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Learn how to make chocolate covered pretzel rods the easy way, using our pretzel rod molds! Pretzel rod molds basically turn pretzel rods into chocolate lollipops, except the lollipop stick is (you guessed it) a pretzel rod! It’s easy to use and makes chocolate covered pretzels mess free! You’ll love how our plain pretzel rod mold leaves a smooth and shiny chocolate finish on pretzel rods and with the addition of drizzled chocolate and sprinkles, it will take your chocolate covered pretzel rods up a level like you won't believe! Here's what you'll need Plain pretzel rod mold Merckens chocolate candy coatings (any flavor or color) 12 inch disposable pastry bags Sprinkles Pretzel rod bags(to wrap finished pretzels) Twisties (to seal the ends of the bags) Steps to make them Melt Merckens candy coatings per our recommended melting instructions (see how to melt Merckens here) Fill mold cavity half way with melted Merckens candy coatings. Insert pretzel rod. Tap mold onto the work surface to release any air bubbles in the chocolate. Place in the refrigerator for about 5 to 10 minutes or until chocolate covered pretzels easily release from the mold. When finished pretzel rods are at room temperature, drizzle with melted candy coatings and top with any of our sprinkle mixes! Important Tip: We recommend using our Merckens candy coatings for this project. Chocolate chips from the grocery store need to be melted using a tempering process in order to release from the candy mold. Merckens candy coatings can be easily melted in the microwave using our melting instructions. Jump straight to the recipe here (but you'll miss a lot of good info)! Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods are so fun and simple to make. They’re the easiest “Christmas cookie” out there and everyone loves them! I considered not even sharing these cute Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods, if only because they’re so simple to make (and seemingly self-explanatory) that I can hardly call this a “recipe”. They’re so fun that I decided I just had to though! My girls and I had a blast making them – so much so that we’re going to make a second batch just before Christmas Eve to take to my sister’s fiesta that evening. They left for school this morning and decided that they wanted to bring some for their teachers and friends. So off they went, each with about 25 chocolate covered pretzel rods in their backpacks. They were really excited to share them. And I don’t blame them since they were able to make their own without any help from Mom. HOW DO YOU MAKE CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZEL RODS?The first thing you’ll need to do is to gather all of your chocolate covered pretzel making supplies. In our house, this included the following:
For the chocolate, I don’t use anything that’s outrageously expensive. I try to buy high quality without feeling wasteful. I linked above to the Ghirardelli brand which I’ve used before and they melt nicely and have a wonderfully rich chocolate flavor. I’ve also used Hershey’s in a pinch! Just use what you’d normally eat (sort of like using wine in a dish that you’d actually drink). We used red, white and brown candy melts because 1) it’s what I had on hand and 2) a trip to Michael’s is always a three-hour trip. It’s only 20 minutes each way but I cannot go in there without buying all sorts of cute cooking items that I may or may not ever use. Wilton Candy Melts are thankfully one product that I stock up on but always use up (I’m known to be a drizzling chocolate fiend on all kinds of desserts! :) As for the candy bags, these things are amazing!! Yeah, I know, they’re just little bags. But they’re little bags that you can use in the microwave and the candy melts are so simple to use with them. I love that all I have to do is fill the bags, pop them in the microwave until they’re about halfway melted (then just squeeze it with your hands and they’ll melt the rest of the way), snip the bottom of the bag and drizzle! But the best part is that I can just throw the bag away once I’m done. Let me tell you, that feels so good come cleanup time. The amount of chocolate you’ll need will vary according to how you decorate your pretzels and how far down the pretzel you go. For this batch, we used approximately 2 regular-sized bags pretzel rods, 2 bags white candy melts, and one bag each red and brown candy melts (I also melted one bar of Ghirardelli chocolate with the brown melts to boost the chocolate flavor). And, of course, lots of sprinkles! Don’t worry too much if you have some extra melted chocolate in your bags. It’s easy and super fun to turn them into Christmas shapes for snacking and they look pretty scattered around the plate next to the chocolate covered pretzel rods. HOW TO STORE CHOCOLATE COVERED PRETZEL RODS?You’ll want to store your chocolate covered pretzel rods in an airtight container. They don’t need to be refrigerated and can be kept for up to a week on your counter or in the pantry. They also freeze beautifully, so make them well in advance of whatever holiday season you’re making them for. Here are a few tips and tricks to make your chocolate covered pretzel rods:
Aren’t the little chocolate shapes so cute?? I swear, that’s one of my favorite parts of making these. The extra chocolate shapes are great for cupcakes or mini cheesecake toppers, too (here’s a Christmas version). I know you’ll love these making these fun Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods but if you’d prefer to dip cookies or biscotti, check out my friend Laura’s post over at The Spiced Life. Her family aren’t pretzel fans so she came up with an alternate idea which I think is great. More Christmas dessert recipes:
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Kristy Bernardo is the recipe creator behind The Wicked Noodle. She's a five-time cookbook author, has taught cooking classes to both kids and adults, and has been creating recipes for nationwide brands since 2009. She learned most of her cooking skills from her mom and grandmother, then honed those skills at boot camp at the Culinary Institute of America. How far in advance can I make chocolate covered pretzel rods?Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods can be made up to one week ahead of being gifted or consumed. After that they tend to lose their freshness. Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dry area.
How long does it take for dipped pretzel rods to dry?Dip the pretzel rods into the desired color. Add your desired sprinkles. Place the pretzel rods on the wax paper. Allow the pretzels to dry, about 1 hour.
How do you make chocolate covered pretzel rods without a flat side?Punch Holes In An Empty Cereal Box – If you don't want the pretzel rod to have a flat side from drying on parchment paper you can make holes in an empty cereal box. Just stand the chocolate-covered pretzel rod into the hole (chocolate side up) so the chocolate can dry without getting a flat side.
Do you put chocolate covered pretzels in the fridge to harden?No, in fact, chocolate covered pretzels are best stored at room temperature. Dipped pretzel rods can be placed in the fridge for 10 minutes to help them set up, but otherwise they should be stored at room temperature to avoid condensation.
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