These GF Peanut Butter Vanilla Pretzel Butterflies are a fun after-school snack that’s super easy to make and your kiddos will love! I promised I’d be back with a recipe soon and this is such a fun one!
This summer has literally flown by. Between the construction on the house from the flood, traveling for Josh’s dad’s celebration of life, and then to Virginia Beach for his niece’s wedding, the days and weeks have seemed to simply disappear.
I honestly can’t believe it’s almost time for school to start back!
Up until now, we’ve only had preschoolers, which starts back a little later in the year. But this year we have a kindergartener! How?! Where did the past 5, almost 6 years go?? 😭😭😭 In less that two weeks, our little man will officially be in school. And I’m having ALL the feelings over here.
So excited for him and all that is to come. So grateful to be zoned for such a special school. And yet, sad for how much his little sister will miss him while he’s gone. And emotional that our days of preschool years with him are officially over.
But while I know I’ll miss him so much, I can’t wait to see what God has in store for him. I can’t wait to see him continue to grow and develop into his own little person. And I’m looking forward to having fun after school snacks!
Like these adorable little GF Peanut Butter Vanilla Pretzel Butterflies.
I don’t buy pretzels on a weekly basis, so when I do, my kids are super excited. And they especially love these Cauliflower pretzel sticks and Butternut Squash Pretzel Twists. They’re gluten-free and made with cassava flour, making them thin and crispy. The perfect texture needed to create these butterfly treats.
They’re lightly salted which complements the sweetness from the white chocolate perfectly. And because our family is big-time team peanut butter, I added a couple spoonfuls! This also helped knock down the sweetness a bit.
Creating the butterflies was pretty simple. The most time consuming part was breaking apart the twists to use for the butterflies antennas. And depending on the age of your kiddos, they could likely help with this step! I used only the curved pieces and tried to pair ones that ended up similar in size and shape.
Once you get your pretzels all lined up, it’s really just a simple step of melting the chocolate, adding in a bit of peanut butter and natural food coloring, then dipping the center sticks and curved antenna pieces. While those harden, you can add in a few more drops of another food color to vary things up and prepare to decorate the wings with more chocolate. Then top with some sprinkles and voilà!
This recipe is one of those treats that could easily be a fun activity to do with your kids. OR is simple enough to whip up while they’re at school to make for a fun surprise when they get home.
I shopped Sprouts for all my ingredients. It’s forever my favorite spot for healthy options.
I’m not a big fan of typical food coloring, and how it can effect the body. I love that Sprouts carries natural options like these sprinkles and food coloring from Watkins that are colored with the natural dyes made by vegetables and fruits. The rainbow sprinkles I used are colored with Spirulina, Riboflavin (a yellow vitamin), Vegetable Juices, and Annatto (an orange-red dye from the pulp of tropical fruit).
I can get my kiddos to eat all sorts of healthy things, by just adding a small shake of these sprinkles, so it’s a big win-win.
As the summer is winding down, I hope each of you with young kiddos are enjoying this time together! And if you’re looking for a fun little treat, try these GF Peanut Butter Vanilla Pretzel Butterflies!
GF Peanut Butter Vanilla Pretzel Butterflies
Ingredients
- 60 From the Ground Up Butternut Squash Pretzel Twists
- 20 From the Ground Up Cauliflower Pretzel Sticks
- 1 1/2 cups Guittard Vanilla chocolate chips divided
- 1 1/2 tsp organic coconut oil divided
- 1 1/2 tbsp creamy peanut butter divided
- Watkins Natural Food Coloring
- Watkins Rainbow Sprinkles
Instructions
- Line two medium baking sheets with parchment or wax paper.
- Using approximately 40 butternut squash pretzel twists, line them up in pairs to create the butterfly wings, see pictures.
- With the remaining 20 butternut squash pretzel twists, gently break them into pieces to create the butterfly antennas, always using the curved pieces. Set aside until needed.
- Add 1 cup vanilla chips with 1 tsp coconut oil to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, allow to sit 15 seconds or so, then stir and heat for another 30 seconds. The chocolate should be melted and smooth at this point. Add in 1 tbsp creamy peanut butter, and stir until well mixed.
- Using the Watkins Natural Food Coloring, add about 4-5 drops of yellow food dye to the melted chocolate, stir until well combined.
- Take the 20 cauliflower pretzel sticks and break ends off of one side so they’re about 3/4 the original length, or use at their regular length for longer center pieces.
- Dip approximate 2/3 of each cauliflower pretzel stick down into the melted yellow white chocolate, then gently position it between the two pretzel twists and press together so the chocolate touches the twist/wing pieces. Next, take two small curved pieces and dip in one side of each then place those at the top of the pretzel stick to create the butterfly antennas. Be careful to make sure the pieces are fully covered in the chocolate and press slightly together so that when they harden they will become one piece. Continue in this manner until you’ve covered all center pieces in chocolate along with the antennas. See images.
- Put baking sheets in refrigerator for 15 minutes or until chocolate has hardened. At this point, I picked up each butterfly and scrapped off misc chocolate drippings as needed, then re-lined my trays with fresh wax paper before moving on to next step.
- If remaining yellow chocolate mixture is still melted, gently stir it and add some blue food coloring, approximately 4-5 drops and stir until well mixed. You’ll have a nice light green color to work with at this point. If needed, pop the yellow white chocolate back into the microwave for 20-30 seconds to soften again before adding the blue food coloring.
- Add the remaining green chocolate to a freezer bag and snip off the very edge of the corner to create a piping bag. Pipe small amounts of the chocolate mixture into the butterfly wings/pretzel twists (see images). You’ll should only have enough chocolate to do about half of the butterflies. Once you finish off the chocolate, use a small cake frosting spatula or bread knife to smooth out the chocolate.
- Sprinkle the melted chocolate with the Watkins Rainbow Sprinkles and pop the tray back into the refrigerator to allow chocolate to harden.
- While that green chocolate hardens, use a clean bowl and add the remaining 1/2 cup white chocolate chips along with the remaining 1/2 tsp coconut oil. Heat on high in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove, stir, and heat another 30 seconds, then stir. Your consistency should be smooth and creamy at this point. Stir in the remaining 1/2 tbsp peanut butter and mix until well incorporated . Finally add 4-5 drops of the natural red food coloring and stir until well mixed.
- Repeat the same process as earlier, using a clean freezer bag and adding warm chocolate mixture to it before cutting off the top edge of the corner, creating a piping bag. Pipe the warm pink colored chocolate into the “wings” of the remaining butterflies, smooth once again with the cake spatula, then sprinkle with the Watkins Rainbow sprinkles and return to refrigerator for another 10 minutes or so.
- Once the chocolate is fully hardened, you’re ready to serve! The kiddies will love these adorable little treats! Store at room temperature in sealed container.