Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

Chocolate covered pretzel rods are one of the quickest and easiest treats to make, but with a taste that is absolutely scrumptious.

Personally, I can't resist the marvelous combination of sweet chocolate and salty pretzel. 

It's not just the sweet & salty combo that gets me, though I do love it.  It's the actual flavors of the chocolate and that unique pretzel taste that go so well together and make them so completely irresistible.

Just thinking about yummy pretzels smothered in chocolate gets my taste buds singing!  Mmmmm!

If you've never attempted to make your own chocolate dipped pretzel rods, I guess the big question is, "Why not?"  They are SO easy to make!

Just look at those gorgeous pretzels created by one of our readers, Linda Horswood, in the photo above.  Didn't she do a fantastic job? 

Thanks for the picture, Linda!  It's definitely worth a thousand words. ;)

Okay, I realize there may be a reason you don't want to make your own chocolate pretzels...

Perhaps, like me, you want to give them as a gift and you live too far away to present them in person.  Sometimes it's just easier to order gourmet pretzels online and be done with it.  (I just ordered some for my dad last night - don't tell!)

Or maybe you're simply not a DIY kind of person.  Fair enough.  (But trust me, making chocolate covered pretzel rods is so easy you may be converted.)

Regardless, there are some great pretzel shops where you can buy chocolate covered pretzel rods if that's your preference, so I've added a selection in the right column for you to peruse (don't you just love that word?). 

But, for the rest of us, let's get melting!

How To Make Pretzels Dipped In Chocolate
***The Easy Way***

I'm not exactly sure how Linda made her beautiful Halloween pretzels, but I'm going to give you the fastest method I know of to make homemade pretzels covered in chocolate.

All you really need are the following ingredients:

• pretzel rods
• chocolate
  
• any toppings you want to use for taste or decoration

The trickiest part of the process is melting the chocolate, BUT it doesn't have to be tricky at all if you follow two simple rules...

1. Don't overheat the chocolate when melting.
2. Don't let any moisture/water get in the chocolate.
   

Do you see the large glass measuring cup in the photo there?  That's what I use for melting chocolate, particularly when I'm going to be dipping something like pretzel rods. 

When melting chocolate, you can use a double boiler (bowl sitting on top of a pot of simmering water), but I find the microwave to be so much quicker and easier that I rarely bother with a double boiler these days.

I fill my measuring cup with the chocolate pieces I'm going to use for dipping.  I use chocolate chips, chocolate melts, and sometimes even broken up bars of chocolate - depending on what I have on hand or what's on sale when I shop. ;)

I then pop the chocolate into the microwave for 30 seconds.  My microwave is pretty hot, so I definitely don't heat it longer than before stirring the chocolate.  After the first heat, it may not seem like much is happening.  Stir it anyway!  You want to redistribute the chocolate/heat so that you don't get the chocolate too hot.

After that, I heat the chocolate in the microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring every time.  You don't need to keep heating the chocolate once about 2/3 of the chocolate is melted because you'll end up getting the temperature too high.  Just keep stirring the melted chocolate and the residual heat in the cup (or bowl, if that's what you're using) will finish it off.

I know that was all a bit wordy, but if this is someone's first time, I don't want them to ruin their chocolate and then give up in defeat.  It's really as simple as this - heat chocolate 30 seconds; stir; heat 15 seconds; stir; repeat.

Now for the fun part!

1. Line your countertop or a baking tray with waxed paper or baking paper.  
   
   
2. Dip each pretzel rod into your melted chocolate, giving it a twist to get proper coverage.  Shake off the excess (I tap it on the rim of the cup.) and lay your chocolate dipped pretzel rod on the prepared paper to set.
   
   *Technically, you could stop there and still have a yummy treat, but if you want to get creative or add some pizzazz, you can add "extras" to make your chocolate pretzels even more special.
   
   
3. Before placing your chocolate pretzel rod on the paper, roll it in chopped nuts, coconut, colored sprinkles, toffee bits, etc.   Another option is to simply sprinkle the toppings on the pretzel rods after you've placed them on the paper.  They'll only have the coating on one side, but they'll still look cute and taste yum.
   
   
4. You can add further decoration by using a contrasting color of melted chocolate to drizzle across your chocolate covered pretzel rods or add clever candies to create Halloween pretzels, Christmas pretzels, Valentine pretzels, or any theme you like.
   
   *If you want to use special colors for like wedding favors chocolate pretzels, you can get the colored melts to match your color scheme at Candyland Crafts. 

USE LINDA'S CREATIVE IDEAS FOR CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZEL RODS TO INSPIRE YOU:

Ghost Pretzels - dip and drizzle the pretzel with white chocolate and add candy eyes using mini M&M's Pretzel Zombie Fingers - dip pretzel in dark, milk, or white chocolate and add a slivered almond to the tip before the chocolate sets. Fall Themed Pretzels - I'm not a big Halloween fan myself, but you can use these pretzel ideas for a Harvest party, Thanksgiving, or any Fall themed party or event. Just get sprinkles in the colors of Autumn -  orange, yellow, white, brown, and green. I LOVE candy corn (yes, I know it's not chocolate, but I adore it all the same).  Don't they make a beautiful addition to the festiveness of these pretzel sticks?  If you have trouble getting your candy to stick, add some extra chocolate to the candy corn and use it like glue.  ;) Thanksgiving Pretzels - How about using the pumpkin candy and some green candy melts to create this adorable "pumpkins on the vine" decoration?

Use these ideas, and experiment with your own.  For instance, you can add more flavor combos by using melted butterscotch or peanut butter chips to drizzle across the top. 

Or maybe you'd like to dip your pretzels in caramel before dipping them in chocolate. Super yummy!

That's really all there is to it.  If you plan to use your chocolate covered pretzel rods as party favors or mail them off as a gift, it's best to individually wrap them in cellophane bags and secure them with ribbon or twist tie.  The cello bags are really cheap and you can get them here at Candyland Crafts.

Have fun, and don't forget to share your chocolate covered pretzel rod creations with us like Linda did.  We'd love to see them!

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