Grinch pretzel bites are salty and sweet treats in a cute Christmas theme. Melted caramels are smashed between two salty pretzels, dipped in sweet chocolate with a red candy heart.

These cute treats are perfect for your Christmas cookie exchange, kid’s parties, or on the cookie tray at a holiday party.

The kids will have so much fun helping with these fun Grinch treats.

bright green coated pretzels with a large red heart

Christmas Pretzel Bites

These pretzel bites are so cute and super easy to make. Named after one of our favorite Christmas movies, these fun Grinch pretzel bites are a perfect combination of gooey caramel and chocolate with that added crunchy pretzels. Add a single red candy heart that serves as the Grinch’s heart.

Ingredients

48 Mini Pretzels
12 Soft Caramels
1 Cup Vibrant Green Candy Melts
¼ Cup Kelly Green Candy Melts
1-2 Tbsp Shortening
Heart Shaped Sprinkles – get these candy hearts at craft stores or on Amazon.

Instructions

four photos: cutting board with unwrapped caramel candies; light green and dark green candy melts in bowl; melted candy melts; pretzels with caramel in them, two with dipped in green chocolate with red hearts

Unwrap the caramels and cut them in half with a sharp knife.
Lay 24 of the pretzels in a single layer on your prepared baking sheet (you may need 2 baking sheets or to work in batches depending on the size)
Lay ½ of a caramel on each pretzel.
Place in the oven for about 5 minutes or until caramels are softened.
Remove from the oven and quickly add a top pretzel by pressing the remaining pretzels into the caramel.
Allow the pretzels to cool completely.
Place candy melts in the bowl of a double boiler or in a heat safe bowl over a pan of water. Heat over med/high heat stirring frequently until completely melted. If necessary to achieve a smooth consistency add in shortening a tsp at a time until the melts are perfectly smooth.
Dip the pretzels in the melted candy melts to cover about 2/3 of the pretzel. Place back on the parchment lined baking sheet and gently press a red heart sprinkle into the soft chocolate to represent the Grinch’s heart.
Allow to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Tips

Use Rolos – add a bit of chocolate flavor by replacing the caramel candies with Rolos instead. Bake exactly the same, and smash them down when they come out of the oven.
Cover in chocolate – I dipped the pretzel bites partially in so you can still see the pretzels, but you can cover the entire pretzel and caramels in chocolate
Add red candy melts – if you can’t find red candy hearts, you can drizzle melted red candy melts back and forth over the green chocolate
Try square pretzels – you can use the square pretzels for this recipe in the same way we use the mini round pretzels

bright green coated pretzels with a large red heart lined on a baking tray

Can I Use White Chocolate Chips Instead of Candy Melts?

The beauty of candy melts is how they melt smoothly and easily. You can buy them in a variety of colors so you don’t have to worry about ruining the melted chocolate when adding food coloring.

You can certainly try white chocolate and add in some food coloring, don’t be surprised if the texture of the chocolate changes and doesn’t work properly. Chocolate tends to seize when food coloring is added.

The other challenge is getting the correct green color for this particular recipe. We love the bright green of the candy melts.

Why Do I Need Two Different Green Candy Melts?

You can use just one color (look for bright green candy melts) for this recipe and it will taste just as yummy, but we attempted to replicate the perfect green color of our favorite Grinch character and found that by combining the vibrant green and kelly green candy melts created the perfect color.

Can I Use a Microwave to Melt the Chocolate?

Yes, we love melting candy melts in the microwave. Typically it’s safer to get the perfect melt when you use the double boiler method, but candy melts do well in the microwave if you follow a few key steps:

limit microwave time to 30 second intervals
stir in between each interval
when the candy melt pieces still have a little bit of shape they are probably melted and just need one, good, final stir

Where Can I Get Candy Melts?

Candy melts can be found at most craft stores, Amazon, and at some grocery stores. Most Walmart’s have a specialty baking section near their birthday cards where they sell candy melts.

This is one of those fun Christmas treats that everyone loves. If you serve these adorable Christmas pretzels on the cookie trays at Christmas party, they’ll be the first to go!

Want More Fun Christmas Recipes?

Grinch Pretzel Bites

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 5

Total Time 20

Grinch pretzel bites are salty and sweet treats in a cute Christmas theme. Melted caramels are smashed between two salty pretzels, dipped in sweet chocolate with a red candy heart.

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Unwrap the caramels and cut them in half with a sharp knife.
12 soft caramels
Lay 24 of the pretzels in a single layer on your prepared baking sheet (you may need 2 baking sheets or to work in batches depending on the size)
48 mini pretzels
Lay ½ of a caramel on each pretzel.
Place in the oven for about 5 minutes or until caramels are softened.
Remove from the oven and quickly press the remaining pretzels into the caramel.
Allow the pretzels to cool completely.
Place candy melts in the bowl of a double boiler or in a heat safe bowl over a pan of water. Heat over med/high heat stirring frequently until completely melted. If necessary to achieve a smooth consistency add in shortening a tsp at a time until the melts are perfectly smooth.
1 cup vibrant green candy melts, 1-2 Tbsp shortening, ¼ cup Kelly green candy melts
Dip the pretzels in the candy melts to cover about 2/3 of the pretzel. Place back on the parchment lined baking sheet and gently press a heart shaped sprinkle into the soft chocolate.
heart shaped sprinkles
Allow to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container.