Chocolate Covered Pretzels

My family is full of snackers. They will eat you out of the house just based on snack costs. To avoid breaking the bank, I have started to make all the snacks we eat, myself, versus buying costly store-bought snacks. Recently I have started making chocolate-covered pretzels and they have become a go-to snack. I am sure they will be an instant hit in your home also!

Ingredients:

-A bag of Pretzels 🥨. - As many as you want to make. You can use traditional, large thick sticks, or small ones. Salted, or not. Just pick your favorite pretzels that you eat normally.

-24oz block of Almond Bark. Chocolate or vanilla (white.) The brand depends on your personal taste. I use (1) 24oz block on 2/3rds of a 16oz bag of pretzel minis.

If you are not familiar with almond bark, any brand will do. If you do not care for the taste, try another brand. I use Baker's Choice Almond Bark from Aldi's and it has become my favorite of all the brands I have used.

-Optional- 1 tsp Vanilla. You can use pure or imitation, that is all based on you and your preference. Substitutions: Almond Flavor, Mint Flavor, Orange Flavor, etc.

-Parchment or Wax Paper. This is what you will set the dipped pretzels on to dry. The difference between parchment paper and wax paper is that parchment paper is made to go in the oven, wax paper is not. You can use either in this recipe as the pretzels cool in the freezer.

- Baking sheet, plate, or flat surface you can lay the dipped pretzels on and then place them in the freezer to cool.

- STOVE METHOD: you will need a double boiler OR two pans, one smaller than the other.

- MICROWAVE METHOD: You will need a microwave-safe container.

Instructions: STOVE METHOD

Step One: Fill the largest pot 1/3 way full of water and set on medium heat to simmer, not boil.

Step Two: Chop Almond Bark into small chunks or slivers while you are waiting on the water to heat up. Place into the small pot.

Step Three: Now that your water is simmering, set the small pot in the water.

Step Four: Stir Stir Stir! The Almond Bark will slowly melt, continue stirring, don't walk away, just stir. You will do this until the Almond Bark is a smooth consistency. TURN OFF YOUR STOVE NOW. You don't want your bark to burn while you are dipping. *When the Bark starts to cool, turn on the pot of water and repeat Step 4.

Step Five: Dip pretzels into the melted Almond Bark. It is warm, but will not burn your fingers. If it does, your Almond Bark is too hot and may burn, remove from hot water for one minute, then return.

You can dip your pretzels any way you want, it's your snack. Personally, I like a little variety for the family, so I may fully submerge some, half dip others. I like the half dipped ones myself, as it gives me a spot for my finger so they don't get all dirty while I am writing.

Step Six: Place your dipped pretzels (one by one as you do them) onto the parchment or wax paper. Once you have filled the tray, place the tray in the freezer for about 8-10 minutes to fully cool. Now they are ready for whatever you plan to do with them.

Notes: If you need to take a break between each batch, you can repeat step 4 to melt the Almond Bark when you continue the next batch.

Instructions: MICROWAVE METHOD

Step One: Chop Almond Bark into small chunks or slivers and place into a microwave-safe container. Nuke for 30 seconds. Stir. Nuke for another 15-30 seconds and stir. Repeat until Almond Bark is fully melted and is a smooth consistency.

Step Two: Dip pretzels into the melted Almond Bark. It is warm, but will not burn your fingers. If it does, your Almond Bark is too hot and may burn. (Make a mental note to microwave less time on the next batch you melt.)

You can dip your pretzels any way you want, it's your snack. Personally, I like a little variety for the family, so I may fully submerge some, half dip others. I like the half-dipped ones myself, as it gives me a spot for my finger so they don't get all dirty while I am writing.

Step Three: Place your dipped pretzels (one by one as you do them) onto the parchment or wax paper. *If your Bark cools, repeat Step One.

Step Four: Once you have filled the tray, place the tray in the freezer for about 8-10 minutes to fully cool. Now they are ready for whatever you plan to do with them.

Ideas:

You can mix and match the Chocolate Almond Bark and the Vanilla (white) Almond Bark. For times when I am adding a little flair, I will drizzle the vanilla onto my chocolate-dipped pretzels, and vise versa. Other times I might half dip one flavor and then dip the other half in another flavor. Mix and match flavors like mint and vanilla, etc. You can have so much fun with it.

This year I am not going to spend a lot of cash on gifts for the extended family. I have decided to make it a little more cost-efficient and personal by making them goodies from scratch. I can get cute Christmas tins at the local dollar store for those I have to ship via the USPS. I can decorate paper lunch bags with holiday stickers for those who are in town waiting for a special delivery from their favorite Aunt.

As an added bonus, as we all know, my whole family really loves the chocolate-covered pretzels. Not only can I give them out to extended family, but I can also give them to my snack machines at home. I think I am going to use them as stocking stuffers!