Do you want an to see an easy way to make Chocolate Covered Pretzels? Seriously, this is one of the easiest recipes to make at Christmas time. But the best part is, they look all fancy dancy and everyone will wonder how you did it.
The key to making easy Chocolate Covered Pretzels is the microwave. Microwave your chocolate, peeps! I don’t know how many times I’ve seen the food network showcasing someone melting chocolate over a double boiler. Dishes, anyone? I’ve been microwaving my chocolate my entire life and I’ve not burned the chocolate once. Not once! Follow along as I show you the easy technique to making these easy fancy dancy chocolate covered pretzels the hit of the night!
What you’ll need to make chocolate covered pretzels:
Snyders Pretzels (Old Tyme) – There is no substitute. I’ve made chocolate covered pretzels over the years with different types of pretzels and Snyders is by far the best. The shape of the pretzel to the texture make it hands down numero uno. The only difficulty will be finding it! We found two bags at a nearby grocery store. It was sold out at all others last week.
Candy Chocolate – Do not confuse this with baker’s chocolate. Baker’s chocolate will melt in your hands after you make the pretzels and will take FOREVER to harden. The best place to get candy chocolate is at a bulk food store. You can find it in a variety of colors at the best price. You can also find a wide variety of Chocolate to melt at JoAnn’s, Hobby Lobby and Michael’s.
Wax Paper – You need a place to place your chocolate covered pretzels while they harden. Wax paper = no chocolate sticking to the surface.
Peppermint and Sprinkles – Optional addition to the chocolate covered pretzel masterpiece.
Melting the Chocolate
I told you you could do it in the microwave. You can! Follow these steps VERY closely and you’ll have success with less mess!
1. Fill microwave safe bowl with candy chocolates. I typically add about 1 to 2 cups of chocolate.
2. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
3. Stir. Stir. Stir.
4. Microwave for 30 seconds on high.
5. Stir. Stir. Stir.
6. IF NEEDED microwave in increments of 15 seconds until the chocolate is ready.
IMPORTANT TIP: Microwaving the chocolate will be successful based solely on the fact that you want to stop microwaving BEFORE all the chocolate is completely melted. The remaining smoothness of the melted chocolate will be achieved as you STIR. Therefore, your last few seconds in the microwave will get the chocolate melted into little nuggets and then the stirring action will naturally melt the remaining chocolate. If you over cook the chocolate you will immediately know it, so make sure to stir, stir, stir to let the chocolate naturally melt.
Dip and Tap, Tap, Tap
Once the chocolate is melted, dip your pretzels. Lift your pretzel with a fork and tap. tap. tap. The tapping will even the chocolate surrounding the pretzel. It will also help save chocolate. (Please notice how pretty the Snyder’s pretzel is.)
Place the pretzels on the wax paper to keep them from sticking to a surface as they harden.
Now for the embellishments. You can crush candy canes and sprinkle their peppermint goodness on your pretzels for a nice twist. I personally like the peppermint surprise on the white chocolate pretzels. But for this time I used sprinkles. Just make sure to add them quickly before the chocolate begins to harden.
You can also swirl them with chocolate. And it is so easy! Just melt a different color of chocolate using the tips above. Or in this case, swirl right onto the pretzels. Dip a fork into the chocolate and let the chocolate fall onto the pretzel as you wave it in a back and forth manner. This is a fun step for kids!
And there you have it! These chocolate covered pretzels took less than 15 minutes to make. The microwave is the key to making them fast and making it easy. And don’t forget to dip the broken pretzels into the remaining chocolate. Yum!
These make a great gift! In fact, I plan to give a bag of chocolate covered pretzels to my kid’s teachers this Christmas with a gift card to a local coffee shop. Enjoy!
The Microwave Easy Way to Make Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Ingredients
- 12 snyder's old tyme pretzels
- 16 oz melting chocolate
- 1 Tablespoon sprinkles
Instructions
- Melt chocolate in the microwave. Place about 1 cup of chips in a microwave safe dish. Microwave for 1 minute.
- Stir the melted chocolate. Microwave again for 30 more seconds. Remove from microwave and stir for about 15 to 20 seconds to completely melt chocolate.
- If chocolate is still not fully melted, microwave at 15 second increments, stirring in between.
- Dip pretzels into chocolate with a fork and tap to remove excess chocolate. Place pretzel on waxed paper to dry.
- Add sprinkle or other toppings before melting chocolate cools.
Nutrition
Originally shared: December, 2012
Comments & Reviews
Jessie says
Hi! I know that this is an older post but I just wanted to give a few tips. I use melted chocolate at least once a week for making candies and chocolate covered stuff.
-When you melt the chocolate, be it chocolate chips or melting candy, microwave it on half power so it won’t burn.
-If you chocolate feels too thick add some vegetable shortening to it, not butter!
-Also for a glossier look to the chocolate you can add the shortening.
I normally just eyeball the shortening when I add it but if you’re new to this add a little at first because you can always add more.
If you feel like your chocolate is getting hard and seizing up quickly microwave on half power for 30 seconds. Try not to work with melted chocolates in a cold room or you’ll be reheating them a lot!
If your pretzels (or whatever you’re covering) seems a little light on the chocolate just let it cool completely and redip it.
