A Hard Candy Christmas: Advent 2023, DAY 8

Today's candy is something my mother would make every year and they were delicious. When it came to cooking, my mom had 2 styles: burnt and more burnt. That's because as a nurse, she was terrified of food borne illnesses. So she overcooked everything. But when it came to baking, she was amazing. Now, technically, Chocolate Covered Pretzels are not baked goods. But it fits in with her excellent skills in making sweets. 

This type of treat might not be such a big deal these days as you can go to just about any pharmacy, gas station and grocer and big up a bag of chocolate covered pretzels. But until the 1990s, there were only 2 ways to get chocolate covered pretzels; you either got them at a gourmet shop or you made them. And every Christmas, my mom made them.

My mom made chocolate covered pretzels in several different varieties. Typically, she used pretzel rods. But she'd make a few out of the the typical bow shape pretzel as well. Milk chocolate wasn't the only covering she'd use. Some pretzels would be enrobed in white chocolate. But only the pretzel rods would get the treatment of both milk and white chocolate! 

Colored sugar sprinkles would only be used on the white and combination chocolate pretzels. However, she did something a little unique by adding a little salt to the sprinkles to increase the salty counter to the sweetness of the chocolates. I loved the sprinkles due to that extra touch of sodium. As for deciding between white and milk, I couldn't make a decision on which was the best. However, if I had a choice, I would go for a pretzel rod all the way! Not gonna lie. One of the reasons for that decision is because with the rod, I'd pretend I was smoking a real long cigar. Who says you can't play with your food???

It's a simple recipe. However, it takes a lot of skill to make them right. It's yet another food memory that has made some impact on my culinary career. While it's not yet possible for me to provide you some of these treats via the internet-YET-, I can at least share the technique. As my Advent gift for you today, here's a quick 5 minute long video devoted to making those amazing pretzel rods!

ENJOY!