Magic Pretzels

We call these "magic" in our house because it's magic how many of them I can eat unless someone grabs the bowl away from me. The recipe is easy for little ones to help with, and makes for great holiday gifts. If the pretzels aren't traveling too far, decorative take-out cartons like the one pictured work well ($3 each, containerstore.com). If you're shipping them, a clean coffee can covered in holiday wrap is perfect.

Hands-On Time: 5 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Yield: about 1 pound

1 cup corn or canola oil
1 envelope (1 ounce) dried ranch salad-dressing mix
1/2 of a 1-ounce envelope dried garlic-flavored salad-dressing mix/(pour the envelope into a measuring cup and spoon out half)
1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 pound hard sourdough "beer" pretzels, broken into pieces ("hard" or "beer" pretzels are in the snack section of your grocery store; if you can only find a 13-ounce box, that's fine to use instead of 1 pound)

1. Put oil, salad-dressing mixes, lemon-pepper seasoning, and dill into a gallon-size ziplock bag, seal it, then shake hard to mix. Add pretzels and toss until they're completely coated. Allow the pretzels to "marinate" for at least 1 hour, giving them a shake whenever you think of it.
2. Heat oven to 300. Spread pretzels and their flavorings on a large, rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil and bake, stirring every 10 minutes, for 30 minutes.
3. Let pretzels cool completely, while stirring often. Store them in an airtight container (they'll keep for 4 to 6 weeks).