How to make no-bake salted caramel pretzel rods

I’ve been making these salted caramel pretzel rods for years and somehow never managed to record my process until now– better late than never?

Here’s a 2015 throwback (peep that old “watermark”, haha)

How to Make no-bake Salted Caramel Pretzel Rods

These are SUPER easy to make, can be customized for any occasion with little details like sprinkles, or molded accents. The salted caramel pretzel rods, soft caramel ribbon and chocolate coating make for a DELICIOUS sweet and salty treat that I’m sure you’ll end up blacking out, eating them all, then 5 minutes later wonder where they all went…

What you’ll need:

• Somewhere to melt your chocolate – you can use a microwave-safe container, double broiler, piping bags or… 
  • Chocolate Warmer/Melter — this is life-changing. I used to melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave but once I started using this, never looked back. They pay for themselves in a few uses
• Pretzel Rods
• Coating Chocolate (I like Guittard & Callebaut you can also use candy melts)
  • I don’t love using chocolate unless if you want to temper the chocolate properly…
• Peter’s Caramel (5 lbs seems like a lot but it stores really nicely.. and I have our homemade “Twix Bars” that also utilize this) or other soft caramel candies would work as well!
• Sprinkles (optional) for decorating– I love Sweetapolita, they look great and taste amazing — click HERE for a 10% coupon
• A sheet or mat to let your rods set on… you can use parchment or silicone mats… and of course I also have to plug the super cute work mats we designed and offer in our shop:

Recipe:

• Get your caramel ropes ready- figuring out how much to use is a trial-error thing, it depends on how much caramel you like!
• Roll your ropes, perhaps not between your hands to prevent the caramel from getting too warm/soft, but using one hand wrap your ropes around your pretzel rod securely, dip in chocolate, put it on parchment or mat, and add sprinkles or details if desired and allow to set.
• If you want the royal icing bow transfer template, you can grab it from our shop!

Watch this video for the visual demo & more tips/tricks

How to Make no-bake Salted Caramel Pretzel Rods Video:

I’d also offer that because these are chocolate, don’t leave them under the sun. It’s harder to enjoy these in summer, etc. etc. cue the chocolate weather warnings … 

A full-size rod is a pretty good size treat, weighing in at around 4 ounces! I like to pack individually and use twist ties for the top. 

Got any questions or comments? Drop them for us down below!