Easy Soft Chocolate Pretzels
Easy Soft Chocolate Pretzels are chewy and delicious with the aroma and flavor of chocolate. These are savory pretzels and taste delicious with a buckwheat honey mustard dipping sauce.
I know what you’re thinking. “Chocolate pretzels that aren’t sweet?” Yes. Chocolate pretzels that aren’t sweet. And there’s a perfectly good reason for that. So, hear me out on this one.
I am not a huge sweets eater. That doesn’t mean I won’t partake in a cake, brownie, cookie, pie, etc. But I would rather have French fries than cake any day of the week. I love savory foods and have not one inkling or hint of a sweet tooth. That’s just how I am. Fried and salty are my go-to comfort foods.
And breads. Any kind of breads. Pretzels in particular! I love me a soft pretzel. I’ve made a few on the blog, but not many. I hope to make many more soon because I love soft pretzels! No, I can’t say that enough. I love soft pretzels! I go to Lidl just for their soft pretzels and pretzel buns. If I go to a sporting event of any kind that has pretzels, I must get one. I love soft pretzels!
How do you make easy soft chocolate pretzels?
That’s easy! Pun intended. But I will walk you through my failures, so you don’t do the same. I’m convinced I always read the amount of flour that other people use in their recipes and think I must use that much. But, I reality, don’t need to use that much.
And I know this but I always second guess myself and add more flour. Which makes my dough very dry. And no matter how much water or liquid I try to add back into it, it just never quite comes out the way I want it to. Unless I really undercut the flour which might be better for me in the long run, but who knows.
I knead, knead, and then knead some more thinking at some point I will achieve a windowpane. But rarely do I achieve this. I’m sure it all boils down to me not making bread often. Now knowing how to tell the feel of the dough and listen to what it’s telling me. “I need more water!” “Not this time! I need more flour!” This is one of those bucket list things I must work on.
So, I cut the flour in the published recipe. My pretzels had 3 cups of flour, but I really only needed about 2 or 2 1/2 cups of flour. They also needed more salt, but I leave that one up to you. I am always sensitive to salt and use less than most people. And with the chocolate, it could really bring out the chocolate flavor with a little more salt.
Why boil pretzels in baking soda water before baking?
Because most people are not comfortable with using food grade lye. I see that puzzled look. Traditional pretzels get a dip in food grade lye before baking. That’s what gives the pretzel it’s dark and crispy exterior. But lye is very caustic and corrosive. And if handled improperly can cause burns. At least that’s what my mother told me when we were making pickles once.
An alternative to food grade lye is baking soda. It doesn’t quite give as dark of the exterior on pretzels as lye. But it does provide you with a nice, crispy exterior and a chewy inside. And, I was just reading about this, if you bake your baking soda before you use it for pretzels it might make them darker like European style pretzels. I will be trying this next time.
But why does baking soda make the pretzels brown and crispy? I had to do a little more digging on this one. And, apparently, it’s due to the Maillard reaction. Certain sugars (reducing sugars) when combined with amino acids turn things brown when heated. Like in crusts on bread and pretzels. Alkali environments speed this process up. So, combine the Maillard reaction with the alkali environment and you have crispy brown pretzels.
How do you make pretzels shiny?
Along with putting them in the baking soda bath adding an egg wash to the pretzels before baking can increase the color and sheen of your pretzels. After cooking them in the water for a few minutes you return them to your baking pan. Then you let them sit for a little bit before brushing with a water and egg wash. Sprinkle with salt and then bake!
I always forget adding the egg or cream wash to baked goods. I know that brushing puff pastry, scones, and biscuits with a wash makes them tastier. So, brushing pretzels with an egg wash makes them shinier. Maybe it does the same with breads? I’ll have to try that one next time.
But just look at the sheen on those babies! I love how they split open, too. Some recipes tell you to slash the pretzels, but I prefer to let them crack open on their own. I’m sure some baker is shaking their head reading that. But I like how natural they look when they crack on their own.
What do easy soft chocolate pretzels taste like?
This is where it’s not going to be easy to describe. You can smell the chocolate when they come out of the oven. And you can smell the chocolate when you bite into the pretzel. But do not expect them to have a deep, sweet chocolate flavor. Because they don’t. They have the richness that the cocoa powder brings to dishes like Cincinnati chili and mole. You don’t taste the chocolate in there, but you know it’s in there. Because of the dark color and depth of flavor. So, imagine that in a pretzel and that’s how the easy soft chocolate pretzels taste.
