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!
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Questions & Reviews
Hi Kate & Sara – I made some of these last night and wanted to use white chocolate to drizzle over the milk chocolate. Three batches – no luck. I tried melting about 1/2 C. at a time, added a little oil, microwaved in short 15 seconds intervals at 50% power and all 3 batches didn’t get any thinner than a thick frosting. I used the Nestle’ brand chips. Also, I put all the rods I made into freezer bags just to keep them fresh and the undipped ends tasted a little stale today (the following day). Help?! Thank you. P.S. LOVE your blog!
wow! this is great! how long do they take to dry?? (on the first dip) i want to do this with my children at sunday school at church! except we have a time limit…
Hi, Eva! You know, it really depends on so many factors, but if you have a fridge/freezer handy at church, you can pop these bad boys in there and they’ll be solid within a few minutes.
Hope that helps!
Fabulous post! Hey, how long will these stay fresh? I am hosting a party on Tuesday and want to make these as far out as possible.
If you want to do homemade caramel, I have a great caramel recipe that is really chewy and wonderful for pretzel sticks and caramel apples. The trick is to take it off the heat at the early softball stage! If you are interested, you can visit my blog at http://thezauggblaugg.blogspot.com/2011/03/delicious-chewy-caramel.html!
I had a horrible time using caramels (Kraft). Delicious, but it was so gooey it never really got solid again. It sort of slid off the pretzel and just a pooled around the pretzel rod. A total mess. Delicious, but a total mess. Any suggestions?
I tried caramel (Brach's) and then chocolate. The caramel part is really hard; too hard I think to send to preschool tomorrow for a snack. The candies were soft but I might have put too much on? It was my first attempt. Also, the little one and I were looking for something to hold the pretzels upright to dry. Guess what? The plastic mold for popsicles worked great!
I have found a wonderful way of cooling my hand dipped pretzels and it will give you the ability to dipped up to 60 at a time. I use a funnel to punch about 60 hole half way through the block of white Styrofoam.Press each pretzel into a hole and the pretzels will cool standing up.
I get my pretzel rods at Staples of all places! They sell them in the office snack section in a big tub. MUCH cheaper and fewer broken ones!
I'm making these this weekend for my son's birthday! My 1st time trying the caramel- hopefully it turns out! I definatly bought the Kraft ones as well… one less step in the kitchen!!
These were perfect to add to a Christmas package. Thanks so much for the idea!!! 🙂