The praline frosting that I used to top the buttermilk layer cake that I made a few weeks ago was probably the best part of the cake. It was very sweet, almost candy-like, and after scraping a spoonful from the bottom of the bowl, I was struck with a craving for something salty to counteract the sugary praline taste. Inspiration struck when I spotted a bag of pretzels was sitting within reach on the counter. One thing let to another and soon I was making up a second batch of the praline to coat pretzels with. The pretzels were devoured by friends and family within a few days and almost everyone requested another batch.

Next time, I think I'll be adding a chocolate drizzle, too. You can find the frosting recipe here, though you might want to cut it in half unless you need dozens of pretzels.

Cadbury Mini Eggs are one of the best things about Easter, right alongside Peeps and Whopper Robin Eggs. The single bad thing about them, in fact, is that the are only for sale around the springtime holiday, so you have to stock up during the days after Easter Sunday when all the seasonal candies are on sale.

Just like the majority of non-imported Cadbury products sold in the US, the mini eggs are made on license by Hershey's. While Hershey's does a respectable job of replicating the taste of the milky Cadbury chocolates in their bars, in no single candy is the taste better than these chocolates. The mini eggs are coated in a thin, crisp candy shell. Unlike most candy-coated chocolates, the shell is delicate and not shined to a high gloss. Instead, the spotted pastel eggs have a matte finish that gives them a more egg-like appearance and a more textured mouth feel. The shell melts away quickly - if you can resist chewing it unlike me - to reveal the ultra-creamy milk chocolate center of the egg.

There are lots of excellent chocolate eggs to choose from, but I dare say that there is no better solid chocolate one than these.

Whoppers are candies with a chocolate coating over a malted milk center. They are almost identical to Maltesers, though fans of one will argue that it is better than the other. Maltesers are made by Mars, while Whoppers are made by Hershey. Around Easter, Whoppers adds a brightly colored candy coating to the balls and calls them Robin Eggs. Personally, I am a huge fan of the candy coating and look forward to picking up a bag of these around Easter. The extra crunch that comes before reaching the chocolate layer and melt-in-your-mouth malted center is great.