Gourmet Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Rods

 

These candied pretzel rods are so easy to make and look so fancy that people will think you spent all day making them. There's something amazingly satisfying about the chocolate/salt/crunch combo that makes these irresistable. Joe brought a platter of these to his worship band Christmas Party last night, and they ate 'em up lightning-quick.

When I make these for a party, I make half pretzel rods. Somehow, an entire rod of chocolate and candy is too big of a commitment on your plate of appetizers, but a half-sized one hardly has any calories, right? Since they're so rich, a small portion seems just right. If you give these as gifts, a nice box of long decorated ones look elegant.

My favorite combo is white chocolate with chopped pecans and mini dark chocolate chips. Let me know which ones you like best!

Ingredients

1 package pretzel rods
12 oz milk chocolate chips
12 oz cup white chocolate chips

Toppings

Candy sprinkles
Colored sugar
Mini dark chocolate chips
Crushed toffee
Mini M&M candies
Flaked coconut
Chopped nuts
Chopped dried fruits (raisins, cranberries, banana chips)

Directions

Melt the chips slowly in separate double boilers, a bowl over a pot of hot water, or in the microwave (be careful not to scorch the chocolate!). Break the pretzel rods in half, if desired.

Dip the rod into the chocolate at least 2/3 of the way up the rod. I try to leave at least 1 inch of uncoated pretzel at the top. Use a spoon to coat the pretzel if the bowl is too short to let you dip the whole thing in. Holding the uncoated end, allow the excess chocolate to drain off.

Now it's time to decorate the rod! After you've dipped it, set it on a cookie sheet covered with foil. Sprinkle it with any amount of toppings you like. To add a drizzle of the opposite-colored chocolate, run a fork through it and then drizzle back and forth across the pretzel. It helps if you do this part quickly. Don't stress if the drizzles doesn't look like what you've seen master chefs do on TV. From my own drizzling experience, those little stripes look professional to other people. We're just too hard on ourselves!

If the chocolate starts to get too thick or lumpy, return it to the heat and stir until it gets smooth again. Be careful not to get any water into the chocolate, or it will get crumbly and unusable.

Makes 20-30 rods, depending on package size.