Some sweet little old ladies in the neighborhood had a group project going that looked interesting to me.

They were making little Easter baskets for schoolkids, and the baskets were filled with candy.

This seemed like a innocent activity to me until I learned a little bit more about the project. The activity was enjoyable for the ladies and there was no doubt the kids would love the candy but … there was a sinister side to it as well.

Most of the candy was supplied for free to the ladies by a dentist who went to their church!

One of the first lessons taught to me as a kid was to be aware of dentists bearing candy gifts. Now here was one using sweet little old ladies as a front for his nefarious activity, which would lead to drilling and filling in the weeks ahead.

Most of the candies were manufactured products in nice bright wrappers. But the ladies added other highlights to the baskets in the form of homemade pretzel flowers. These really were delicious (I volunteered to be the “taste detective” to be sure these would be enjoyed by the kids).

After eating about a dozen of these I was able to give my blessing to the project. I’m also happy to report my teeth have been just fine – and I’m going to use their recipe to make some to keep in the kitchen whenever I have a sweet tooth.

Easter Basket Pretzel Flowers

Big pretzel sticks

Chocolate candy coating

Colorful candy sprinkles

Colorful mini marshmallows

When shopping for the supplies, get the big pretzel sticks about as round as your finger and about 8 inches long.

The chocolate candy coating is the kind you can warm up in the microwave to melt so it will coat the pretzel.  Be sure to only coat about half the pretzel stick with chocolate so the kids will be able to handle the treat without getting all sticky.

After you’ve covered the pretzel sticks, roll them in a plate or bowl with candy sprinkles.

You should also do some using mini-marshmallows – these will stick to the chocolate coating.

Put a hardboiled egg you’ve colored with egg dye in the center of the basket, put some candy around it and then stick 3-4 of the candy pretzels around the outside edge inside the basket.

If you want to taste some of these yourself, remember: I’ve already got the job of taste detective nailed down. Best thing you can do is act like a sad little kid and hope someone will feel sorry for you and share their candy.

Readers with questions or comments for Dave Kessler may write to him in care of this publication.