Summer Snacking Treat- Cheese-Stuffed Pizza Pretzels

I apologize to all my readers that I have not been able to post sooner on my page, but the summer so far has been quite busy with getting ready for my internship, working about 30 hours a week at starbucks, family get togethers, and my boyfriend visiting for a few days. However, I am going to try to stay on top of this and post more in the coming weeks!

If you know me well, you know that I am a foodie. I am very adventurous in my eating and like to try a wide variety of food, even though I am going to school to be a dietitian. At family parties and eating out  with friends I often get asked "why are you eating that if you're in school to teach people how to eat healthy?", my response is always that you can eat anything in moderation and a little splurge here and there won't hurt me. One of the dishes that I like to make when I am in the food for a little splurge is Cheese-Stuffed Pizza Pretzels. I originally saw this recipe on facebook in one of the Tasty food videos and knew that my family, boyfriend and I would all enjoy it. This recipe is perfect for an appetizer at a barbecue or even as a midnight snack. Its super easy and definitely worth the calories.

Cheese Stuffed Pizza Pretzels

Yields: 3 pretzels

Ingredients:
1 (13.8-ounce) tube store-bought pizza dough
4 cups shredded mozzarella (from two 8-ounce bags)
nonstick vegetable oil spray
15 presliced pepperoni
Store-bought marinara or pizza sauce for dipping

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C. Unroll the dough (it should form 15x9-inch rectangle), then cut the rectangle horizontally into three equal strips. (These will be your three pretzels.) Carefully stretch each of the strips by width and length — stretch each to about 3 inch width and about 34 inch length. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese down the center of each dough strip. (Reserve the last 1 cup of cheese for later.) Fold the dough over the cheese, pressing to seal and rolling slightly to create 3 dough logs filled with cheese. Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray with vegetable oil. To form the pretzels, take one dough log, move it to the foil covered baking sheet, then form a circle with the ends of the log at the top of the circle. Twist the log ends around each other once and bring them down to meet the bottom of the circle. That's your pretzel shape! Repeat with the other two dough logs on the baking sheet. (Watch the video if you need help with this step.) Wrap pepperonis on the pretzels — 5-ish per pretzel — then sprinkle the remaining cup of cheese among the three pretzels. Bake 14-18 minutes until deep golden brown. Serve immediately with pizza sauce for dipping.

The video is on facebook and can be found with an easy search, unfortunately I am not able to put the link in this post. I recommend eating them right when they are still warm and stuffing a lot of cheese inside them too! Even if you are watching what you're eating, remember it is healthy to treat yourself!