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The easiest Chocolate Covered Brown Sugar Espresso Spiced Pretzels. These chocolate-covered pretzels are what I call a “foolproof” dessert for the holidays. Made with salted pretzels, butter, vanilla, brown sugar, espresso, and chocolate. These treats are oh-so delicious! Each pretzel is sweet with notes of vanilla and espresso. Kind of like your favorite holiday latte, but with a salty pretzel crunch. Nothing not to love about these salty, sweet chocolate-covered pretzels. They’re deliciously easy, a wonderful dessert to serve up at parties, or to gift away to friends!
First Friday of November and I have one of our easiest Thanksgiving recipes yet! Yes, these always come out looking impressive and taste even more delicious.
The idea came to be pretty naturally. I was speaking with my mom and going over some ideas for our holiday dinners. Including the Thanksgiving family dinner that we’re hosting in Colorado this year. We both were saying how we wanted things to be simple and not feel fussy. I went over ideas for sweet desserts with her, and of course, she gravitated towards all the sweet chocolate treats on my list.
One of her favorite ideas was these pretzels. She mentioned that they sound delicious and could be great for easy snacking throughout the holidays. They would also be cute to package up to send off to loved ones or to bring along as a fun edible hostess gift!
I asked if she felt like the concept was too simple, but she reassured me that part of the excitement over this recipe is just how easy they are to create!
I thought I would test them out for our 2023 Thanksgiving menu and they turned out so yummy. We’re actually kind of obsessed with them. I’m looking forward to making these for Thanksgiving. They would also be great to package up and include in my Christmas cookie box this year!
Onto details – these are simple
Step 1: prep and bake the pretzels
For this recipe, I used a bag of salted pretzel twists. My personal favorite is the large twists, but you can use pretzel rods or mini pretzels too. Both are great for gifting!
Now, mix the pretzels in a big bowl with butter and vanilla. Then arrange the pretzels on a baking sheet.
Step 2: the espresso sugar
Mix brown sugar with instant espresso powder. I also love to add a pinch of cinnamon for warmth. I probably use 1/2 a teaspoon or so.
Generously sprinkle the sugar over each pretzel.
Step 3: bake
Bake the pretzels to caramelize the butter and the topping.
Watch the pretzels closely towards the end of baking as the sugar can burn if your oven is too hot.
Step 4: the chocolate dip
When the pretzels are cool enough, dip them in melted chocolate. I used chocolate chips but semi-sweet, dark, or milk chocolate pieces work nicely too.
Now freeze the pretzels to quickly set the chocolate. At this point the recipe is complete. You can arrange them in a cute box for serving or package them up for easy homemade holiday gifts!
I made a big batch of these just yesterday to share with my family and they’re officially in love with the flavors.
It always seems to be the simpler desserts that are truly loved the most!!
Looking for other Thanksgiving desserts? Here are my favorites:
Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Pumpkin Pie
Chewy Brown Sugar Maple Cookies
Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
Lastly, if you make this Chocolate Covered Espresso Spiced Pretzels, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite.
Chocolate Covered Espresso Pretzels
Servings: 22 large pretzels
Calories Per Serving: 98 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 bag (16 ounce) salted pretzels
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons instant espresso powder
- 1 pinch cinnamon (optional)
- 12 ounces milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate, melted
- flaky sea salt for topping
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.2. In a bowl, toss the pretzels, with melted butter and vanilla. In another bowl, mix the brown sugar, espresso powder, and cinnamon (if using). Toss the pretzels with half the sugar, then arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each pretzel with any remaining sugar.3. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the pretzels are lightly caramelized. Watch close as the sugar can burn. Remove from the oven, let cool. 4. Melt the chocolate. Dip each pretzel in melted chocolate and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pretzels. Freeze for 10 minutes, until set. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.
Hi Tieghan-your link says it also includes recipe for White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels but I cannot find the recipe anywhere, even when I search your website. I see another person requested it but did not see your reply.
Anyway you can post the recipe for white choc peppermint pretzels?
Thanks so much!
These were sooooo good! Everyone loved them!
