Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Updated: Mar 28, 2022
Chocolate covered pretzels are universally appealing, sure to delight everyone from the 5 to the 95 yr old. This post will show you just how to take the salty crunchiness of pretzels, enrobe them in the sweet silkiness of chocolate and add a personal flair of delightful drizzles of vibrantly colored candy coating, sprinkles and more. This a fun and easy project for just one person, or an activity to enjoy with friends and family: You can designate each person a single, important job. You have the Dipper, the Drizzler, the Sprinkler and the most important title saved for last ... the Dishwasher <lol>. Just be sure that the person who gets that last job is first to taste the finished product when all's done! No matter how you do it be sure to have fun with it. Turn on your favorite music playlist and with each new song rotate the job assignment. The little ones especially will love rotating through each job and it'll give them the opportunity to test their hands out at each pretzel prepping station. And as always, if you're in the Philly area and would like to just jump right to the tasting part of this treat, place your Desserts Capital chocolate covered pretzels order here.
Equipment
Most of the equipment (pictured below) for this recipe includes items you’ll likely have on hand.
For the double boiling method I used a 1.5 quart glass (heatproof) mixing bowl and 1.5 quart saucepan for melting the milk chocolate chips and a 1 quart glass (heatproof) mixing bowl and 1 quart saucepan for the candy melt wafers.
For the microwave method I used a 2-cup capacity (heatproof) measuring cup for the chocolate chips and a 1-cup capacity (heatproof) measuring cup for the candy melt wafers. Over the years, I've used different brands of measuring cups and I find Pyrex to yield the most accurate measurements. It's also my go-to brand as my collection of measuring cups have miraculously stayed intact after having slipped off the kitchen counter a few times.
After several trials of making chocolate covered pretzels, I find the kitchen utensils and equipment in the picture directly above are perfect for seamless preparation and an easy cleanup experience. I recommend using the mini and regular sized silicone spatulas as they don't transfer heat as a metal spoon does, and when working with chocolate and candy melt wafers maintaining a consistent temperature of approximately 110 degrees℉ is key. A metal spoon that affects the temperature isn't helpful here. The mini spatula also scrapes every last bit of melted candy coating when transferred from the mixing bowl via the funnel into the decorator squeeze bottle ---this set of 2 bottles comes with the couplers and size 2 decorating tips. These tips will give you a slightly thinner drizzle design. I used a size 4 decorating tip which gave me the drizzle design seen in the finished product pictured in this post.
However, part of the fun is unleashing your inner creative side by experimenting with your own designs so either sized tip is fine to use. I also used a half baking sheet to set air dry the chocolate coated pretzels. This baking sheet is also great for whipping up your favorite batch of cookies so be sure to check out my recipe for browned butter chocolate chip cookies here.
Ingredients
The sky’s the limit as you can mix and match pretzel shapes, chocolate varieties and add your own creative decorative presentation depending on your taste and design preferences. The picture and list below notes the ingredients & decorations I used for this post.
4 ounces (113 grams) Mini Pretzel Twists
4 ounces (113 grams) Pretzel Dipping Sticks
1 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips (approximately 227 grams)
Sprinkles/jimmies and/or nonpareils
3/4 cups (113 grams) Merckens candy coating melting wafers
3/4 teaspoon Paramount Crystals (divided into 1/2 & 1/4 teaspoon)
Tips for Success
Before you begin make sure all of the equipment and tools you're using are completely dry as chocolate seizes when it comes in contact with water, which is no good for chocolate. If you happen to seize, overheat or burn your chocolate, fear not as the tips in this helpful article from the Spruce Eats will salvage your chocolate.
The double boiling method is preferred when melting the chocolate chips and candy melt wafers as you can control the heat and keep an eye on the entire melting process to prevent overheating or burning from occurring.
I highly recommend using paramount crystals, which are essentially shredded bits of shortening that have a long shelf life as it thins out the melted (milk) chocolate and candy melt wafers. It'll make it creamier and easier to dip and decorate. A little goes a long way and the quantities I used are listed in the recipe below.
And what special tool did I use to transfer the coated mini pretzels from the mixing bowl and onto the baking sheet? If you guessed ordinary chopsticks you win the prize. Chopsticks are a great tool to use when you're coating mini pretzel twists, as it helps to transfer them with ease and zero fuss.
Method
You're gonna love the following pictorials and video. It walks you through all the steps for preparing the chocolate chips and candy melt wafers using the double boiling method. The recipe at the bottom of this post includes instructions for the double boiling and microwave method.
Do you prefer white, milk, dark chocolate or any combination of these? Did you opt for mini pretzel twists, dipping sticks, sprinkles and drizzles? Thank you for reading this post and let us know how much you enjoyed it by dropping us a comment below. Have a sweet day!