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
Where can I find step by step instructions for the bloke sprinkled pretzels you show for a boy baby shower. I’ve looked everywhere
First time at making dipped pretzel rods. when dipping in caramel,do I let it harden before dipping into the chocolate,then harden and drizzle or sprinkle,etc.
I have to second the vote for the Sams Club pretzels. You can get a barrel of Utz’s rods (finger length sized, perfect for dipping!) and there’s a gazillion in there. Virtually zero breakage. I use Kroger vanilla candy melts and put it in a Mason jar to dip. Easy to reheat/seal up and leftovers. This is a great party snack for kids at schools that are egg and nut free. I’ve seen some fun ideas to make them into snowmen by adding gummy scarves and chip eyes etc. I’m not that talented, however 🙂
This is so good too. I will fix some of this using your ideas. Thanks for sharing.
Where do you find the cellophane bags?
Has anyone mailed pretzel rods before?
Thank you, this is just what I’ve been looking for! Never dipped pretzel rods before and this sounds like an easy way to do it 🙂
does someone have any idea how many rods are inside of one kroger package?
As with most packaged items, you take the number of items in each serving, (Kroger rods are 2.5 rods per serving), times the number of servings in a bag, (Kroger has “about 12” servings per bag).
That means there are about 30 pretzels in each bag, though you’ll likely have some broken ones.
Mine ended in disaster! I used vegetable oil instead of shortening. It didn’t even melt right. The chocolate ended up burning!
so disapointed!
These look tasty! When do you add the sprinkles…it seems you’d have to do it before the chocolate hardened.