This recipe starts with a story. One day over the summer I desperately needed to go to the grocery store and I needed to do a real shop, not just pick a few things up, because our pantry was incredibly bare. Unfortunately, though, school was out and camps had not started yet, which meant I had two boys with me who had no interest in going grocery shopping. What’s a mom to do? Bribe. So I did. I bribed them with a treat each if they would help me out and not beg and plead for each thing that caught their interest. They agreed. So in we went.
We had made it through the produce section and were entering the bulk foods when my little one cried out, “YOGURT PRETZELS!!” And then my older one cried out, “YOGURT PRETZELS!!” These two kids could not be more different in their taste in food- my younger loves all things protein (read: meat) and my older is a vegetable addict- so this was a rare moment. I was about to say, “Great! Yogurt pretzels can be your treat!” When a little voice inside my head said, “But what is actually in yogurt pretzels?” I had looked it up before and deep down I knew the answer: Not yogurt. Yogurt pretzels do have a tiny, tiny bit of dehydrated yogurt in them, but mostly the coating is confectioner’s sugar. So really what they were asking for was candy and I wasn’t a big fan of that idea. But inspiration struck and I said, “what if we made our OWN yogurt pretzels?!” Luckily they loved the idea.
So that afternoon I poked around online and found that I really wasn’t gong to be able to make yogurt pretzels, but I came across a couple of yogurt sauces. So the boys and I created our own version. This has become our go-to dessert. It is healthy, delicious, and fun- kids LOVE to dip! I have even used it as the treat at school birthday celebrations instead of cupcakes/cookies/etc. and the kids loved it.
The best part of this recipe? It takes 1 minute to make. Ok, maybe 2 if you include washing the fruit.
A small note, I make this with organic whole milk plain yogurt. In fact, that is the only kind of yogurt we have in the house. Here is why: 1) whole milk yogurt has good fats, 2) flavored yogurts have CRAZY amounts of sugar in them- one serving has as much sugar as a bowl of ice cream!, and 3) it is more flexible. I use it in baking, in savory sauces, and, clearly, as a dessert.
I hope you and your kids enjoy this one as much as we do.
- ½ cup whole milk plain yogurt (preferably organic)
- 1 teaspoon honey (or more, depending on how sweet you want it)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- dash of cinnamon
- Mix the four ingredients together. If needed, add more honey to taste. Serve with pretzels and fresh fruit (grapes, strawberries, blueberries, apples pieces, and melon pieces have all been big hits in our household) with toothpicks for dipping.
Leave a Reply