Snowy Shovels

 

1/2

cup packed brown sugar

1/2

cup butter or margarine, softened

2

tablespoons water

1

teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2

cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1/8

teaspoon salt

10

pretzel rods (about 8 1/2 inches long), cut crosswise in half

2/3

cup white vanilla baking chips

2

teaspoons shortening

Miniature marshmallows (about 80 to 100)

White decorator sugar crystals

• 1 Heat oven to 350ºF. In medium bowl, beat brown sugar, butter, water and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour and salt. Shape dough into twenty 1 1/4-inch balls.
• 2 Place pretzel rod halves on ungreased cookie sheet. Press ball of dough onto cut end of each pretzel rod. Press dough to make indentation to look like shovel, but do not press all the way to the cookie sheet. Bake about 12 minutes or until set but not brown. Cool 2 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.
• 3 Cover cookie sheet with waxed paper. Place shovels on waxed paper. In 1-quart saucepan, melt baking chips and shortening over low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth; remove from heat. Place 4 or 5 marshmallows in bottom portion of shovel to look like pile of snow. Spoon melted white chocolate over marshmallows and bottom portion of shovel; sprinkle with sugar crystals. If desired, drizzle white chocolate over shovel handle. Let stand until chocolate is firm.