Easy Christmas Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods Recipe 

Christmas chocolate dipped pretzels are an easy treat that say "Merry Christmas" in a big way. This Christmas pretzel rod recipe combines your favorite melting chocolate with fun toppings or decorative drizzle. I have tips and tricks for managing your melted chocolate, ways to make your pretzels festive, and the perfect packaging for this holiday season.  

The Perfect Combination of Salty and Sweet

Christmas time is my favorite season of the year. Sharing gifts and treats are a great way to spread holiday magic. When I'm short on time, I love a good no-bake dessert. And there's nothing better than that first bite into salty-sweet chocolate-covered pretzels.

My chocolate covered pretzels start with a caramel coating and then get dipped in melted chocolate. After that, we can finish with different sprinkles to make them festive or green and red chocolate drizzle for that custom confection look. These Christmas pretzel rods bring together heavenly chocolate with the crunch of pretzel rods for a complete holiday treat.

Chocolate Pretzel Ingredients

Fortunately, most of the ingredients can be found at any major grocery store chain. Add these to your next curbside order. For the colored candy melts, I added some Amazon links for my favorite colored chocolate that's a little easier to work with. 

• 24 Whole Pretzel Rods
• 22 ounces Caramel
• 2 tablespoon heavy cream
• Chocolate Melting Wafers- milk chocolate, white chocolate, or dark chocolate 

My favorite chocolate to work with is Ghirardelli. They always melt super smooth, are easy to work with, and have a really delicious chocolate flavor. 

To Decorate:

• Red candy melts
• Green candy melts
• Christmas sprinkles
• crushed candy canes (not pictured, but its an idea)

Step-By-Step Instructions

Before you start heating anything, set up your complete station and get organized for an easy assembly line. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and lay out your pretzel rods. 

Crockpot Instructions:

1. Start by adding unwrapped cubes of caramel into a crockpot set to LOW heat. After 15minutes, stir the caramel with a rubber spatula. Continue to stir the caramel every 15 minutes until is has melted completely. 
2. Add 2 tablespoon of heavy cream to the caramel and stir it in completely. Lower the heat on the crockpot to WARM.
3. Now you can add your chocolate wafers to the second crockpot and set the temperature to WARM or LOW.
4. Dip the pretzel rods into the caramel. Use a spatula to spread the caramel all of the way down the pretzel rod, leaving about an inch at one end for handling and remove any excess caramel. 
5. Place the caramel-dipped pretzel rod on your baking sheet lined with parchment. Continue this process until all of the pretzels have been dipped in caramel.
6. When the pretzel rods have cooled slightly, but is still warm, put on some plastic disposable gloves and shape the caramel on the pretzel rods to a uniform shape. 

Chocolate Coating

1. Stir the chocolate wafers until they have reached a completely smooth consistency. 
2. Dip the pretzel rods in the melted chocolate, removing any excess chocolate on the edge of the crockpot bowl. You may need to tip the crockpot on its side to cover the entire pretzel rod. Make sure to watch the YouTube video to watch the step-by-step process. 
3. After the you have dipped the pretzels in the chocolate, cover with sprinkles before the chocolate shell sets completely. This needs to happen within 60 seconds of dipping before the chocolate hardens.
4. Place the dipped pretzels on the baking sheet lined with parchment and let them set up at room temperature.

Adding Chocolate Drizzle

If you're adding red and green chocolate drizzle, melt your colored candy melts in a microwave-safe dish in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each interval. Colored chocolate can be tricky to work with and achieve a smooth chocolate finish. Add ½ teaspoon pf vegetable oil or coconut oil if necessary to get your desired thickness. Once the candy melts have reached your ideal thickness, pour that into a disposable piping bag. Cut off a very small tip and drizzle thin streaks of chocolate all of the way down your pretzel rod for a beautiful finish.

What To Do With Leftover Chocolate

If you want to make this melted candy coating work double for you, make Christmas pretzel sticks. This mini version is a fun treat that you can snack on or use to fill in empty space on a dessert board. Just dip and add sprinkles. 

After you are officially done with your caramel and chocolate, transfer the leftover caramel and chocolate to a zip-top plastic bag. Smooth the chocolate out into an even layer for easy use the next time you want to work with chocolate. 

How to Package and Serve Dipped Pretzel Rods

For a Christmas party, I like to add these to a dessert board that is complete with Christmas cake pops, chocolate bark, and Rice Krispies treats. These are perfect at room temperature, no refrigeration required.

These pretzel rods are also the perfect addition to a Christmas cookie box or decorative Christmas tin. They make great gifts if you're looking for inexpensive homemade options. I also like to use individual plastic sleeves made for pretzel rods to hand them out individually.

ps- they are perfect stocking stuffers when they are wrapped individually. 

Saving Instructions

After the chocolate pretzels have set and the shell has hardened, you can store them in an airtight container. You can keep them at room temperature and do not need to refrigerate them. Just keep them in a cool dry place.

Save leftover chocolate in a sealed container such as a zip top bag. This is the easiest way to reuse chocolate when you need it again. After it hardens in the bag, you can easily break it into pieces which makes melting again pretty quick.