Making Chocolate Covered Pretzels

by DIANE
(NJ)

I'm making chocolate covered pretzels for the first time, and I really need help.

I've made 150 chocolate lollipops (white chocolate) with your help and they turned out perfect.


Now I need your help again. I'm making 150 chocolate covered pretzels. I started this weekend.


The pretzels are made in a mold with white swirls then the milk chocolate.


I started by putting the white chocolate in the mold, and then putting it in the refrigerator to set up. Then I took it out, put a little milk chocolate in the mold then placed the pretzel in the mold, then more milk chocolate on top. I then put it back in the fridge.


When I took them out, they were all white on the outside. I was so upset. I can't give that as a gift.


I then tried to use the same process, but put it in the freezer instead of the refrigerator and I didn't have such a problem.


Can you please give me some suggestions and also let me know why that happened? It was a very humid day.

---

Hi Diane,

Congratulations on your first attempt at making chocolate covered pretzels! :) You've chosen to go the most challenging way by using the molds, but you should still be able to achieve beautiful results with a little practice.


It's hard to say exactly what went wrong the first time around without seeing the finished chocolate pretzels, but there could have been several causes.


You may have added too much white chocolate in the mold to begin with. If it was too thick, it would certainly have "hidden" the milk chocolate that was underneath it.


Sometimes it helps to use a small paint brush to brush in the details (like the white swirls) on the chocolate molds to get the best results.


Another option is to use a squeeze bottle that has a fine tipped nozzle on it so that you can get the chocolate just where you want it.


When you took the molds out of the fridge the first time, was the white chocolate completely set? If not, and the milk chocolate was still quite hot, it very well may have caused the white chocolate to melt and blend in with the milk chocolate creating the unpleasant finish that you weren't happy with.


Using the freezer the second time around may have solved that problem by ensuring that the first layer of chocolate was more firm and less likely to melt upon contact with the melted chocolate.


I don't necessarily think that you need "help" making chocolate covered pretzels as much as just a little more practice to get a feel for the process and how the chocolate reacts to the different temperatures.


Don't forge that we'd love to see your finished lollipops and chocolate covered pretzels when you're done. Hope you can take some photos and add them here!


Blessings,
Angie