Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods

I wanted to make something else for the bake sale at work so I decided that I would make chocolate dipped pretzel rods. This is a fun easy project that can be used for desserts, party favors or an item at a bake sale.

Supplies:
Pretzel Rods
Chocolate Wafers (You can get these in all sorts of colors at AC Moor and they are fairly inexpensive)
Sprinkles
Treat Bags
Twist Ties
Ribbon
Scissors
Wax Paper
Tall Coffee Mug
Cookie Tray

When I started this project I had all of the supplies except the wax paper. You can use foil instead if you don't have wax paper on hand. I also didn't have any twist ties so at the end when I was tying up the treat bags I made sure to tie it very tight so that the pretzels wouldn't go stale.

Begin by filling a tall coffee mug with chocolate wafers and microwave for about 30 seconds. After 30 seconds stir the chocolate to loosen it up. Then put it back in the microwave for another 30 seconds repeating this process until the chocolate is completely melted. Make sure you follow the directions on the chocolate wafer bag. If you microwave the chocolate too long it becomes very chalky rather than liquidy. Be careful because the coffee mug will get very hot. Make sure you use an oven mit. Later you will be thanking me for suggesting that you use a tall coffee mug because it is the perfect depth for making chocolate dipped pretzel rods.

Next, dip the pretzel rod into the melted chocolate but not covering the entire rod. After dipping the pretzel in chocolate you can lay it on a wax covered (or foil covered in my case) cookie sheet.

Add the sprinkles to the pretzels as soon as possible otherwise they will not stick to the choocolate if it is dry. As an alternative for decorating the pretzels you can drizzle a contrasting colored chocolate onto the pretzel.

Depending on the weather outside you can leave the chocolate dipped pretzels out and once the chocolate cools it will harden within a half an hour. When I made these chocolates it was very humid and muggy so to speed up the process I put the pretzels on a shelf in the fridge for 5 minutes.

 At the very end I put two pretzels in each treat bag, tied them with a twist tie and ribbon and then curled the ribbon.

Then I put them on display in a basket for whatever event I am using them for.  (If I don't plan on using them that day I put them in the fridge so the chocolate doesn't melt.) This makes a very delicious and creative snack.