Thank you Barbara! xT
Hello! Can you please include how you make white chocolate peppermint pretzels? Thank you!
Just made these-my observations based on others’ comments. I used 1 C of brown sugar and 1 T Espresso powder. That seemed to be plenty based on my tastes. More than 1/3 C brown sugar is needed to cover 22 pretzels. The butter was the right amount. I used around 16 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips to be able to dip 1/2 of each pretzel. Hope my coworkers like them!
Thank you for all of this awesome input Mary! xT
I made these right before Thanksgiving and they were fantastic.
Thank you so so much! Sooo glad you enjoyed this recipe! Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂 xT
I thought this sounded like a great new recipe to try. I used a bag of large pretzel. I had to make a double batch of the sugar dip, since I ran out after coating about 1/3 of my 16 oz bag of pretzels. The butter started looking murkey after tossing about 1/2 of the bag of pretzels in it, so I stopped after 2/3 of the bag of pretzels were done. Next, with the chocolate melted, I only was able to coat 13 of the 29 pretzels before running out of chocolate. When I tasted one, I did not like the flavor. The espresso was too much for me, and put in the lesser amount of the powder that the recipe called for. I thought it was a lot of work and expense for just 13 pretzels.
Hey Linda! I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! I appreciate you letting me know! xT
I made this as snack to bring to my family’s thanksgiving, and everyone loved it! Everyone kept going back for more.
I drizzled chocolate over the sheet pan instead of dipping just to save some time.
I will totally make these again 🙂
Hey Lena,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it:) xT
I made these and was dipping in chocolate, hubs walks through and says that’s dark chocolate, I said this is what I always use he said I don’t like the dark. I got some white chocolate and dipped half in it and that has turned out to be our favorite. It lets the coffee come through, delicious! Thanks for a simple great recipe.
Hey Kathy,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for your feedback and trying the recipe! Happy Thanksgiving! xT
Hi! Is it necessary to use instant espresso rather then regular espresso powder??
I just made these. Taste is 10/10 but my chocolate dipping skills is 6/10. My melted chocolate chips was kind of thick. Any suggestions? I would love to try again and have them look like yours, before the holidays.
Hi Jocelyn,
Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for trying it and your feedback! Try adding coconut oil to the chocolate to thin it as needed:) xT
I am going to attempt to make these pretzels for the holidays. Can you be more specific with the pretzel size? I too think that your pretzels pictured look thicker and larger than regular looped pretzels. Thank you!
Hi there,
This recipe is really going to work with any size or style of pretzels. I used large Snyder twists. I hope this helps! xx
Yum! The pretzels you use seem to be larger/thicker than my fav Rold Gold pretzels. What brand did you end up using? The are the perfect size/thickness!
Hi Carrie,
I like Snyder’s brand! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Did you find the larger pretzels? I am having the same issue.
Did you use salted butter? In the ingredients it’s linked to salted butter but the recipe doesn’t specify?
Thanks!
Hey Nathan,
Yes, I always use salted butter:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
These look delicious and I am definitely making these as gifts! However, whenever I make chocolate covered pretzels, the chocolate always gets this white tint on it before gifting. Is there a way to prevent this?
Hi Taylor,
So sorry, I have never experienced the white tint you are referring to. I would give this recipe a try and let me know how this turns out! xT
Have you tried melting 3/4 of your chocolate in the microwave and then adding the remaining 1/4 and stirring until all melted? It’s a cheats way of ‘tempering’ the chocolate. It sets up pretty quick too.
I too have experienced the bloom. It’s such a bummer. Use real chocolate and properly temper it or as suggested above about a Tablespoon of coconut oil when melting the chocolate chips.
Hi!! Were your pretzels the “Old Thyme” type from Snyder. I cannot find a typical large twist anywhere.
Hii! So nice and simple! I have to go dairy free for a bit – can I use vegan butter or oil? Thanks!
Hi Diane,
I would try a vegan butter:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Hello! How long do these keep for? Wanting to make for Thanksgiving but will need to make them ahead of time. Thank you!!
Hi Brittanie,
These are good for 1 week in an airtight container:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx