I do not have a microwave, so to melt the chocolate I put a glass bowl over a pot of water. It worked just fine. I would like to learn a few things about chocolate candy making. It would be fun, and probably kinda helpful for goodies like this.
Next time I make chocolate covered pretzels I will pay attention to the type of chocolate chips I melt. I had to taste test (you know how that goes) and was surprised at how tart it was and realized I used bittersweet rather than milk chocolate, oops.
I decided to take advantage of the bittersweet aspect and add some spice. I sprinkled a bit of Ancho Chili powder and cayenne into the melting chocolate. I went easy on the spice since I wasn't sure how much it would kick. It ended up being a pretty tasty amount. There was just enough heat to leave a warm feeling, and just to be sure I did not confuse the spicy pretzels with the regular ones I lightly sprinkled the batch with paprika.
Rather than dipping the pretzels I put the liquified chocolate goodness in a disposable piping bad and snipped a tiny point off and drizzled it on in a circular motion. It kept the mess fairly contained, and I could easily control how much chocolate was involved.
Yum.
Enjoy your Monday!
~JiMele
