cup, whisk together all the seasoning ingredients. Make sure the seasonings are evenly distributed throughout the oil and if you are using a liquid seasoning the oil needs to be evenly distributed throughout the sauce. In the pictures I am making Ranch Pretzel Pieces (Powder) and Honey Mustard Pretzel Pieces (Liquid).

Toss the pretzels/pretzel pieces with whisked mixture in the large bowl, until they are all evenly coated.

Place pretzels on a lightly sprayed rimmed baking sheet and lightly sprinkle with salt, optional, and lightly spray pretzels with a light coating of oil.

Bake in a preheated oven for 30-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the pretzels return to the hard pretzel density and the coating is solid and not sticky/damp.

Once they reach the proper consistency/density, take the pretzels out of the oven and place into resealable containers. Leave the lid open until they cool down so the built up moisture escapes, then seal and store for ~1-2 weeks. They also taste great warm.

You could also throw in some broken up melba toast and Chex Cereal to make different types of Chex Mix, keeping in mind the "Wet to Dry" ratio needs to remain the same. Theoretically, you could use any sauce or dressing, such as ranch dressing or barbecue sauce. Using a wet sauce instead of a powder seasoning lets you reduce the amount of oil and fat used. If you use powder seasoning, I would recommend ranch, it works very well with the sourdough pretzels.

As a bonus, here is a picture I took of my collie before the transplant and I was put on Prograf. It is the best picture I have ever taken. The second picture in the kitchen is her when I was making the pretzels.