Orange chocolate dipped pretzels decorated with Jack-O-Lantern faces make tasty Halloween treats. These sweet and salty Pumpkin Pretzels are fun to decorate using candy melts.
Pumpkin Pretzels
Halloween is all about candy and carving pumpkins, so let's put the two together to make these crafty Pumpkin Pretzels. Each pumpkin is created by coating six pretzel dipping sticks in Orange Candy Melts (or orange-colored white chocolate) and attaching them all together into a rectangle.
Then a broken pretzel stem is added and some leaves and vines are piped on using green candy melts. To make these pumpkin pretzels really festive, you can add a jack-o-lantern face using black candy melts. You, of course, can skip the face if you just want a pretty pumpkin pretzel.
These pumpkin pretzels are designed to look like the popsicle craft pumpkins that are a popular Halloween craft for kids. Have you ever made those with your kids?
How to make Pumpkin Pretzels
- Melt Orange Candy Melts (or melt and temper pure white chocolate and color using orange candy coloring).
Dip pretzels in orange candy melts.
- Dip one pretzel dipping stick into the orange candy then lift out using a dipping fork or kitchen fork.
- Set the coated pretzel on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Dip a second pretzel in the orange chocolate and set it next to the first, pushing them together so they stick.
- Dip 4 more pretzels, setting each of them in a row, next to the previous pretzel.
- Pop the baking sheet into the freezer if using orange candy melts or into the refrigerator if using white chocolate until the candy hardens, 3 to 5 minutes. Set your timer if you need to!!!
- Do not let the chocolate chill for too long or the chocolate coating can crack.
- Chill each pretzel pumpkin as soon as you get all 6 pretzels attached.
- If you dip and make several pumpkins and let the pretzels sit at room temperature for too long the orange candy coating may become spotty.
Pipe on Jack-O-Lantern faces.
- Break off about ½ inch from the end of a pretzel dipping stick.
- Dip it into the orange chocolate and attach it in between the third and fourth pretzel along the top edge of the pumpkin to create a stem.
- Pour melted green-colored white chocolate or green candy melts into a small squeeze bottle fitted with a #4 pastry tip.
- Pipe some leaves and vines on each pumpkin.
- Fill a squeeze bottle with black candy melts or melted and tempered dark chocolate and pipe on a jack-o-lantern face.
- Make two triangle-shaped eyes and one nose.
- Add a toothy grin.
- Freeze or refrigerate for about 1 minute until the candy hardens.
What chocolate should I use to make these Pumpkin Pretzels?
- pure white chocolate that has been melted and tempered and colored using an oil-based orange candy coloring
- OR white confectionery coating that has been melted and colored using orange candy coloring
- OR Orange Candy Melts (what I used in the video tutorial above)
- these are already colored so you can just melt and dip
See my chocolate making tips page for detailed information about the different types of chocolates and confectionery coatings.
What kind of pretzels should I use?
- Snyder's of Hanover Pretzel Dipping Sticks
- These pretzel sticks are longer (3 inches) and thicker (about ¼ inch) than traditional pretzel sticks and they work great for these types of treats. I've used them to make my popular Chocolate Pretzel Snowman Craft along with Frankenstein Pretzels, Penguin Pretzels, Rudolph Pretzels, Scarecrow Pretzels and more.
- Pretzel Sticks
- You can use traditional pretzel sticks but your finished pretzel pumpkins will be smaller.
Do I need to use a squeeze bottle to decorate them?
- No, but the small Squeez-it Mold Painter Bottles are really easy to use.
- Each bottle has a screw top adapter so you can attach a pastry tip and coupler to the bottle.
- I use plastic pastry tips (one comes with the bottle) so that I can place the entire bottle into the microwave to re-heat it if needed.
- You will have great control over where you pipe the chocolate when you use one of these bottles.
- If you prefer, you can pour the black and green candy melts into small zip-top bags and snip off one tip then pipe on the decorations instead of using the bottle.
You can find all the supplies needed to make these pumpkin pretzels from amazon (commission earned for sales).
Printable Recipe
Sweet and salty Halloween treats. Each pumpkin pretzel is made up of 6 pretzel dipping sticks that have been coated in orange-colored white chocolate or candy melts and are decorated with a pretzel stem, green candy leaves, and black candy jack-o-lantern faces.
- 12 ounces Orange Candy Melts, melted
- 65 Pretzel Dipping Sticks
- 2 ounces Green Candy Melts, melted
- 4 ounces Black Candy Melts, melted
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Dip one pretzel into the orange candy melts and coat it completely.
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Remove from the candy using a dipping fork and allow excess to drip off.
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Set pretzel on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
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Dip a second pretzel and set it right next to the first pretzel.
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Repeat until you have a row of six candy-coated pretzels lined up forming a rectangle pumpkin.
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Freeze for about 3 minutes, just until the candy coating hardens.
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Repeat creating a total of 10 pretzel pumpkins. You should have 5 extra pretzels.
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Break about ½ inch off each end of the remaining pretzels.
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Attach one small pretzel piece to each of the pumpkins to create the stem.
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Pour the melted green candy melts into a squeeze bottle or zip-top bag.
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Pipe on some green leaves and a vine going down one side of each pumpkin.
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Pour the black candy melts into another bottle or bag.
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Pipe two triangle eyes, one triangle nose, and one toothy grin onto each pretzel pumpkin to make them look like jack-o-lanterns.
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Chill for about one minute just until the decorations harden.
- Do not chill for too long or the candy coating on your pretzels may crack.
- If you prefer to dip your pretzels in pure white chocolate, you will need to melt and temper the chocolate then color it using an oil-based orange candy coloring.
- Allow the white chocolate dipped pretzels to chill in the refrigerator, not the freezer, for about 5 minutes just until the chocolate hardens.
I hope you enjoy making your Pumpkin Pretzels. Be sure to check out all these other fun chocolate dipped pretzel treats too...
Chocolate Snowman Pretzel Craft • Black Crow Pretzels
Chocolate Pretzel Turkeys • Chocolate Penguin Pretzels
White Chocolate Pretzel Olaf • Chocolate Pretzel Scarecrows
If you love pumpkins and are crafty you can have some fun making these cute crafts too...
Wood Block Pumpkins from Crafts by Amanda
Easy Paper Strip Pumpkin Craft by Fireflies and Mudpies
Yarn Pumpkins by One Little Project
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Karen @ Sugartown Sweets
I love smiling jack-o-lanterns, and yours are so cute, plus the music for your video puts you right into the mood for making these Fall cuties! Thanks for the tips on candy melts...explains some of the problems I've had before! :o)
Beth
I'm so glad you enjoyed my candy melts tips and the music in the video!
gomovies
It is very cute. Thank you for your article and recipe.
The Partiologist
If I could pick a pumpkin, these are the ones...the cutest pumpkin pretzels ever!!!