by Holly
I love making homemade gifts ! Caramel Chocolate Covered Pretzels are a great holiday treat and I make them every year! Not only are they delicious and easy to make, but I’m a huge fan of no bake holiday treats!
While they are perfect for Christmas, you can decorate them any way you like so they can be for any occasion! Add some little heart sprinkles for Valentine’s day or some pink & blue sprinkles for a great baby shower favor!
They’re perfect to give as gifts to friends, teachers, and neighbors. Feel free to get creative by adding some chopped nuts, toffee bits, sprinkles or coconut.
I packaged my finished chocolate covered pretzel rods in beautiful Wilton boxes and was able to fit 4 pretzels per box (they were 8″ x 2″ x 2″, you can purchase them here). Perfect as little gifts! You can also buy little bags specifically made for pretzel rods and package them individually with a pretty ribbon and a little gift tag.
A few items you’ll need to make these:
CHOCOLATE CARMEL PRETZELS
Ingredients
- 1 package pretzel rods 10 oz
- 6 white candy melts
- 12 ounces milk or dark chocolate
CARAMEL
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup corn syrup Karo Syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
Follow Spend with Pennies on Pinterest
Instructions
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Line a large sheet or pan with parchment paper.
CARAMEL
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Combine butter, white & brown sugar, corn syrup, salt & sweetened condensed milk in a large microwave safe bowl (the mixture will bubble up so make sure there is lots of room in the bowl).
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Microwave on high for 6 minutes, stirring every 90 seconds.
NOTE: THIS MIXTURE GETS VERY HOT. ENSURE THERE ARE NO CHILDREN UNDERFOOT WHEN YOU MAKE THIS.
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Pour 2 cups caramel mixture into a tall glass measuring cup or mug. Dip each pretzel rod 2/3 of the way to cover in caramel. Place on parchment paper to cool.
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Once the caramel is hardened, melt the chocolate on 40% power for 45 seconds. Stir and continue microwaving at 20-second intervals until just melted. Stir until smooth.
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Dip the caramel-coated pretzels into the melted chocolate and place on parchment paper to cool.
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Melt the remaining chocolate in a small Ziploc bag and snip the corner off. Drizzle over chocolate.
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Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 2-1/2 dozen.
Recipe Notes
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
I made these for a party. We tasted one before the party. Glad we did. The pretzel was soft and not good. I used the large pretzel and even cooled the caramel a bit before applying to the pretzel. Not good.
I’m sorry these didn’t work out for you, I haven’t had any problems with the pretzels being soft.
I made these today for my daughter’s “Princess Bride, Enchanted Forest” themed Bridal Shower. I labeled them Magic Twigs. They turned out beautifully! Thank you for the recipe.
What a great idea!! (Princess Bride is one of my all time favorites). Congratulations to your daughter!
I can’t wait to try these for Christmas for the kids especially.
What are white candy melts? Is that the same as white chocolate? The recipe calls for 6, so my question is 6 what and in what form do they come in? I don’t see any of its use in the written recipe. At which point in the instructions should I incorporate the white candy melts? Thank you in advance for helping me understand this recipe better.
The white candy melts are similar to white chocolate but intended for melting so they melt much smoother. They are just little disks and you need a few for decorating in step 4 (it’s just a couple of tablespoons of melted chocolate). You can find them at Michaels, in the baking aisle or online at amazon.
If you just need a few, check the bulk area of your grocery store, you can usually get them there as well!
I loved your recipe for the caramel (nice and soft, unlike store bought caramel) and I used Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips and they turned out amazing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
How should I store these and how long will they keep? Do they need to be refrigerated?
Thanks. They look delicious.
They will keep a couple of weeks. I store them at room temperature.
I’m not so crazy about Carmel so do you think peanut butter would work instead? I really like pretzels covered with with almond bark. Hope these will be as good.
Thanks. I enjoy your recipes!
I have only tried this as written so I can’t say for sure how peanut butter would work out.
I live in Canada, any idea where one would pick up these Pretzel Rods?
Yes, they have them at Michaels in Canada. :)
Do you use salted or unsalted butter? Light or dark corn syrup? Light brown or dark brown sugar?
Thanks!!
I use unsalted butter and light corn syrup. Either type of sugar will work just fine.
The taste good but I found the Carmel made the pretzels a little soft and then the Carmel kept bursting through my chocolate. I waited more than 6 hours between Carmel and chocolate layer but after chocolate dried I got small beads of it that burst through the chocolate. I wouldn’t make these again
How disappointing Rachel, I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you. I’ve made this several times and never had problems with the pretzels softening. Were they the large pretzel rods as pictured? Did you make the caramel recipe included in this post and if so did you make any changes?
Do you put the drizzle on all sides of the pretzel or just the side facing up on the parchment paper?
I just put it on the side facing up.
Thanks so much for this recipe….my daughter loves these…and she has been looking for a recipe….she will be so glad to get this…..
They are so pretty and sounds delicious…..she buys one overtime she sees them…..
Thanks for posting….
These are absolutely to die for!! They have them at Starbucks and I love them. I can’t believe there is a recipe and I can now make them for myself!! That’s so amazing. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe :)
You’re welcome! Enjoy! :)