How to Make Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods : 2 Easy Techniques

chocolate covered pretzels
Chocolate covered pretzels, especially chocolate covered pretzel rods are one of my favorite treats. The sweet and salty combo is always a winner and there is something so appealing about the crunch of chocolate dipped pretzel rods. I like them dipped in milk or dark chocolate and I like white chocolate covered pretzels even more. 

I’ve made chocolate covered pretzels before, but I’ve often struggled with the right chocolate coverage. Often, the chocolate has been way too thick or chunky. If you’ve ever struggled to execute chocolate dipped pretzels, this post is for you. I’m sharing two techniques that helped me to get the perfect dipped pretzel rods.

What Chocolate to Use

There is no right chocolate to use. It really depends on your flavor preference. I happened to love white chocolate with pretzels, but I also like milk chocolate with pretzels. Dark chocolate is also an option for people who don’t like a very sweet flavor. If you do use chocolate rather than candy melts, I would suggest adding a little bit of coconut oil to make for smoother chocolate. The smoother the chocolate, the better it will evenly coat the pretzels. I used these chocolate melting wafers for my pretzels.

How to Make Chocolate Covered Pretzels


There are two different techniques I tried to get the perfect chocolate pretzel rods. For both techniques, to start, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then, I used a tall glass and put a zip-top bag inside the glass. Next, I melted white chocolate candy melts and poured the melted chocolate into the zip-top bag-lined glass. Using a tall and thin glass (like this) means the chocolate rises higher in the glass so you’ll get more even coverage.

Once you have the chocolate ready, dip the pretzel rods in the glass until coated as high on the rod as you prefer. As you remove the rod, run the bottom side of the rod on the glass to remove some of the excesses. The side you ran on the edge of the glass is the side you’ll place down on the parchment paper.  The great thing about this technique is that clean-up is so easy. I actually removed the zip-top bag and saved the excess chocolate to use another time. You can reheat candy melts several times. 

For the other technique, you’ll need an extra parchment-lined baking sheet. Once you melt the candy melts, you’ll pour the candy melts onto the parchment paper in a rectangular shape. Then, you can roll each of the rods in the chocolate and place them on the other parchment-lined baking sheet.  Honestly, this technique is also very simple, but I prefer the glass technique because then you have such an easy clean-up with the chocolate already in the zip-top bag. If you try this technique, you can save any remaining chocolate by removing the excess on the parchment paper into the bowl or into a zip-top bag. It does waste a bit more than the first technique, but this version definitely creates the most uniform chocolate covered pretzel rods.

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

Two ways to make chocolate covered pretzel rods

Ingredients

  • Pretzel Rods
  • Chocolate Melting Wafers (milk, white or dark chocoalte will work)
  • Toppings of your choice (I used nonparials and different colored candy melts)

Instructions

    There are two different techniques I tried to get the perfect chocolate pretzel rods.

    For both techniques, to start, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

    Then, I used a tall glass and put a zip-top bag inside the glass.

    Next, I melted white chocolate candy melts and poured the melted chocolate into the zip-top bag-lined glass. Using a tall and thin glass (like this) means the chocolate rises higher in the glass so you'll get more even coverage.

    Once you have the chocolate ready, dip the pretzel rods in the glass until coated as high on the rod as you prefer.

    As you remove the rod, run the bottom side of the rod on the glass to remove some of the excesses. The side you ran on the edge of the glass is the side you'll place down on the parchment paper.  The great thing about this technique is that clean-up is so easy. I actually removed the zip-top bag and saved the excess chocolate to use another time. You can reheat candy melts several times. 

    For the other technique, you'll need an extra parchment-lined baking sheet.

    Once you melt the candy melts, you'll pour the candy melts onto the parchment paper in a rectangular shape.

    Then, you can roll each of the rods in the chocolate and place them on the other parchment-lined baking sheet. 

    Honestly, this technique is also very simple, but I prefer the glass technique because then you have such an easy clean-up with the chocolate already in the zip-top bag. If you try this technique, you can save any remaining chocolate by removing the excess on the parchment paper into the bowl or into a zip-top bag. It does waste a bit more than the first technique, but this version definitely creates the most uniform chocolate covered pretzel rods.

poshinprogress chocolate pretzel rods
Toppings for Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Now that you have your chocolate pretzel rods, you need to decide what toppings to use. What makes this chocolate covered pretzels recipe so great is that there are endless ways you can decorate your chocolate pretzels. I chose to do two different versions. First, I used nonpareils on half the pretzel rods. Luckily, I had a big bag of them in my pantry, but the ones I used are like these.

For the second half of the pretzels, I chose to use other colors of candy melts. Personally, I think it looks great when you zig zag a few different colors over the pretzels. Another great choice is just to use white and dark chocolate and alternate between chocolate with white chocolate zig zag and white chocolate with a dark chocolate zig zag. Beyond using candy melts or sprinkles, you can also use things such as crushed oreos, crushed candy bars, and really any other candy toppings you might like. There is no perfect topping, it just depends on what toppings you like best.

chocolate covered pretzel rods 2 stacey freeman posh in progress
I hope you found this post for how to make chocolate covered pretzel rods helpful. It is really easy to make chocolate covered pretzels at home. No matter what type of chocolate or toppings you plan to use, its a fun at-home recipe. I’d love to hear your favorite combination. Leave me a comment below with your tips and tricks! If you’re looking for other chocolate recipes, click here. For pretzel recipes, click here.

One Comment

  1. I’m making these tonight for a wedding in a few days, and I just realized the white chocolate bark will not do the zig zag like I want them to. What kind of chocolate do you use for the zig zag?

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