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Chocolate and Caramel Dipped Pretzel Rods

Yield: 40 dipped pretzel rods
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (227 g) butter
  • 1 cup (212 g) brown sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • Dash of salt
  • 40+ Pretzel rods
  • Chocolate for dipping and drizzling, (I used about 10 ounces of semi-sweet to cover the pretzels and for additional drizzling, and 6 ounces of white chocolate for drizzling)

Instructions 

  • Mix ingredients in order over medium heat. Come to a rolling boil to soft ball stage (use a candy thermometer or test in a bowl of cold water – a drop of caramel in the cold water should roll into a soft ball in your fingers).
  • Take caramel off heat and use a spatula to smooth caramel over pretzels. I laid the pretzels on parchment paper after coating them in caramel and after they had set for about 10 minutes, I rolled each one along the parchment paper to eliminate the pool of caramel on the side they were laying on.
  • After caramel has set on pretzels (about 20 minutes), melt desired chocolate in microwave or in a bowl over simmering water. I poured my melted chocolate into a tall glass and dipped each caramel pretzel into the glass to coat the caramel pretzel in chocolate. Again, lay the pretzel to dry on a tray covered in parchment paper. I put them in the refrigerator to set fully before drizzling with white chocolate and more semi-sweet chocolate.
  • For drizzling, use remaining melted chocolate and pour into a ziploc bag. Cut a tiny tip off one corner and drizzle across pretzels. The lady who gave my aunt this recipe had a great idea for Christmas and drizzled the chocolate and caramel covered pretzels in red and green colored chocolate (I believe she used the Wilton candy pieces for the red and green). They were adorable (if you can call pretzels adorable).
  • Don’t worry (like I did) that there is a flat side to the pretzel or that the chocolate may pool underneath the pretzel. Once the chocolate has set, you can easily shave off any unwanted pooling or excess chocolate for a prettier pretzel using a sharp knife.

Notes

Video Tip: here's a quick video tip on tempering/melting chocolate and another on dipping things in chocolate like a pro.
Chocolate: my preferred brand of chocolate is Ghirardelli.