Baking with Chocolate

Are you using special chocolate bark made for melting and dipping? It usually melts with a slightly different consistency and doesn't get runny. You can get big blocks of it everywhere from the grocery store to specialty shops.I've also had great success with melting Nestle's TollHouse chips and their white chocolate chips in a glass bowl in the microwave. Heat on high for a minute; stir well; heat 30 seconds and stir well again. See if you need any more heat -but go slowly.

If you are using that already and still having a problem, maybe you're getting it too hot or melted. It needs to be "dippable" but never runny or so liquid that you could quickly and easily pour it. If pouring, it should move more like "sludge" than water. You can experiment with adding very small amounts of powdered sugar to it as well to thicken it up -like you do to make icing -but be careful and add just a little bit at a time; stir well and see if it thickens a bit. Make sure the kitchen is cool and you're laying the dipped items out on wax paper on a cool surface -not close to the stove or anything. Good luck!

Sounds like your chocolate is a little too runny, are you adding anything to it?

I usually just melt the chocolate and add a very very small amount of heavy whipping cream or milk to it if it needs it, but more often than not it's just plain semi-sweet chocolate chips that I melted down.

I made chocolate covered pretzels a lot! I just melt chocolate, dip in the pretzel and place it on wax paper. Then, I add my sprinkles or candy or whatever.

scroll down here and you'll see my sprinkle chocolate coated pretzels, so pretty!
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2010/06/sweet-treats-m...

What kind of chocolate are you using?

hee! i know, these *fun* projects can so easily turn frustrating! it's a tricky thing to get the chocolate to just the right consistency. sounds like yours is too thin. try a little whipping cream to thicken it up.
:) khairete
S.

Have you tried the Wilton candy melts. I haven't tried making pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate, but I have used the Wilton candy melts as well as their molds to make candies and lollipops. I have seen molds made by Wilton that are for pretzel sticks - either dipping the end in chocolate or adding a mold of some kind to the middle. I just recently saw a Wilton mold for adding a candy onto a candy cane.

The instructions for using the melts are very easy. I usually melt them in a disposable cake decorating bag. Then I cut the tip off to fill the molds. When I'm done, I just throw the bag away. And most molds are set within 20 minutes max.

My kids (ages 7 and 9) even like to make candies and lollipops. I give them small bowls of different colored candy melted and a new/clean paint brush. They paint the details on the mold. I put it in the fridge for 5 or 10 minutes and then I fill the rest of the mold.

Add some vegatable shortning (about 1 tble for 8 oz melted chocolate).

at like hobby lobby and even walmart they have molds that are plastic. I bought mine at hobby lobby last year. you put the prezel in then pour the chocolate in the mold to make a snowman. Much easier to do then dipping.