Turtle Pretzel Rods

Love that classic turtle combination of caramel, chocolate, and pecans? Enjoy it in these super tasty Turtle Pretzel Rods! Crunchy pretzel rods dipped in a layer of caramel, a layer of chocolate, and sprinkled with pecans makes for one delicious sweet-and-salty treat that's sure to be loved by all.

CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER

You know that classic turtle combination of caramel, chocolate, and pecans everyone loves so much?  Well, guaranteed everyone's going to love it slathered on crunchy pretzel rods, too!

I don't know about you, but I'm a total sucker for the sweet-and-salty combination.  Chocolate covered pretzels are one of my absolute favorite foods.  Handfuls of dry roasted peanuts and M&Ms or chocolate chips? -- Love.  And don't even get my started about chocolate-dipped potato chips -- they're the bomb. 

Crunchy pretzel rods dipped in a layer of caramel, a layer of chocolate, and sprinkled with pecans makes for one delicious sweet-and-salty treat that's sure to be loved by all.

So you can bet these sweet-and-salty Turtle Pretzel Rods are certainly something I can't resist.  I mean, with their mix of caramel, chocolate, pecans, and crunchy pretzels, what's not to love?  And I'm betting you turtle lovers out there wouldn't be able to resist them, either.

Besides their deliciousness, I also love that these tasty turtle pretzels make for one fabulous holiday treat.  Whip up a batch for a holiday party sweet treat, Christmas day nibbling, or Christmastime gifts from the kitchen.  They look wonderful packaged in pretzel treat bags as individual party favors or with a few gathered together for gifting.

But we certainly won't judge if you want to keep the batch all to yourself!

Turtle Pretzel Rods Ingredients:

Five simple ingredients are all that's needed to whip up some tasty turtle pretzels.  Caramel, chocolate, and pecans make up the signature turtle combination.  Aside from that, you just need two other ingredients.

For a batch of Turtle Pretzel Rods, you'll need:

• Pretzel rods - Use one 12-ounce bag for this recipe. 

• Caramels - Packaged caramel candies melted with a small bit of water create the caramel layer for these turtle pretzels.  I use Kraft caramels. 

• Chocolate candy melts or almond bark coating - You'll need just about 12-ounces of chocolate to make the chocolate layer for 24 turtle pretzels.  I usually use Make 'n Mold chocolate flavored candy wafers, available at most craft stores. Or, Plymouth Pantry brand chocolate flavored almond bark coating, available in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.

• Shortening (such as Crisco) - Adding just a small touch of shortening -- 2 teaspoons, -- to the chocolate thins it a bit, makes it easier to work with, and creates a nice smooth chocolate coating on the finished pretzels.

• Chopped pecans - Chopped pecans make up the final layer for turtle pretzels. Chopping the pecans finely works best for this recipe.

How to Make Turtle Pretzel Rods:

Turtle Pretzel Rods are a little more time consuming to make than our sprinkle-adorned Christmas white chocolate-dipped pretzel rods, because these turtle ones take a double-dipping.  That being said, just like our white chocolate version, the process of making turtle pretzels isn't difficult at all.

To whip up a batch of turtle pretzels, start by melting caramels together with a little bit of water to make the caramel liquid and dippable.

To be honest, working with the caramel is the trickiest part of the turtle pretzel process.  The caramel is quite sticky, can scorch when being melted, and it can be challenging to get a good "deep" coverage of caramel on the pretzel rods.  

Here's what I've found to work best in creating the turtle pretzels' caramel layer:

• Melt the caramels in a small saucepan on the stove top. - Unwrap the caramels, toss them in a saucepan with a little water, and melt them over low heat on the stove top, stirring very frequently.  They'll take a bit of time to melt, but don't be tempted to jack that heat up -- you run the risk of scorching with higher heat, and you really just want a nice slow melt.  I do not recommend the microwave for melting, as the caramels melt very unevenly in the microwave.

• Pour the hot melted caramel into a deep coffee mug. - Once the caramels are melted, pour the hot caramel into a deep coffee mug (that's also pretty slender if you have one).  Why? -- Because it's really tough to get a nice, deep dip of the pretzel rods into the caramel while the caramel's in the saucepan. A coffee mug works much better for this, and has a handle to hold onto to protect your hand from the heat of the hot caramel.

• Tilt the coffee mug sideways when dipping the pretzels. - To get a "deep" coverage of caramel to about 2/3 of the way down the pretzel or so, hold the coffee mug by the handle and tilt the mug sideways until the caramel is almost about to spill out of the mug.  Dip and kind of twist the pretzel rod around in this "tilted" pool of caramel for maximum caramel coverage.

• Reheat the mug of caramel in the microwave, as needed. - If the caramel becomes too thick to easily dip, pop the caramel-filled coffee mug in the microwave for about 10 seconds to loosen the caramel back up.  And 10 seconds or so is all that's needed -- much more, and the caramel can scorch.  If you're dipping the pretzels at a steady pace, you should only have to reheat the caramel once or twice.

After dipping each pretzel in hot caramel, place it on a baking sheet lined with a greased sheet of aluminum foil.  Allow the caramel layer to cool completely.

