Homemade Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

Line two rimmed half sheet pans with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Open the bag of pretzels and separate the whole pretzels from the broken pieces, arranging the whole pretzels on the sheet pans. Set the broken pieces aside for eating later. I got 40 whole pretzels in my last bag. Set out your sprinkles and any other toppings as well.

Use either the double boiler or microwave method (30 second intervals, stirring in between) to melt 2 bars of the chopped chocolate, stirring until completely smooth. Save the rest of the chocolate to stir in later as the level of chocolate reduces. Prep a second bowl for the white wafers, starting with about 4 ounces (you can wait to melt these until you first need them). I like to keep a pot of water on low and alternate the bowls of chocolate on top to keep them both melted.

Pick a spot on the pretzels and be sure to pick up each one in that same location for an identical, gourmet look. One by one, dip each pretzel in the semi-sweet chocolate and swish it back and forth. Use a spoon to help get chocolate in all crevices of the pretzel if needed. Once it’s covered, shake the pretzel continuously to remove as much excess chocolate as possible, then place it back on to the lined sheet pan to set. Add sprinkles as the last step before the chocolate sets completely. Add more chopped chocolate to the pot and stir it in to melt as needed.

After dipping the pretzel in the first melted chocolate, use a piping bag to drizzle on some of the contrasting color. You don’t have to wait until the first layer dries. This is a quick and easy decoration method!

Dip your pretzels in the first melted chocolate and let them set completely (you can put them in the fridge to speed this up, or just work on other pretzels and come back). Once the first layer is completely dry, do one dip each way and then quickly remove the pretzel. It’s important to dip quickly, or the chocolate in the bowl will melt the first layer of chocolate on the pretzel.

Do this as the last decorating method, since you are mixing chocolates. Add spots of the lighter chocolate to the darker chocolate and use a toothpick to swirl them together. Dip the pretzel into the swirl chocolate only once or twice, being careful not to mix them together too much. You can also spoon different colors of chocolate on to the pretzel to achieve the look.

After decorating, let the pretzels set for at least one hour, or until the chocolate is completely dry. During this time, I like to dip any broken pretzels in leftover chocolate and keep those for myself. Transfer the pretzels to a sealed container. Keep on the counter and enjoy within one week. For gifting, add 5 pretzels to each gift bag to make 8 bags total.