Lynette says
Thanks Jessie for these awesome tips!!
karen says
Thank you so much for the tip about the shortening, I am using chocolate chips but they always seem to be too thick for making chocolate covered pretzels it will just cover the whole thing. I am going to try this and see if it helps, thanks!
Danielle says
I’m wondering how to store them once they are complete. I plan to make them for a party next weekend. I’ve read to keep them in an air tight container but I’m also concerned about them sticking to one another on the serving tray and/or big mason jar I’m using…??
Lynette says
Hi Danielle, I usually put a sheet of wax paper between each layer if I’m storing them for a few days. They will be fine as long as you keep them away from heat. Melting chocolate doesn’t melt as easily as regular chocolate chips. I would not plate them until the day you’re going to serve them.
Danielle says
Thank you very much for the information. I will make them, sprinkle them and lay them carefully in a plastic container with waxed paper. My idea is to put them with the chocolate half showing in a pretty container…hope it works! Thanks
Lynette says
That should work. Make sure you let them dry completely before you store them, though. 🙂 You don’t want to stack them until the chocolate has completely dried. Then they will store easily for you.
Dave says
I’ve been doing pretzels for years though I use a double boiler because I do ALOT of them at once. I use the melting wafers from Michael’s or A. C. Moore’s. I start by coating with the peanut butter wafers and then once they are set up I use the milk chocolate wafers. If there is any peanut butter left over I use it to drizzle the tops of the coated pretzels. One thing I found is to use a pair of tweezers to lift the pretzels out of the chocolate/peanut butter so as to lift it level. It makes it easier to place on the waxed paper too.
effervescent3 says
thanks for the great micro easy tip! ok so i tried this and failed. or at least i think i did. i ended up using semi sweet choc chips and microwaved for 2minuts with a tsp of butter. it came out chalky and gritty. i added sugar to my liking and put back in microwave for 30 seconds more. the chips looked burnt. is this chocolate salvageable? i also used bakers chocolate before i read this post which was mixed with the choc chips. its very gritty. do u think i can microwave this more to get that creamy texture (feels like sugar not fully melted since added after heating) or should i scrap it?
Lynette says
I’ve not tried it with chocolate chips. One thing I would try is microwaving it for only 1 minutes and then stir for 30 seconds or so and then microwave again. The trick is to microwave it to the point where it’s not completely melted and then you stir it until it is. I’ve not tried it with chocolate chips and butter, so I’m sorry I’m not more helpful. 🙂
Ellen says
Hi was wondering how many pretzels a bag of melting chocolate would cover. I want to get pink and blue for my niece’s baby shower
Thanks!
Sarah says
Hello! I have a question. I used Candy Melts from Micheal’s today and the light cocoa melts melted fine in a bowl, but when I used the white melts (vanilla flavor) they melted, but not to the point where it would be possible to swirl onto the dark chocolate covered pretzels. I couldn’t even dip the pretzels into the white melts because it was too thick and wouldn’t liquify enough. Did I do something wrong?
Lynette says
Hi Sarah. I’ve had this happen before. Ironically, from the melts at Michaels. White chocolate has less of a range of heating. Meaning it can’t get as hot as dark chocolate before it starts to harden. I found that I was using a bowl that was getting too hot in the microwave which was causing the problem. You can also lower the temperature in the microwave by 25% and try it again with new melts. Do not add water, that will make it worse. Make sure you stir, stir, stir and try a lower temperature to get the chocolate to melt. Let me know how it goes!
Kyla says
About how many pretzels can you get from one package of chocolate chips?
Lynette says
Hi Kyla. I’ve never used chocolate chips, so I’m not sure. Personally, I use melting chocolate because they harden much faster and don’t melt in your hands. If you end up using the chocolate chips, let me know how it goes!
Kyla says
Good to know! Thanks! We’ve never made any type of candy before, aside from being tasters as kids when mom did, but the bf and I started giving treats as Christmas gifts a coupe years ago when we made 52 doz cookies. 0_o We did a variety of Chex mixes last year. Tried to talk him into ornaments this year, but he said he’d rather deal w/ making a bunch of food instead of glitter everywhere.
Lynette says
Ha! That is funny. Pretzels would be perfect because you can make them so fast and fancy them up with sprinkles or drizzling chocolate. You can find the clear cellophane bags at Dollar Tree and they look really nice with them as well.
Kyla says
That’s the main reason we(I) chose them as one of the treats! Thanks again for the tips!
Sue L says
I didn’t know there was any other way to make them – LOL! I’ve been doing this for years! I also dip rods or penny sticks into the chocolate and do the same thing. I make about 6 bags worth every Christmas. When I’m done, I take all the broken pretzels and put them into a food processor and chop them until they are fairly finely ground. I add the chopped pretzels to the left-over chocolate and then either drop by teaspoon full onto waxed paper – or – if using for cookie trays, I use my mini-muffin pans with the small paper liners and drop them into those. I actually like these (left-over) pretzel nuggest better than the actual dipped pretzel!
Spencer says
Looks awesome! I would so love to try some. I am sure they taste great.
TWan says
Is the candy chocolate the same as the wafers in the white bags at Joann’s and Michael? I’ve never heard of candy chocolates before.
Thanks for posting this. Now I’m in the mood for chocolate covered pretzels.
Lynette says
Yes! What you would buy at JoAnn’s or Michael’s are candy chocolates. Sometimes they are also called melting chocolates. Chocolate covered pretzels are so yummy! You should go make some. 🙂