Homemade Holiday: Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Giving gifts from your kitchen is a nice and inexpensive way to give at Christmastime. Today I am sharing one of my favorite treats – Chocolate Covered Pretzels!!

• Pretzel Rods
• Chocolate Chips (milk chocolate)
• Sprinkles and/or Candy Canes

Preparing the pretzels: I like to break my pretzels in half, it makes them easier to package and makes for more chocolate coverage. I prefer more chocolate to pretzel ratio, because the chocolate is the best part!  To make a clean break, I use a serrated knife to “saw” a little notch and then just break it in half.

Covering the pretzels: I use a curved spatula or large serving spoon to scoop up the chocolate and then roll the pretzel in the chocolate. Make sure that the broken part of the pretzel is at the top, so the bottom looks good. When you have the pretzel covered, place on wax paper.

Decorating the pretzels: Immediately decorate with sprinkles, crushed candy canes, or even chopped nuts. This is my kids favorite part!  Let them cool until they are hard. If necessary, you can put them in the refrigerator to speed up the process. I put my wax paper on a cooling rack or cookie sheets so they can be moved around easily.

If you want to give them away to several people, you can put them in cello bags. You can get the cello bags at Michael’s for around $3.99 (use a 40% off coupon to get them even cheaper). Tie with ribbon and you are set! I bought a bunch of decorated cello bags from Target after Christmas for 75-90% off, so make sure to watch for those after Christmas this year.  You can also find some decorated cello bags in the Target Dollar spot.

If you want to give a bunch to one person, you can get an inexpensive jar. Decorate with a message made with vinyl letters or stickers, tie with a ribbon and you have a yummy gift that looks great too.   There are so many fun ways to package these.