Now, if you were super adventurous, add more sugar to the dough and maybe add some chocolate chips to the dough and turn them into dessert pretzels. As stated above, that’s not always my cup of tea. By all means, take this recipe as a base and alter it as you see fit.
What do you dip easy soft chocolate pretzels in?
That sort of depends on if you stick with the savory pretzels or go the sweet route. For mine, I found a deliciously rich buckwheat honey I bought a while ago. I stirred some of that into some Dijon mustard and it made for a delicious dipping sauce. The rich, buckwheat honey really brought out the rich chocolate flavor in the pretzels. They complemented each other. But if you’re going the sweet route, try this dipping sauce!

Easy Soft Chocolate Pretzels
Easy Soft Chocolate Pretzels are chewy and delicious with the aroma and flavor of chocolate. These are savory pretzels and taste delicious with a buckwheat honey mustard dipping sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup baking soda
Instructions
- Combine the yeast with the sugar and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow the yeast to proof 5 minutes or until bubble.
- Add the butter, salt, 2 cups of flour, and the cocoa powder.
- Attach the dough hook and set the mixer to medium low until the dough forms a ball. Add more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl. I added 3 and regret it. Two cups of flour was sufficient for my recipe.
- Knead on medium for 5 minutes. Take a small ball and stretch it until it becomes a thin film in the middle. If the dough tears before it makes a thin film (windowpane) then keep kneading until it does.
- Once the dough passes the windowpane test, put it in a bowl coated with olive oil. Toss the dough to coat it in oil and place plastic wrap over the top.
- Refrigerate the dough overnight.
- Remove the dough 30 minutes before dividing and shaping the pretzels.
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Put a large pot of water on to boil.
- Combine the egg with the water in a small bowl and set aside.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll the dough into a thin rope about 3/4 to 1 inch thick.
- Form a U and then twist the top part of the U to form the pretzel shape and place on a baking sheet lined with a silpat.
- Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
- Once the water is boiling, carefully pour the baking soda in the water. It will bubble up so please do be careful. I added mine about 2 tablespoons at a time.
- Boil the pretzels for 1 minute making sure to flip them over halfway through. I started them upside down so they were easier to take out when finished.
- Brush them with the egg mixture and sprinkle sea salt on top, if using.
- Bake at 400 to 12 to 15 minutes or until shiny and dark brown.
- Cool before eating, if you can wait that long.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 504Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 35mgSodium 4087mgCarbohydrates 95gFiber 4gSugar 2gProtein 14g
More Chocolate Recipes
- Chicken Mole Tacos from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Easy Almond Truffles from That Recipe
- Easy Chocolate Soft Pretzels from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Valentine Marshmallow Pops from Devour Dinner
I wish the recipe would have been labeled savory chocolate more clearly. They turned out great otherwise but I was just expecting something sweeter of an end result.
If you want a sweet pretzel, simply add more sugar to the recipe. I would think the small amount in there would have given you the idea that they wouldn’t be sweet.
I would love to try these, but I don’t eat eggs. Would it be okay to use flax meal and water instead?
I have no experience with egg substitutes. I would just try it and see what happens. Or maybe try chia seeds in water or aquafaba. Let me know how they turn out!
What a great idea of using soda water! It will give sodium hydroxide in water, which essentially makes lye (which is concentrated)! I am going to try that soon! Chocolate in a slaty pretzel sounds fantastic to me. This is going in my list to try! Thanks for an amazing recipe.
Thank you! And I’m thrilled you understand the science behind it. Love that!
What an interesting take on pretzels!!! These are gorgeous.
Thanks! I’m thrilled with how they came out.
Such a fun recipe to make and eat! Delish!
Thank you so much!
These look like they should be in my kitchen, no, they should be on my plate and getting into my belly!
Thank you! They are delicious! I took the leftovers to snack on at work.
Chocolate pretzels would be a definite change that I would love! I’ve never made them at home so I’m ready!
DO! They’re not as daunting as most make them out to be. It’s all in the baking soda bath.
I am really intrigued by the idea of savory chocolate! Love soft pretzels and I am excited to try!
I hope you! They’re so fun to make!
These look so rich and chocolaty! I love the dipping sauce too!
Thank you!
I think they sound great and those who want some sweet can dip them in chocolate syrup instead of mustard.
Absolutely! If you want to dip yours in chocolate go for it!
These sound amazing! Love that they are a savory chocolate option.
Thank you! They are fun to make.
I never think to use chocolate in savory recipes, brilliant! Honey mustard is always my dipping choice for pretzels.
They are so fun to make. And the color is awesome. I hope you try them.