Christmas Pretzels are a quick, charming holiday treat perfect for snacking, gifting, or adding to dessert tables. No baking or specialized tools are needed—just pretzel rings, melting chocolate, and festive sprinkles. They’re an easy, fast, and fun activity the whole family can enjoy.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Need a last-minute gift or another festive treat for your holiday spread? These pretzel bites transform simple ingredients into adorable candies. A few well-placed sprinkles or shaped decorations turn plain chocolate centers into delightful Christmas Pretzels.
Sprinkles make all the difference. Whether you have a huge collection or just a small jar, almost any sprinkle will create a cheerful design. I used a variety of shapes and colors—some of my green “Christmas trees” didn’t even require themed sprinkles. Use what you have to craft eye-catching treats in minutes.
They’re perfect served in foil cupcake liners on a dessert buffet, arranged at place settings, or packed into small tins for teachers, neighbors, and coworkers. Make extras to tuck into care packages, and feel free to snack as you decorate.
Recipe ingredients
To make Christmas Pretzels you need only a few items:
- Pretzel rings (about 20)
- 1 cup melting chocolate or candy melts
- Assorted sprinkles for decorating
Some sprinkle ideas I used:
- Nonpareils in Christmas colors
- Gingerbread people with tiny heart sprinkles
- Snowmen accented with white nonpareils
- Pine trees topped with a gold star and a dusting of white nonpareils
- Snowflakes decorated with white nonpareils
- Holly leaves with red berry sprinkles
- Multicolored nonpareil Christmas trees finished with a gold star
Instructions
Overview: most of these pretzels are made in five simple steps. Full details follow in the recipe card below.
- Arrange pretzels on a pan lined with wax or parchment paper.
- Melt the chocolate and transfer it to a small zip-top bag.
- Cut a corner of the bag and pipe chocolate into the centers of the pretzels. Tap the pan to level the chocolate.
- Immediately add sprinkles or decorations.
- Refrigerate until the chocolate sets, then store or package as desired.
To create multicolored Christmas tree designs on a green background:
- Line a pan with wax or parchment and arrange pretzels.
- Melt white chocolate and tint it with a few drops of oil-based candy coloring to achieve a green hue.
- Place the green chocolate in a zip-top bag and pipe it into the centers of the pretzels; refrigerate to firm for a few minutes.
- Bring the set pretzels back to room temperature briefly (about 5 minutes).
- Pipe a small green triangle on each pretzel to form a tree, add a gold star sprinkle at the top, and cover the triangle with multicolored nonpareils. Tip off excess sprinkles to reuse.
- Repeat for the remaining pretzels.
Tips
- Use good-quality melting chocolate for the best taste and to reduce the chance of bloom (a whitish coating that can appear on untempered chocolate).
- Work in small batches so the chocolate stays fluid while you decorate.
- Chill briefly for a shiny finish, but don’t over-chill—just firm the chocolate.
- Only use oil-based candy coloring with chocolate; water-based food coloring can cause chocolate to seize and become grainy.
- Tweezers make it easier to place small sprinkle shapes precisely.
- If you don’t want colored backgrounds, the tree decorations also look great on uncolored white, dark chocolate, or other colored candy melts.
More easy Christmas treats
Try other simple holiday ideas to complement your pretzels: orange sugar cookies dipped in chocolate, chocolate nonpareils, secret kiss cookies, peppermint fudge, Christmas Oreos, or cinnamon hard candy. These shortcuts and make-ahead options work well for gifts and cookie trays.
Christmas Pretzels
Ingredients
- 20 pretzel rings
- 1 cup melting chocolate
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Line two small baking sheets with wax paper or parchment paper.
- Arrange 5 round pretzels on each lined cookie sheet.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate at 50% power for 1–2 minutes until smooth.
- Transfer the melted chocolate into a small zip-top sandwich bag.
- Cut a small corner off the bag to create a piping tip.
- Pipe chocolate to fill the centers of 5 pretzel rings on one pan.
- Gently tap the pan on the counter to flatten the chocolate surface and remove bubbles.
- Immediately add sprinkles or decorations.
- Place the pan in the refrigerator to firm for about 3 minutes.
- Pipe chocolate into the pretzels on the second pan, tap, and add sprinkles.
- Refrigerate the second pan for about 3 minutes to set.
- When the chocolate is firm, remove the pretzels from the pans and continue with the remaining pretzels.
- If the chocolate in the piping bag starts to firm, reheat briefly in the microwave.
- Repeat until all pretzels and chocolate are used.
- Store Christmas Pretzels in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Choose good-quality melting chocolate to improve flavor and reduce bloom.
- Decorate in small batches so the chocolate remains soft while you work.
- Chill briefly for a glossy finish but avoid over-chilling.
- Use oil-based candy coloring with chocolate; water-based food colorings can cause chocolate to seize.
- Tweezers help place small sprinkle shapes precisely.
- Try crushed candy canes, red and green M&Ms, mini white chocolate chips, candy eyes, or other holiday sprinkles as alternatives.
- Homemade candy makes a thoughtful holiday gift and a crowd-pleasing addition to cookie trays.
Packing tips
Add pretzels to a freezer-weight zip-top bag, remove as much air as possible, then pad with tissue or bubble wrap. Pack securely to prevent movement in transit and only ship chocolate in cool weather.
Nutrition
Carbohydrates: 5 g |
Protein: 1 g |
Fat: 1 g |
Saturated Fat: 1 g |
Sodium: 76 mg
First Published: September 22, 2019. Last Updated: August 14, 2021. Updated for better reader experience.