Chocolate Covered Christmas Pretzels

One of my favorite things about this time of year is how much baking I get to do. With Thanksgiving, my husband’s December birthday, and the Christmas season all within six weeks of each other, my oven is seriously put to the test. Cookies, cakes, bars, brownies, cheescakes — you name it, I’m probably baking it.

By the time I reach December 26, I’m admittedly a little baked out. 

Which brings me to the overabundance of baked goods every holiday season. I think cookies are the most popular sweet treat to give others at Christmas. And, don’t get me wrong — I love to get a big ol’ box of beautiful, homemade cookies that, if kept in the fridge and out of my greedy little paws every night, can last me well until Valentine’s Day.  

But, how many cookies can you actually eat? (Please don’t answer that.)

To break things up a little, I like to make chocolate covered pretzels. I decorate them with colored sprinkles or colored chocolate, and I hand them out as treats in lieu of cookies, or even with cookies when I need a little filler in the cookie tin.

I see fancily decorated chocolate covered pretzels in boutique candy shops, cafes, and even some gift stores, and my tongue hangs out and drags along the display case each time. I’m a sucker for salty-sweet combos, and these treats satisfy that craving like nothing else. I particularly love the ones coated with coconut flakes or Butterfinger candy pieces.

Every now and then, I’ll indulge in purchasing one of these fancy confections — usually when I see a topping I can’t resist — but, for the most part, I find the prices that stores charge for them appalling. The pretzels are small … like my bank account. A one-off treat is fine, but if it’s between purchasing a tank of gas or a platter of pretzels for a dessert table, that pratical tank of gas is going to win every time. Sadly.  #ThisIs35

That’s really what prompted me to start making chocolate covered pretzels at home. And, once you learn how easy (and inexpensive!) it is to make an entire batch of chocolate covered pretzels yourself, you’re not going to want to pay $3.50 a pop again, either.

By the way: I’m tired of typing “chocolate covered pretzel” a bajillion times. From now on, we’re calling them CCPs. You with me? Good.  

You can use regular ol’ pretzels — which I usually do (see below) — but this year I found these adorable Christmas shape pretzels. I’ve seen pre-made chocolate Christmas pretzels in stores before, but I’ve never been able to find just the plain pretzels in these fun shapes.

Until now.

Husband spotted these babies at our local supermarket around November 1, and I immediately swooped in and grabbed two bags. (He talked me out of buying a third, which I insisted I might need “just in case.”) I know from experience that waiting to buy holiday items during the holiday season is foolish, so I was taking no chances.

Now that Christmas is a-coming, I’m ready to CC my Ps. (See what I did there?) Some items I recommend for an easy chocolating experience:

–a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil

–a cooling rack fitted into the lined baking sheet

–a small spatula

–a few potholders at the ready

–a small fork

–some toothpicks

–a microwaveable bowl (one for each type of chocolate you will be melting)

–space in your freezer or refrigerator for the baking sheet

–small bowls of sprinkles you intend to use for decorating

To make things super easy, I nix the double-boiler (you don’t need it!) and use the microwave melting method for the chocolate. I’m sure there are expensive chocolate wafers out there you can melt, but I usually steal from my stash of chocolate chips. I usually have Tollhouse chips on hand, but sometimes I do splurge for Ghiradelli. While I don’t think there’s a huge difference in taste, I do find there’s a difference in how they melt, so pay attention to that.

While a lot of places put crushed up candies, or chopped nuts, or crumbled cookies on their pretzels, I’m a purist when making my own. I like a simple coating of holiday sprinkles on my CCPs. The festive colors really pop against the darkness of the chocolate, and you can bite into them without topping tumbling everyplace except where it really matters — your mouth.

This is a fun Christmas activity to do with a friend. I normally don’t like to relinquish creative control, but Husband actually has a way better aesthetic than I do when it comes to baking decor, so we’ve managed to break up the CCP duties pretty well. I’m in charging of melting the chocolate and coating the pretzels, and then he goes to town with the sprinkles.

CCPs look pretty on a platter, and they last forever in a fridge or freezer, so you could make them a few weeks ahead (like I’m doing) and save yourself some stress closer to the holidays. 

They’re also great addition to a potluck dessert table, and, when bundled up in a little gift bag, they make the perfect hostess gift. (As you can see in the above photo, which is from Christmas last year.)

Chocolate Covered Christmas Pretzels

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 5 dozen Christmas pretzels

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1.5 tsp vegetable shortening
• Christmas shape pretzels
• sprinkles of your choice

Instructions

 

PREP INSTRUCTIONS

• Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and fit a cooling rack into it. Spray cooling rack with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
• Gather all your utensils and sprinkles (see full post) and arrange them on your workspace near the prepared baking sheet.

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

• Melt the chocolate and shortening in a medium, microwave safe bowl: Place bowl in microwave for 30 seconds, then remove and stir. Place bowl back in the microwave for another 30 seconds, then remove and stir melted chocolate and shortening until smooth and combined.
• Check the consistency of the melted chocolate. You don't want it too thin, or it won't stick to the pretzel, but too thick will cause it to be gloppy. You can thin the mixture out by adding another 1/2 teaspoon of shortening at a time to the melted chocolate; melt in the microwave and stir between additions until desired consistency is reached. 
• Place bowl on workspace and drop 2-3 pretzels at time into the warm, melted chocolate. Roll the pretzels gently in the chocolate with a small fork until covered on all sides; don't submerge them, or the holes will become filled with chocolate.
• Lift chocolate covered pretzel (CCP) with the fork, tap fork on the edge of the bowl to release excess chocolate, then transfer CCP to the cooling rack fitted into the lined baking sheet. More excess chocolate should drip off at this point, but if the pretzel holes are still filled with chocolate, you can poke them through with a toothpick.
• Immediately sprinkle CCPs with sprinkles while chocolate is still warm and melted.
• Once cooling rack is full of CCPs, move the baking sheet to the fridge for 20 minutes, or the freezer for 10 minutes to set the chocolate.
• Once chocolate is set, remove baking sheet and use a spatula to gently remove CCPs from the cooling rack (they may stick a little, so be careful). Store finished CCPs in the fridge or freezer since the chocolate can melt pretty easily when left out at room temperature.