I am planning to dip pretzel rods but I'm a bit perplexed as to the type of container to use for the chocloate. I'm considering using a deep mug- I am cutting the rods in half so that each rod will be about 4 " long and I thought dipping all but a 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch would be best. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I melt the chocolate in a crock pot - they have small ones, it's just the right temperature. Curious as to why you're cutting the rods? Enjoy!
I like to buy caramel from the candy store, melt it a bit in a cup and dip the pretzel rod in the caramel first. Then I lay it on parchment paper to firm up a bit. Then I dip it in the melted chocolate. I just melt it in a 2 cup class pyrex measuring cup and tilt it a bit so it all goes on one side. I love the idea of the crock pot though...I'll have to try that this year.
I dipped some pretzel rods for a Halloween Party and I found that using a double-shot shot glass worked perfectly to dip at least half of the pretzel rod
I am cutting the rods to make them more appealing to adults. A full rod is just too much to nibble on. Besides if one isn't enough eat two. I am planning on putting a half dozen in cellophane treat bags.
The caramel sounds tasty. I'll just do the chocolate this year and see how they go over: maybe next year I'll add caramel too.
Thanks for the suggestions.
I dip mine in a mini crock pot or in a pyrex measuring cup. I also dip mine in caramel, nutella, or peanut butter before dipping in the chocolate. Those go over great. Or dip them in Chocolate and roll in mini m&m's, candy pieces (like heath bits or butterfinger pieces), or nuts. Also dip in one color chocolate and then drizzle with opposite (white and Milk)
Sorry, don't mean to hijack your thread...but where do you purchase the pretzel rods? These sound like a great holiday activity for children!
You can get rods in the chips section of the grocery store w/ the rest of the pretzels. Oh, & go ahead & stock up b/c every store in my town was constantly sold out starting the 2nd week in Dec last year. I got the last 2 bags & that was between about 8 grocery stores (including 2 super Walmarts).
You can also drizzle more chocolate to make it prettier (put in a ziploc & snip a corner--that's the easiest). Or like others said, roll in nuts, jimmies, sprinkles, etc.
I use a deep mug or the small mason jars to melt my chocolate. You can store the remainder in baby food jars or mason jars & use later
I buy pretzel rods at Sams. They come in a plastic barrel and are the size of about 1/2 a regular rod. They are fairly cheap and you get alot of them. I also thing the half size is more appealing. I put my dipping chocolate in a wide mouth pint canning jar, you can micowave it to get it melted, then I fill a hot pot with water and set the pint jar in that. It works just like a double boiler, only you are not tied to the stove. When you get done, just put a lid on the jar and you are ready to start again the next time, no transfering the chocolate to something else, or cleaning out the remaining mess
Costco AND Sam's both have the barrel of pretzels.
I have a really cool mold that I'm using with mine this year as well so I'm using the large pretzels for the molds. Just don't dip too far down if
using the smaller pretzels as you need something to hold onto!
It doesn't really matter how deep the dish is that you use to melt the choclate in. I use any size and just use a spoon to bring the chco up to where I want it, then just shake off the excess back into the bowl. I lay them on a cookie sheet, lwt them harden and then drizzle dark chocolate back and forth across them with a spoon, they look like birch bark when you are done
These are some very cute ideas! I have a bag of the rods waiting for me to figure out what to do with them! I may do the choc rolled in mini m&m's for the kids! Thanks for all the great ideas!
Yes yes! I agree with using the smaller rods. My grocery store carries Anderson brand pretzels and they make the smaller rods. They are perfect for dipping and they're cheaper that the big name brands.
Costco sells them? Great! Thanks for the tip! I was also wondering...
1. What are some other alternatives besides dipping them in chocolate? (I know someone suggested dipping in caramel first and then chocolate, but I wanted to totally eliminate the chocolate and I'm guessing that pure caramel would be too sticky.)
2. Any other packaging ideas? These sound like a great holiday gift and I was wondering how everyone packages them.
3. How far in advance can you make these?
Thanks!
