CHOCOLATE EASTER BASKETS

Chocolate-coated pretzel "twigs" lend themselves to elegant centerpieces filled with chocolate truffles or meringue mushrooms. Or, make a little nest for each child and fill it with jelly beans and foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. Let the kids play with the sticky chocolate-coated pretzels on wax paper and voilà: miniature log cabins, stick figures, and edible skyscrapers.

Makes 1 large basket or nest or 3 small ones

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces Scharffen Berger 62% Cacao Semisweet or 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate
• 3 cups or more thin pretzel sticks, salted or unsalted

Equipment:

• 2-quart bowl or box, lined with plastic wrap, for a large basket or nest
• Sheets of wax paper for small nests

Method:

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water or in the microwave on Medium (50 percent) power. Cool to lukewarm. In a medium bowl, pour most of the chocolate over the pretzels. Use a rubber spatula to turn the pretzels gently in the chocolate until they are lightly coated, adding as much of the rest of the chocolate as necessary. It's OK if some of the pretzel shows through the chocolate.

For a large basket or nest, scrape the pretzels into the lined bowl or box. Arrange the sticky pretzels against the sides of the container to resemble a basket or nest. Shape small nests or wreaths on sheets of wax paper.

Refrigerate to set the chocolate. To unmold the large basket, lift the plastic liner from the container and peel it away from the pretzels. Fill with chocolate truffles or candy.

From: A YEAR IN CHOCOLATE: Four Seasons of Unforgettable Desserts by Alice Medrich, author of COCOLAT and ALICE MEDRICH'S COOKIES AND BROWNIES (Warner Books; 2001; $25.95)

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