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
Christine Kress says
My pretzels look cloudy, we used milk chocolate melting chips from baking store
Lynette says
Hi Christine, it could be the chocolate you used. Sounds like chocolate “bloom”. Here’s an article about why it happens sometimes. https://www.amanochocolate.com/faqs/is-chocolate-harmful-eat-when-it-has-turned-white/
Barbara says
Can these be frozen
Jayne says
Thank you!! I have made chocolate covered pretzels for years. I recently committed to making them for the high school’s “after prom” party and could not remember the right brand of pretzel to use. I came up with a non existent brand, “Stutzman of Hanover”! You just made my life much easier!!
Here’s a tip for you. I agree 100% that microwaving beats the double boiler idea, hands down and I used to microwave chocolate candy all the time. However, I discovered something else for when making candy in molds. I use my long griddle (used for making pancakes, etc., and a large Pyrex measuring cup (glass). It not only melts the chocolate (granted more slowly than a microwave) but when kept on low it keeps the chocolate melted so it doesn’t need to be re-melted all the time.
Snyder of Hanover!! Of course!! Thank you!! I am a happy camper!!
Natalie says
Be careful which brand pretzel you use if these will be eaten by anyone with peanut and tree nut allergies. I contacted Snyders, and their pretzels are currently not safe (December 2016).
Lauren says
Do you add the melted chocolate drizzle to the still-wet chocolate-covered pretzel? Or do you wait for the chocolate on the pretzel to completely harden before adding the melted drizzle?
Thanks!
Laura says
Hey!
I wasn’t very careful and bought pretzels with salt,will this mess up the whole recipe? Please let me know!
Thank you so much!
Lynette says
Hi Laura. Salted pretzels are fine! You’ll have more of the salty/sweet taste, but I love that!
pat says
Thanks for all the tips
Angela says
I was wondering how much chocolate to use? I’m planning on making some for Christmas and I’m giving them as gifts. I wanna make sure I have
alisha says
Hey i know this is old and im not sure if ill get a response but,i tried this, and i heated it up but i heated it until was completely melted and now its like melted but stiff…is there a way to fix this?
Lynette says
Hi Alisha, If it’s stiff you probably melted it for too long. You want to melt it until there about 1/3 of the chips still in the bowl. Stirring them together with the melted chocolate will give it the best consistency.
Shelley says
Hey I was wanting to make these to go with some christmas gifts. Theres a few people I have to ship them to though. do you think they would last in a mason jar or some kind of bag?
Lynette says
Definitely! I would use a mason jar. When my brother was deployed, we used to use pringles cans and that helped keep cookies from crumbling so that might be an option as well. Good luck!