Dipped Pretzel Rods

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

1. 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).
2. 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.
3. 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.

Frequently Asked Questions