Lining the baking sheet with aluminum foil and greasing the foil by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray is essential to keep the caramel from sticking.  Believe me, that caramel is super sticky stuff.  Foil and non-stick cooking spray = must do's.

Do not use parchment or wax paper instead of aluminum foil -- the caramel absolutely will stick to them.  Been-there-done-that with picking little bits of adhered wax paper out of the cooled caramel.  It's not fun, my friend.

1. No need to worry if you get too much caramel on a pretzel and it creates kind of a wide pooling around the pretzel as it sits on the foil -- Like the ones toward the right on the pan in the photo above.  This extra-pooling tends to happen when the caramel starts to cool off and excess doesn't run as readily back off the pretzel right after dipping. 
2.  Once the caramel has completely cooled, just use your fingers to mold and shape the pooled caramel around the pretzel into a smoother, more even coating.  
3. After the dipped caramel layer has cooled completely, melt some chocolate in a small deep bowl -- or use the coffee mug method again, if you'd like.  Dip the caramel-coated end of each pretzel into the melted chocolate, allowing any excess to drip off back into the bowl. 
4. As you dip, return each pretzel to the foil and immediately sprinkle with chopped pecans.  The chocolate sets pretty quickly, so sprinkle the pecans immediately after chocolate-dipping so the pecans will stick.
5. Be sure the pecans are finely chopped, as larger pieces of pecan tend to just slide right off the pretzels.

Let the chocolate coating set completely, and then you're good to go with enjoying the turtle pretzel deliciousness!

Store them away in an airtight container at room temperature for up to about a week. 

Stash these beauties away to enjoy yourself, or package up a few together for gifting. -- Either way, Turtle Pretzel Rods are one super tasty treat that's sure to be loved by all.

With their sweet-and-salty combination of caramel, chocolate, pecans, and crunchy pretzels, what's not to love?

Check out these other super tasty chocolatey treats:

• Chocolate Fudge
• Kahlua Chocolate Fudge
• Bourbon Fudge
• Crock Pot Candy
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
• Homemade Andes Mints
• Kahlua Truffles
• Raspberry Chocolate Truffles
• More cookies & candy

Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground. We'd love to have you back soon!

turtle pretzels, turtle pretzel rods, caramel dipped pretzels, chocolate dipped pretzels

Candy

American

Yield: about 24

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Print

Turtle Pretzel Rods

Love that classic turtle combination of caramel, chocolate, and pecans? Enjoy it in these super tasty Turtle Pretzel Rods! Crunchy pretzel rods dipped in a layer of caramel, a layer of chocolate, and sprinkled with pecans makes for one delicious sweet-and-salty treat that's sure to be loved by all.

Prep time: 55 MinCook time: 5 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

• 1 (11 oz.) bag caramels ( I use Kraft caramels)
• 1 T. water
• About 24 pretzel rods (one 12 oz. bag)
• 1 (12 oz. or 16 oz.) package chocolate candy melts or Almond Bark coating*
• 2 tsp. shortening (such as Crisco)
• 1/2 c. finely chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil; spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, melt caramels in water over low heat. Dip about 2/3 of each pretzel rod into hot caramel. Allow excess to drip off, then place on prepared greased sheet of foil to cool completely.
3. In a small deep bowl, melt candy melts (or almond bark coating) and shortening together in the microwave per candy melt package directions (typically in 30 second intervals, stirring in between).
4. Dip caramel-coated end of pretzel into chocolate, allowing excess to drip off back into the bowl. Return to foil and immediately sprinkle with pecans. Let stand to allow chocolate coating to set. 
5. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

TRACEY'S NOTES:

1. *I usually use Make 'n Mold chocolate flavored candy wafers, available at most craft stores. Or, Plymouth Pantry brand chocolate flavored almond bark coating, available in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.
2. Lining the baking sheet with aluminum foil and greasing the foil is essential to keep the caramel from sticking.  Do not use parchment or wax paper instead of aluminum foil -- the caramel absolutely will stick to them.
3. To dip the pretzel rods in caramel, I pour the hot caramel into a deep coffee mug with a handle.  As I dip each pretzel, I hold onto the coffee mug's handle and tilt the mug so I can get caramel coverage as far down the pretzel rod as possible.  If the caramel becomes too thick to easily dip, pop the caramel-filled coffee mug in the microwave for about 10 seconds to loosen the caramel back up.
4. Don't worry if you get too much caramel on a pretzel and it creates kind of a wide pooling around the pretzel as it sits on the foil.  Once the caramel has cooled, just use your fingers to mold and shape the pooled caramel around the pretzel into a smoother, more even coating.  
5.  Be sure the pecans are finely chopped. Larger pieces of pecan tend to just slide right off the pretzels.  Also, be sure to immediately sprinkle pecans on the chocolate-dipped pretzels so they stick on the wet chocolate.

Similar Recipes

Christmas White Chocolate-Dipped Sugar Wafers

Insanely Delicious Turtle Cookies

Christmas White Chocolate Marshmallow Pops

https://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2020/12/turtle-pretzel-rods.html

Created using The Recipes Generator

CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS FOR LATER

Affiliate links are included in this post. As an Amazon.com associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.