You could dip in caramel or nutella & then in nuts, sprinkles or m&m's. chocolate ones can be made way ahead of time. not sure about those w/ caramel or nutella.
We make dipped pretzel rods all the time. We use double boilers. The key when dipping foods is to dip sweets first, then salts. After that, you should dump the salty chocolate out.
Other great foods for dipping: cookies, biscotti, cookie bars, potato chips (especially the ruffled kinds), pretzels, and of course, strawberries.
Paul & Peter
I was lucky enough to run across a little old candy double boiler at a garage sale. I see them quite often and they are worth a million for dipping chocolate because they are deep and small around. I only did about half way down the prezel rods and they will easily fit in these little double boilers. This year I took the easy route with the caramel part and filled a pastry bag with the warm caramel. I laid my pretzels out on parchment and piped the caramel just on the top of each pretzel about 1/2 way down. Lots less mess for me and much faster.
For packaging, I watch for nice Christmas coffee mugs at garage sales and stand the prezels up in the mugs. Then I set the mug down in a medium sized corsage bag and pull it up and tie with ribbon on top. These are some of my biggest sellers. I would never get through the holiday baking season without several sizes of corsage bags which I wrap most things in. They are the cheapest and easiest to work with for me.
Hey Lily we seem to be following each other in the threads ! Im trying to picture what you do with the caramel ???
So you layed the naked pretzel on parchment and piped just a( one ) strip of caramel on it? then did you let it firm up and then ??? dip in choc or what ? Sorry about all the questions !
Hey Fiddle--we are following each other around!!!! Yes that's the way I did the caramel. It gave me a nice layer of caramel on the tops of each pretzel with no mess and then when it was set up, I dipped them in chocolate. Then I drizzle them with white chocolate to look like birch bark. No problem with questions--I certainly ask my share.
If you use a parchment bag with no tip, you can stick it in the microwave if the caramel starts to set up too much.
Did you read the Sandra Lee thread---Just too funny.
Thanks Lily! Yes I am following that thread, Not through it all yet.But it is funny!
One more question.How far ahead do you make your pretzels ? and do you store them all packaged up or just loosly coverd till needed ?
I make pretzels every yr but never to far ahead and not with caramel.
I make my pretzels 2 or 3 weeks ahead and package them up right away. It's one of those things that I get out of the way eary as they don't change over time. I also store them on my very cold 3 season porch which is right off my kitchen. I use the dipping recipe that has wax in it and it never changes color so I do those early.
Unfortunatly not all the Sam's carry the pretzel rods. I check the two local Sam's and neither one had them
Speaking of dipping things other than pretzels...I have a weird one??? Has anyone ever dipped bacon... I know. My husband saw it on Food Networks Dinner Impossible with Michael Symon and has been bugging me to make him some to try. Just doesn't sound appealing to me, but I was curious if anyone else had ever tried it. By the way, all the people on the episode of D.I. loved the chocolate covered bacon.
Kim
Just dipped peanut butter ritz crackers, marshmallows, marshmallow filled graham crackers or ritz, plain chips, oreos, pretzels--think that's it. Bacon sounds a bit out there for me, but some like stuff like that--salty/sweet
Just dipped peanut butter ritz crackers, marshmallows, marshmallow filled graham crackers or ritz, plain chips, oreos, pretzels--think that's it. Bacon sounds a bit out there for me, but some like stuff like that--salty/sweet
Peanut butter captain crunch. Just pour it into the melted chocolate and spoon out in globs on wax paper. Oh big childhood memory!
maryj
.. Omg I love captain crunch pb cereal... I will be making that for sure ! Thx!!
I buy the rods in the chip section at Walmart....they are very good when dipped! I have a mini crockpot that I got from Bed Bath and Beyond for 11.00 (with my 20% off coupon)....I have had it for 3 years and I LOVE IT! It's specially for chocolate so it won't burn it at all. I dip the rods in it all the time!
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