Hard pretzels are fine. I don’t like eating them, but every once in a while they are the only (allegedly) edible snack available. The average pretzel is a dry, flavorless knot of wasted opportunity, save for a few stray lumps of salt. Seasoned pretzels, on the other hand, are a different story. They are a joy to eat, and every bag of pretzels should be transformed into such pretzels. Luckily, it’s easy. Here’s the best way to do it.

Part of what makes this pretzel trick so delicious is the 1-2 punch of oil and powerful spices. The oil provides a layer for the dry spices to cling to, and of course, the spices add a world of flavor that would otherwise be missing. The light coating of oil heats up in the oven and the pretzel is baked again, resulting in a crispier, lightly toasted pretzel. It’s an added layer of flavor, albeit subtle.

In a large bowl, combine the pretzels with two tablespoons of neutral oil and three tablespoons of finely ground spices and bake. It really is that simple. But the difference between OK-seasoned pretzels and pretzels that really sing is in the texture of the spice mix. If you use the ground garlic and onion powder straight from your spice jar, it will work, but the grains will be a bit too large. They won’t stick to the oil as well and will burn more easily and feel dusty when you eat them. A finer consistency is better.

Instead, use the pre-mixed seasoning packets for dressings, dips, or popcorn: they’re already ground to a fine powder. I used a ranch dressing packet, but onion dip powder mix would be a savory phenomenon, or even Kraft mac and cheese powdered cheese would work for cheesy pretzels. If you’d rather make your own, I recommend throwing the combination of spices into a mortar and pestle and mortar and grinding them to a fine powder, like you would for popcorn seasoning.