Want a quick, kid friendly treat to make this holiday? Try these Valentine Caramel Pretzels. This treat is a no bake recipe, you don’t even need to make the caramel! It is a fun activity to do with small hands, they will love to roll the caramel out and help you wrap it around the pretzel rods. Dip the pretzels in chocolate and decorate for the month of love. These are perfect for gifting!
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How to Make Caramel Pretzels
Here is a quick tutorial for you to watch, Caramel Pretzel Tutorial.
Making the Pretzels Valentine Theme
To make these caramel pretzels a Valentine theme use pink chocolate. You can either dye white chocolate yourself or buy colored melting chocolate. If you opt to dye your chocolate, make sure to use only liquid food coloring. Gel or powdered food coloring will seize your chocolate.
Another fun way to bring Valentines to your pretzels is with themed sprinkles. There will be so many options at a grocery store or craft store near by. Amazon and Etsy also have some fun and unique options.
How do you dip and decorate pretzel rods?
The easiest way to dip the pretzels is in a deep enough bowl to get the pretzel fully submerged. Once your chocolate starts to run out, you can use a spoon to pour the chocolate down the pretzel rod.
After you have dipped your pretzel you need to lightly tap it against the bowl to get the excess chocolate off. When the chocolate stops running off of the pretzel as excessively, you know that most of the excess is off. I like to scrap the bottom of the pretzel against the bowl, the side that will go back on the parchment paper while the pretzel sets.
Scrapping the chocolate off will not result in a nude pretzel bottom, there will still be chocolate completely covering the bottom side of your pretzel, but it will help you not create a big ‘foot’ of chocolate under you pretzel.
How do you store chocolate dipped pretzels?
You want to store your chocolate caramel pretzel in an airtight container at room temperature. Both chocolate and caramel are very absorbent of other odors and flavors, so you want to make sure the container is airtight.
How far in advance can you make chocolate covered pretzels?
If caramel chocolate pretzels are stored properly, they can last 2-3 weeks. That means you can make them well in advance! This helps if you plan on gifting them and want to get it out of the way before the busy holiday season.
How do you make chocolate dipped pretzels not flat?
Flat pretzels happen when you have too much caramel and chocolate on your rod. That is why this caramel twist method is superior to the old fashioned dip method. You can still mess the pretzels up if you don’t tap off the excess chocolate before setting them on a parchment paper to set. Be sure to tap off the chocolate covered pretzel for 30 seconds or so before setting it down.
What kind of chocolate should you use to dip?
For an easy chocolate dip, use compound chocolate. Compound chocolate is made from cocoa powder and vegetable fat, which helps is melt easily and keep a shiny, smooth consistency. The alternative is couverture chocolate, which contains cocoa butter. The cocoa butter means you have to temper the chocolate. Tempering the chocolate adds many more steps and requires a candy thermometer when melting. Couverture chocolate is likely to seize or become flakey if tempering is done incorrectly.
How do you temper chocolate?
To temper chocolate you need to use a double broiler. Boil some water in a medium sized saucepan, place a glass bowl on top of the saucepan. Pour the chocolate in the glass bowl and stir constantly with a candy thermometer placed in the chocolate. The chocolate must get to 115 degrees and not past it. Once at 115 degrees, quickly remove the bowl from the heat and allow the chocolate to cool back down to 100 degrees before dipping.
Food is an Art
For the person who just wants to get creative in life but also wants the end result to be practical, this is for you. Food can be so much fun to get creative with. After you are done, it can be enjoyed with your eyes and your taste buds. I hope this post got your creative juices flowing. Tag me on Instagram with all of your creations @_mrs.madi_
Try these Valentine Caramel Pretzels this holiday season.
Jamie Robinson
I love these!
Madison Reid
Me too!!