Homemade Hummus & Pretzel Toast Points

The Holidays are coming! The Holidays are coming! So begins the season of cheer, last minute shopping, and parties. And it is at these parties where perennial favorites show their faces: cocktail meatballs, cheese and crackers, cookies and the ubiquitous veggie tray.

What I’m saying here is, dare to be different. Bring the crazy (as in out of this world good) combination of homemade hummus and pretzel toast points. You will wow all of those that taste your homemade hummus – they’ll ask you what brand it is and where you bought it – and you can answer with a small smile and a nonchalant shrug of your shoulder, “Oh, I made it.”

And here’s the real plus: all of the ingredients (including the pretzel bread from Whole Foods) will cost you less than trying to buy several tubs of hummus and crackers to take to your party. Delicious and cost effective, that’s my kind of appetizer! So grab your food processor and make some holiday magic!

Homemade Hummus and Pretzel Toast Points
Modified from: Inspired Taste

Ingredients:

15 ounce can chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
1/4 cup Tahini
juice from 2 lemons
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 TBSP EVOO (plus additional for serving)
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
ground paprika for serving
1 loaf pretzel bread

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine tahini and juice from 1-1/2 lemons. Process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl then turn on and process for 30 seconds. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making smooth and creamy hummus possible.
2. Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin and the salt to whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape sides and bottom of bowl then process another 30 seconds.
3. Open can of chickpeas, drain liquid then rinse well with water. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor then process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl, add remaining chickpeas and process for 1 to 2 minutes or until thick and quite smooth.
4. Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add juice from remaining 1/2 lemon and 1-2 teaspoons EVOO until the consistency is perfect.
5. Scrape the hummus into a bowl then drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top and sprinkle with paprika.

Pretzel Toast Points

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Slice pretzel loaf on a diagonal and the cut each slice on a diagonal creating two triangles.
3. Toast in the oven for approximately 5 minutes on each side (you want to toast points to be lightly browned).

**Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate up to one week.**

By Carin Thumm