One of my favorite things to decorate and give away at the holidays is Dipped Pretzel Rods. They’re easy, relatively inexpensive, and universally loved by kids and adults alike. One of the greatest things is that you can customize them according to tastes and holidays In October, I made dark chocolate/white chocolate magic wands dipped in colored sprinkles. For this go-around, I was inspired by everyone’s caramel apple suggestions and REALLY wanted to do caramel, white chocolate, and cinnamon sugar for the pretzels. I discovered a few things about that that I will share below.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable details.
Pretzels
- Large pretzel rods – Walmart pretzel rods are the worst. I guarantee, at least 1/2 the bag will be broken when you buy it. Rold Gold pretzels look pretty in the bag, but the snappage factor is pretty high. I actually have found that Kroger pretzels are perfect for dipping! Who knew?
Dips of Choice
- Melted chocolate – Add a teaspoon of shortening, coconut oil, or vegetable oil per 1 cup chocolate chips for the perfect dippable consistency that still sets up nicely. Do not use butter or olive oil. I do not recommend using real white chocolate unless you’re used to working with it. Almond bark will be much less of a headache!
- Melted candy melts or almond bark – Candy coatings are designed for projects just like this and work really well! They also come in a variety of colors that are great for making holiday themed pretzel rods.
- Caramel – As tasty as homemade caramel is, it’s too thick, rich, and chewy to work on pretzels. You wind up with a mouthful of stickiness that’s too hard to eat. Just buy a bag of Kraft caramels and don’t beat yourself up about it. Also, homemade caramel is too thick on the pretzels. And they kept snapping in half after the caramel hardened. It just did not work for me on so many levels.
Toppings of Choice
- Sprinkles
- Chopped nuts
- Toffee bits – Note that these will soften fairly quickly after use. I would not use toffee bits if you plan to wrap and gift these, but they are delicious if eaten the same day!
- Drizzles of contrasting dips from above
How to Make Dipped Pretzel Rods
- Prepare your dips and transfer to a tall, narrow container like a thick glass or mug (you can also melt your dips directly in the container in the microwave if it’s microwave-safe).
- Dip each pretzel rod about ½ to ⅔ of the way down the pretzel, maneuvering your pretzel and container however you need to to coat, allowing excess to drip back into your container. You can also roll the pretzel rod between your hands to gently spin the excess off. Set aside to harden.
Tips: Keep the layers thin. It’s tempting to load these puppies up, but pretzels are pretty fragile and you still want to be able to taste the pretzel underneath with everything else.
You’ll want to allow each layer to cool and harden before adding more. You can balance them on a bowl or a cooling rack during this step to allow excess to fall off instead of pooling on one side of the pretzel Just make sure whatever you choose, you you spray it with nonstick spray before laying the pretzel rods on it. - Decorate solidified layers with any wet toppings (like if you are drizzling melted chocolate over caramel or another flavor of chocolate) and decorate wet layers with any sprinkled toppings and then allow to harden completely. Enjoy once hardened, store in a single layer in an airtight container, or wrap in cellophane bags with ribbon or gift box for sharing.
Storing and Other Tips
- Dipped Pretzel Rods will stay fresh for several days if kept in an airtight container.
- If you’re melting chocolate in the microwave, do it gently. Overheated chocolate will seize up and become hard! White chocolate is particularly temperamental. For best results, use a double boiler or, even better, use candy melts!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I do a layer of caramel and then dip again in chocolate?
Yes, you can do multiple layers, just keep the layers thin!
Can I make these ahead of time?
Absolutely. They will be good for several days, and up to a week or two. I do recommend gifting them ASAP after making for best flavor and texture.
I tried white chocolate and it didn’t melt right!
White chocolate is notoriously temperamental. I recommend using Almond Bark or vanilla candy melts instead of real white chocolate here. They will give you much less of a headache! If you really, really want real white chocolate, I recommend melting it very carefully in a double boiler to prevent overheating.
Dipped Pretzel Rods
Pretzel rods are easy, relatively inexpensive, and universally loved by kids and adults alike. They make a great thing to customize for little holiday gifts.
Ingredients
- large pretzel rods
Dip of Choice
- melted caramels
- melted chocolate add 1-2 teaspoons shortening, coconut oil, or vegetable oil per 1 cup chocolate or white chocolate chips (don't use butter or olive oil)
- melted candy coating
Toppings of Choice
- sprinkles
- nuts
- crushed candy canes
- chocolate drizzles
Instructions
This is more of an idea than a recipe! Here are some basic steps and practical tips.
