Fourth of July Pretzel Rods (White Chocolate Pretzels)
White Chocolate Pretzels are a fun and flavorful treat to make with kids or just bring a little color to a festive summer gathering. Dress them up with different colors (like this patriotic version!) and you’ve got the perfect salty sweet snack!
So many things are improved with a dip in some chocolate, but nothing pairs so perfectly as pretzels. Salty pretzels are the perfect balance to sweet white chocolate and the result is a snack or treat that is so craveable!
These white chocolate-covered pretzels are the perfect snack to bring to a summer celebration. Not only are they delicious but they are also so easy to make and fun to decorate to bring some festive color to your table.
If you’ve got kids dying to help with party prep, this is a great recipe to include them on. Just melt, dip, and decorate, and let everyone enjoy!
If you want some non-festive pretzel bites, try out these Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites for any time of year!
Why Make This Recipe
- Festive: These white chocolate pretzels are really perfect for any occasion because they are so easy to customize. Use pink chocolate for Valentine’s Day or green and red for Christmas. During the summer months decorate them with red, white and blue, like pictured here!
- Delicious: The perfect mix of salty and sweet. You’ll be grabbing for one of these pretzels any time you want a snack!
- Easy: This recipe is just about foolproof. Follow my lead and your pretzel rods will turn out picture-perfect with no clumpy white chocolate!
Ingredients for Fourth of July Pretzel Rods
- Pretzel Rods: If you want a quick bite-sized snack you could use smaller pretzels but the rods are much easier to dip and decorate.
- Candy Melts: You can use whatever colors fit your celebration, but for these patriotic pretzels I am using white, red, and blue. Candy melts tend to be easier to work with than white chocolate chips.
- Vegetable Oil: A little extra oil is the key to getting your chocolate smooth and melty
- Patriotic Sprinkles: Optional but extra fun!
Tools
- Microwavable bowl
- Tall glass
- Ziploc bags
The Key to Smooth White Chocolate
White chocolate can be finicky to work with. If you’ve ever tried to melt it and had it clump up instead, you know what I mean. This is called seizing and it happens when moisture gets into your mixture or when the chocolate becomes too hot.
The trick to getting white chocolate that is smooth and easy to dip into is low heat and added fat.
Added fat, like vegetable oil, will make your chocolate more smooth, which makes it easier to dip into. It also gives your final product a beautiful shine.
I will note that adding a little bit of fat to your chocolate means it won’t get as hard as it was originally–but it shouldn’t be sticky in any way.
Low heat can be achieved by lowering the heat settings on your microwave or setting up a double boiler system on your stovetop. I prefer using the microwave as it requires less work but you do need to get to know your microwave as they can all vary slightly.
How to Make This Recipe
Step One: Prep Your Chocolate
Add a piece of wax paper onto a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
Add each color of the candy melts into their separate bowl. Add 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil into each bowl.
Microwave each bowl on 50% power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each round. Continue this until the chocolate is melted. Then continue with the other colors.
Step Two: Dip the Pretzels
Place the melted white chocolate into a tall glass. Stick the pretzel rods into the white chocolate in the glass until about ¾ of the length of the pretzels are coated. Allow the Fourth of July pretzels to cool on the wax paper-lined cookie sheet.
Step Three: Decorate
Add the red and blue melted chocolate into small ziplock bags. Cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag, and drizzle the colored chocolate on the white-chocolate-coated pretzels. Sprinkle with red, white, and blue sprinkles. Feel free to experiment with other decoration variations as well.
Allow the pretzels to cool completely. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Transfering the melted chocolate to a tall, skinny glass makes it extra easy to dip and go.
- You can use a heating pad to keep your chocolate at the perfect temperature. Heat it to low or warm and wrap it around your glass while you continue to dip.
FAQ
To create a double boiler, find a glass bowl that fits snug over the top of your pot. Add water to the pot and let it come to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cover the top with your bowl.
Add your chocolate to the bowl and allow the steam from below to gently melt the chocolate. Stir gently.
Almond bark, candy melts and white chocolate are made from different ingredients and have a slightly different taste and texture.
Almond bark and candy melts are made from vegetable fat while white chocolate is made from cocoa butter. They each vary slightly in taste and texture, but most people won’t be able to tell too much of a difference.
You can use any of these for this recipe but I’ve found candy melts are the easiest to use as a coating.
Did you enjoy this recipe for Fourth of July Pretzel Rods? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
Fourth of July Pretzel Rods (White Chocolate Pretzels)
Equipment
- Microwavable bowl
- Tall glass
- Ziploc bags
Ingredients
- 12 Pretzel Rods
- 1 cup White Candy Melts
- 1 cup Red Candy Melts
- 1 cup Blue Candy Melts
- 3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
- Patriotic Sprinkles, for decorating
Instructions
- Add a piece of wax paper onto a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
- Add 1 cup each color of the candy melts into their own separate bowl. Add 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil into each bowl.
- Microwave each bowl on 50% power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each round. Continue this until the chocolate is melted. Then continue with the other colors.
- Place the melted white chocolate into a tall glass. Stick the 12 pretzel rods into the white chocolate in the glass until about ¾ of the length of the pretzels are coated. Allow the pretzels to cool on the wax paper-lined cookie sheet.
- Add the red and blue melted chocolate into small ziploc bags. Cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag, and drizzle the colored chocolate on the white-chocolate coated pretzels. Sprinkle with red, white, and blue sprinkles. Feel free to experiment with other decoration variations as well.
- Allow the pretzels to cool completely. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Pretzel Rods: If you want a quick bite-sized snack you could use smaller pretzels but the rods are much easier to dip and decorate.
- Candy Melts: You can use whatever colors fit your celebration, but for these patriotic pretzels I am using white, red and blue. Candy melts tend to be easier to work with than white chocolate chips.
- Vegetable Oil: A little extra oil is the key to getting your chocolate smooth and melty
- Patriotic Sprinkles: Optional but extra fun!
- Transfering the melted chocolate to a tall, skinny glass makes it extra easy to dip and go.
- You can use a heating pad to keep your chocolate at the perfect temperature. Heat it to low or warm and wrap it around your glass while you continue to dip.