Over the years, one of my favorite salty + sweet treats are the pretzels + Hershey’s Kiss + M&M candy (here’s my ‘recipe’). I love them all year round, but especially during the holiday season.
They seem to be a hit for almost any party or occasion, everyone loves them, they are great for little hands, and they freeze well so I can easily make a couple hundred at a time!
My kids LOVE these chocolaty pretzel bites; however, a couple months ago, we tried making the same concoction… but we used Rolo candies instead of Hershey’s Kisses.
The results were amazing!
The gooey caramel + crunchy pretzel + sweet chocolate + salty pretzel is one of the best combos I’ve had in a bite-sized snack in a very, very long time!
We all loved the Rolo candy addition so much that we even made them into turkey’s for Thanksgiving!
Then, a few weeks ago, I saw a Facebook post that gave me another idea to kick our favorite bite-sized treats up a notch again.
We dipped them in white chocolate!
The white chocolate added a whole new flavor combo — one that is rather addicting, I might add!
I currently have a couple large food storage containers filled with these yummy pretzel candy bites — and I’m quite confident we won’t have many left after taking them to various holiday parties over the next week (and snacking on them at home).
The best part about this recipe for me is that my 5 year old made these treats almost completely on her own!
I told Nora exactly what to do, I put the pans in the oven, and I melted the white chocolate — other than that, she did everything else while I was making soup for dinner!
If you’re looking for an extremely simple, super delicious treat to bring to a holiday party, or just something fun to do with your children or grandchildren over Christmas break, I don’t think you can go wrong with these yummy pretzel candy bites!
Recipe for Pretzel Candy Bites:
this recipe makes about 6 dozen bites
INGREDIENTS:
- bite-sized pretzels (any shape will work — I like the circles, but the store was out of those)
- Rolo candies
- 4-6 oz. white chocolate
- 1 ts. shortening
- colorful sprinkles (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF
- Line 2 baking sheets with a sheet of parchment paper
- Place 3 dozen pretzels on each baking sheet
- Top each pretzel with 1 Rolo candy
- Bake in preheated oven for 2-3 minutes
- Use the back of a spoon to smash the melted Rolo into the pretzel (I usually only bake 1 sheet at a time so I can smash the Rolos from one sheet while the 2nd sheet is in the oven)
- Let Rolos cool and harden up again (you could even put them outside for a bit if you want to hurry the process)
- Once the Rolos are cooled, place the white chocolate and shortening in a small bowl
- Microwave chocolate for in 30 second intervals (stirring between) until fully melted
- Dip pretzel bites halfway into white chocolate and place back on parchment paper
- Sprinkle with colorful sprinkles if desired
- Let sit for about an hour (or until chocolate is no longer melty) and store in an airtight container with sheets of wax paper between the layers.
These bites are such a fun treat any time of year, but with a sprinkling of red and green sugar, they are the perfect munchy to bring along to all our Christmas parties!
What are your favorite Christmas munchies?
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Brittany says
Hi Andrea! Just curious, would these freeze well?
Happy Holidays!
Andrea says
Hey Brittany!
Sorry for the delayed response, I’m taking some time off from blogging over the holidays 🙂
Anyway, these pretzel bites freeze wonderfully! And in general, all my recipes are freezer-friendly unless I note otherwise (I’m a huge fan of freezer foods!)
Happy New Year!
Francie says
Nora looks like a preteen cooking. You are doing an awesome job teaching the kids how to bake and cook at such an early age. http://www.supersimpleways.com
Andrea says
yeah, she is looking a lot older lately!
Mara Yager says
I LOVE your Kids in the Kitchen recipe because they are ACTUALLY something my kids can help with…without driving me CRAZY haha 😉 This is perfect, making these as soon as I get the ingredients. Hi from Wisconsin, hope you all are keeping warm 🙂
Andrea says
haha — thanks! I do actually make all my “kids in the kitchen” recipe WITH my kids. Sometimes it gets a little messy, but usually it’s not too bad. I enjoy baking and cooking with my kids, but ONLY if we don’t totally trash the kitchen!
Debra Massack says
Curious…Have you ever substituted coconut oil for the shortening? I’ve made the magic shell with coconut oil and chocolate chips and it mixes well, but I’m not a baker and not too keen on buying a whole can of shortening for 1 tsp. I love chocolate and pretzels, but only used the melts in the past. This looks really good. Thanks.
Merry Christmas to you and your lovely family….been following you since you became pregnant with Nora and I’m always quoting you to my husband…all I have to say is your name and he knows who I’m talking about ☺ Love your blog!
Andrea says
I’ve never done this, but I’m pretty sure it would work. Even butter might work, but I don’t know for sure.
Merry Christmas to you too! and thanks for your long-time readership!
Jenny says
Can I hear how you do the “Magic Shell”?
Debra says
Hi Jenny, I pulled this off the web years ago. Not my recipe, but it works. Sorry for delay 🙂
Magic Shell Ingredients:
1 1/4 Cups Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Coconut Oil (measured when solid)
Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave about 1 minute (depending on your microwave). Allow to sit a few minutes to allow the heat of the oil to melt the chocolate chips and then stir until smooth. It will be runny.
I store it in a mason jar in the refrigerator and reheat it in the microwave (without the lid) when I need it liquid. Start with 30 seconds, then reheat in 15 second increments until liquid. You can dip frozen bananas in it, pour it over ice cream…whatever you use magic shell for. It’s awesome. 🙂
Jen says
I’ve made these for years too! The Rolo variety is fun with a pecan on the top too! Merry Christmas!
Chris says
These are also good with another pretzel on top. You use the second pretzel instead of a spoon. I use the “waffle” type pretzels. They gave more area, if that makes sense.
Chris says
I forgot to add – I do the Rolos. I guess that wouldn’t work for the kiss and M&M one, plus it’s prettier to end with the M&M on top.
Andrea says
Yes, less messy, but also less chocolate-to-pretzel ratio 🙂 We like lots of chocolate!!