As much as I love making crazy intricate recipes that make me feel like a fancy, schmancy baker, I must admit there are few things more delicious than a simply dipped chocolate-covered pretzel. The salty, sweet combination is so classic and regardless of whether you’re dishing out the big bucks for really special gourmet pretzels, or just dipping cracked pretzel bits in melted chocolate chips at home – it’s always just so, so good. Today I’m honoring this beloved snack with some jazzy sprinkles and patriotic pride. Of course you could just dip them in white chocolate and throw on some festive sprinkles, but if you can just get your hands on some red candy melts, you can easily make these really special pretzels just in time for Friday!
Of course my pretzel flag is totally off in terms of stars and stripes, but what I lack in accuracy I make up with in sprinkles. And lots of chocolate. I chose shorter pretzel rods so I could more easily dip the entire sticks in chocolate, which resulted in a square-shaped flag but it all worked out since they look so adorable on my square plate anyway. If you’re not into making one big flag, each pretzel can be individually decorated to be flag-tastic with one end sprinkled blue and some red stripes piped on with colored candy melts. I picked out the white stars from a jar of multi-colored sprinkles for my stars, but you could also just do a few drops of white chocolate or press on some white chocolate chips. No matter how you decorate these you know they’re going to be yummy, so be creative and see what you come up with!
I used Chocoley’s chocolate for the base white layer and Wilton’s red candy melts for the stripes. The blue was added by re-dipping the pretzel rods in more white chocolate and loading them up with sprinkles – but blue candy melts would work too! I just thought the sparkle would add a nice touch and some extra crunch as well. And if you only have the patience to decorate a few flag pretzels, make a couple and then just drizzle the rest with white chocolate and colored sprinkles and it will still make a great display all together. I hope these will inspire you to revamp the classic chocolate-covered pretzels and celebrate July 4th with my 2nd favorite salty/sweet combo (runner up to peanut butter/chocolate, of course!).
Chocolate-Covered Pretzel Flags
Ingredients:
Pretzel rods
White melting chocolate/candy melts
Red candy melts
Blue sprinkles/sanding sugar
White star sprinkles
Directions:
Depending on the size of your pretzel rods, the number of stripes you'll end up with will differ. Lay out the pretzels and plan out the pattern before you start dipping. Some of them will be half red/half white and then sprinkled with blue, some of them will be half white/half sprinkled with blue, and others will be completely red or completely white. It can get confusing so make sure you're organized before you start dipping!
Melt your chocolate in a narrow microwave-safe cup so that your pretzels can be completely dunked. After dunking the pretzel rods I found it helpful to gently scrape the excess off onto the side of the cup, and then letting them set on a wax-paper lined sheet. If you have excess chocolate on the sides, just use a sharp paring knife to trim them once the chocolate is mostly set.
To make the single flag pretzels, dunk the pretzel in white chocolate and allow the chocolate to set. Then melt red candy melts in a ziploc bag in the microwave, snip the corner, and pipe stripes over the white chocolate. Once the red candy melts are set, dip the end of the pretzel in more melted white chocolate and sprinkle with blue. To attach the stars use a toothpick to place a small amount of melted chocolate on the back of the sprinkle and press them gently into the sprinkles.
love this! so cute and simple!
This is so creative and adorable!! I may have to make this for tomorrow. Happy 4th!
What a cute idea!