- Prepare your dip and place in a tall, narrow container.
- Dip each pretzel rod about ½ to ⅔ of the way down the pretzel, maneuvering your pretzel and container however you need to to coat, allowing excess to drip back into your container. You can also roll the pretzel rod between your hands to gently spin the excess off. Set aside to harden.
- Decorate wet layers with any toppings and allow to harden completely. Then enjoy, store in a single layer in an airtight container, or wrap in cellophane bags with ribbon or box for gifting.
Keep the layers thin. It's tempting to load these puppies up, but pretzels are pretty fragile and you still want to be able to taste the pretzel underneath with everything else.
You'll want to allow each layer to cool and harden before adding more. You can balance them on a bowl or a cooling rack during this step to allow excess to fall off instead of pooling on one side of the pretzel Just make sure whatever you choose, you you spray it with nonstick spray before laying the pretzel rods on it.
Notes
Learn From my Mistakes:
- Tasty as homemade caramel is, it’s too thick, rich, and chewy to work on pretzels. You wind up with a mouthful of stickiness that’s too hard to eat. Just buy a bag of Kraft caramels and don’t beat yourself up about it. Also, homemade caramel is too thick on the pretzels. And they kept snapping in half after the caramel hardened. It just did not work for me on so many levels.
- Cinnamon sugar, while great in theory, was too sweet sprinkled on the pretzels. Also, it wasn’t very pretty. I’ve toyed with the idea of mixing cinnamon (no sugar) in with the white chocolate before drizzling it on the pretzels.
- Walmart pretzel rods are the worst. I guarantee at least 1/2 the bag will be broken when you buy it. Rold Gold pretzels look pretty in the bag, but the snappage factor is pretty high. I actually have found that Kroger pretzels are perfect for dipping!
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
Questions & Reviews
Yum! This is bringing back memories of college when one of my roommates would make these by the hundreds and then hide them. Then the rest of us would find them and sneak into them every day. Hahaha.
LOVE the polka-dot ribbon too, so cute!
Oh, and I mix cinnamon into my white chocolate or almond bark before drizzling on cinnamon caramel corn, so I bet it would be awesome on these!
I want some! I should try this!
Our sales rep JUST came into the office and brought chocolate-dipped pretzels. I had mine finished before she left, and I was thinking about stealing my husband’s pretzel, but I guess that would be wrong. Now that you’ve posted this, I can go make more my own self!
I’ve never dipped them myself but I LOVE to eat them! I’m looking for a bunch of things to put together for our neighbors and I think this is going to be one of them! Thanks!!
Wow, thanks for sharing such a lovely treat! And great tips – definitely will keep those in mind.
It looks scrumptious and so pretty!
Yum, yum, yum! These look wonderful! Wish I was your neighbor! Those caramel bits were a brillant idea! I just wish they were easier to find where I live. One of my blog readers shared with me that you cna order them in bulk from Amazon! Love them – make things so much easier.
Thanks for sharing!
Nice! I’ve done rice krispy treats dipped in white chocolate before…that’s a huge hit!
This is an amazing idea! I am def going to have to do this for the folks at work. They are all eataholics.. so it will go over well!
My husband and I do hundreds (literally!) of these every year. We give them to friends/neighbors/coworkers/church friends you name it… We actually buy our rods from Sams club, they have smaller rods, about 8″ long. and they never break, and they fit inside a regular size cello bag. We buy Peter’s Caramel in the 5lb block and melt it as we go. Can you imagine unwrapping 5lbs of Kraft!! We toast pecans, and after we dip the rods in the caramel, we roll them in the chopped, toasted nuts. After we dip it all in chocolate for a turtle pretzel. I just bought my supplies this week, so we’ll be making them soon. I’ll post on my blog when everything is done. They really are a hit! Great timing for this post. I’m going to try your peppermint brownies this weekend!
What is your blog address?
Where to you find the Peters Caramel? I can’t find it. Thanks Barb
gygi.com! I am actually going to have a coupon code for you guys coming up. If you need it before you see it on the blog- let me know via email and I’ll shoot it your way!
Those look so pretty and I think my kids would love to make them with me!
I absolutely love this and it gave me an idea, u could do this for any holiday….. For example, valentines day…. White choc dipped with red decor or Easter ……. White choc dipped with pastel colored choc drizzled on…. Possibilities are endless…. Thanks for posting ; }