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I have fond memories of making chocolate dipped pretzel rods with my mother at Christmastime. I was always so amazed at how gorgeous and impressive they looked. So when I was asked to share a festive cooking activity, I immediately thought of the rods. They are easy! They are delicious! They are so incredibly beautiful! It’s going to look like a real cooking magazine! I was very pleased with myself.
This morning I tested out the recipe with my girls, age 2 and 4. They donned their aprons and carefully dipped and sprinkled, all the while licking “Christmas sticks” (aka candy canes). They had a wonderful time doing it, and the rods tasted really good. Perhaps the visual results were not identical to a real cooking magazine…..but we can pretend, right? Originally I was going to suggest making some extras for your friends, but after witnessing some of the unsanitary production conditions with my small workers (No! You can’t lick it, then dip it!), I think maybe it’s best to keep these all in the family. So here we go:
Ingredients:
½ cup of white chocolate melts, or white chocolate chips (or regular chocolate, although it isn’t as pretty)
10 pretzel rods
Green and red sprinkles
3 candy canes
And for the preparation:
A plastic bag and a rolling pin or other object for crushing the candy canes
A double boiler or a microwave
A plate that is bigger than the rods, but that has a bit of a lip so that the sprinkles and crushed candy canes don’t get everywhere.
A pyrex cup or small container to hold the melted chocolate. You want it to be deep and skinny, so that you don’t have to melt a ton of chocolate.
A mug filled with rice or one of those snack cups for babies with the flaps in the lid. This will be your pretzel cooling station.
A spoon for catching drips, and generally managing the melted chocolate
I find that to make this an activity a true success, its best to have the children help you with the preparations, and also to have everything ready to go before you melt the chocolate. The children can help you open the bag of pretzels, and select which pretzel rods to use. They can help you set up the work area with plates, and pour the sprinkles onto the plates. They can pour the rice into the container (which will be where you cool the pretzels).
Now the real fun begins. Put the candy canes in the plastic bag. Crush the candy canes with the rolling pin. (My 4 year old was drunk with power during this activity, while my 2 year old stared on in a mix of alarm and envy). Put the crushed candy canes on a plate.
Melt the chocolate. If you are using a microwave, it takes about 2 minutes on high. I suggest that you only microwave it for about 30 seconds at a time and stir. Then do another 30 seconds, and stir, repeating until it is melted. It turns out the warning on the formula can is right- microwaves do heat a bit unevenly and you can end up with burned parts. If you are using a double boiler, fill the bottom with water and bring it to a simmer. Put the chocolate in the top part, and stir it while it melts. Quickly bring the melted chocolate to your working surface. Have the children dip and twirl the rods into the chocolate. CAUTION: You must watch the children very carefully at this stage, so they don’t lick or touch the hot chocolate!!!! Please be careful. Once some chocolate is adhered to the end of a rod, they can stick the rods into the sprinkles or crushed candy canes. Place them in the cup filled with rice, making sure they don’t touch, and put in the fridge to harden. Voila! You are the proud owner of several beautiful chocolate pretzel rods. Don’t eat too many at once.
