I Made the “Pretzel Bows” Everyone’s Loving on TikTok, and They’re So Cute for Valentine’s Day
Bows have been trending in fashion and home decor for a while now, but they’ve recently made their way into the culinary world, too. (Crescent roll bows, anyone?)
There’s a special place in my heart for sweet and salty treats, so when I saw adorable chocolate-covered pretzel bows pop up on my social feed, I knew I had to give them a try. I first spotted the pretzel bow hack on TikTok in December, and now people are making them for Valentine’s Day. Talk about the potential for a perfect Galentine’s Day party snack!
After discovering I have celiac disease two years ago, I’ve had to find gluten-free alternatives or get creative myself when it comes to preparing food. So I was immediately excited about these treats because I could easily substitute my favorite gluten-free pretzels.
How to Make Pretzel Bows
The first step to making pretzel bows is a whole lot of breaking. Essentially, you break apart the traditionally shaped pretzel to get the curved D shapes. In Precious Simons’ (@bakedbyprecious) video, the TikToker broke a small stick pretzel in half to create the ties of the bow. But I just broke apart another looped pretzel to make my ties curved.
For the chocolate coating, I got white melting chocolate chips and added food coloring to make it pink. (If you want the shade of pink I made, stir three drops of red food coloring into about a cup of melted white chocolate.) Next, I transferred the melted chocolate mixture to a zip-top bag, snipped the corner, then piped the melted chocolate onto the pretzels. The last and easiest step: sprinkling pretty shimmery decorating sugar on top.
My Honest Review of Pretzel Bows
When I say I struggled in the beginning, I mean I struggled. Simons made the pretzel bow hack look so easy, but it was a very tedious process. After breaking several pretzels and not getting the shapes I needed, I grabbed a small sharp knife to cut the pieces. That was key. Afterward, the breaking process moved surprisingly quickly.
But then came piping the chocolate. Because I cut too big a hole in the bag, my dainty pretzel bow turned into a massively inflated bow blob during my first attempt. I discovered it was easier to pipe a small amount of chocolate first and then go over the figure-eight shape until the pretzel was covered. Putting a little extra in the center glues all the pieces together.
All in all, this was a fun treat that I may make for special occasions, but I definitely won’t be making dozens of these at a time. Eight was enough!
Tips for Making Pretzel Bows
Try it with GF pretzels. Whether or not you’re gluten-free, I recommend using GF pretzels because they add an extra crunch to the sweet treat! (Seriously, they’re better!)
Use all parts of the pretzel for the ties. If you don’t want to have an excessive amount of pretzels left over, I recommend breaking the bottom curve of the pretzels to create the bows’ ties (rather than buying a separate bag of pretzel sticks).
Instead of breaking the pretzels, use a knife. In the TikTok video above, Simons breaks the pretzels easily, but I found using a knife to cut each piece was better to get the shapes I wanted.
Less is more. If you’re using a small plastic baggy as your piping bag like I did, cut the corner extra-small in the beginning. You can always cut off more later.
Further Reading
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