Today I made hand-dipped pretzel rods for a cookie exchange. The process was a lot of fun but did require a lot of patience and detail. They were a hit tonight and someone even placed an order with me to make them as their gifts to give this week. What a great night I had with everyone at Lori Post's house. Thank you so much for your dear hosting! As always you were wonderful.
What you need:
*Pretzel Bags with Ties*Pretzel Rods
*Dipping Chocolate - White, Milk Choc, etc
*Decorative Toppings - Andes Mint Chips, Peppermint Chips, M&M minis, Hand-Dyed Coconut Flakes,
*Icing Bag to Drizzle Chocolate, optional
*Wax Paper
To Do:
1. Assemble all of your decorations on flat surfaces ussing cookie trays, serving trays, pizza trays, etc. Put down sheets of wax paper on the trays, then place your toppings on the wax paper.
2. If you are going to hand-dye coconut do that first because you will need to have time to toast and cool down.
3. Lay down sheets of wax paper on your counter or table so that you can put your dipped pretzels on them to dry.
4. Melt your chocolate, either in microwave or double-boiler depending on what type of chocolate you have purchased. Make sure you get a good chocolate that is not too waxy and tempers properly. It is a little more money but in the end you will be thankful for how your pretzels turn out. I use the A'Peels by Guittard Chocolate Co which require no tempering and can be heated in the microwave. I purchase them from the Austin bake shop, Make It Sweet.
5. Then dip! Dip pretzel into chocolate, tap pretzel and drizzle off excess chocolate back into dipping bowl. You will need to let the chocolate cool on the pretzel slightly before rolling in the toppings. Otherwise, all of the toppings will fall off the hot chocolate. You may also choose not to roll in topping and instead drizzle a contrasting color of chocolate on top.
6. Let cool well, then bag individually.
Tips:
*You will need about 20 to 25 pretzel bags for one bag of pretzel rods.* Use a tall and narrow bowl or large mug that you can easily dip the pretzel into rather than have to lay down and scoop chocolate in.
*Bag pretzels individually to keep toppings on and to keep presentation in tact. Also a better way for those receiving to pick up.
