As soon as the weather turns cool, I mix up a batch of these addictive Pumpkin Spice Pretzels. This easy to make fall favorite treat starts with store bought crunchy pretzels. Bake with a coating of butter, sugar and homemade pumpkin spice. The finishing touch of a generous drizzle of white chocolate makes the pretzels the perfect sweet and salty party snack.
My family is a bunch of snackers. Along with Grandma's Sausage and Cheddar Cheese Meatballs and BLT Bites, these Pumpkin Spiced Pretzels are favorites. Whether we're playing games (Play Nine is so fun!), watching movies or cheering on our college teams on game days, salty and sweet nibbles are always within hand's reach.
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Why you'll love this recipe
Pumpkin spice enthusiasts will love that this perfect fall snack is:
- Easy to make ~ These crunchy pretzels are so much easier to make than soft pretzels. No homemade dough, rise time, rolling out, boiling and baking is needed. A bag of store bought mini pretzels makes the prep of this recipe with fall flavors a snap to make.
- A great gift ~ Tucked into festive tins or in these cellophane bags tied with colorful ribbon, pumpkin spice pretzels make a tasty hostess gift or holiday present.
- Kid and adult approved ~ These cinnamon sugar pretzels with with warm fall spices are a big hit with everyone. They're the perfect afternoon snack for little hands.
Ingredients & substitutions
Everyday ingredients combine with store bought pretzels for this easy salty/sweet snack. If substitutes can be made to the recipe, they're listed. Scroll to the recipe card for full quantities of the ingredients.
- Small pretzels ~ Pick up some small twists or waffle shaped pretzels at the grocery store for this recipe.
- Salted butter ~ No modifications are needed if unsalted butter is used.
- Granulated sugar ~ Light brown sugar is an alternative.
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Allspice
- Ground cloves
- Ground ginger
- Vanilla extract
- White chocolate chips ~ Substitute milk, dark or semi sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips.
How to make pumpkin spice pretzels
Gather the simple ingredients and everyday kitchen tools to make these sweet and salty pumpkin pretzels. This is a brief overview of the recipe. Scroll to the recipe card for the complete instructions.
1. Place pretzels in a large bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, add the melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves, ground ginger and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
3. Pour the butter, sugar and spice mixture over the pretzels. Toss to coat thoroughly with the mixture.
4. Place the coated pretzels in a single layer on a parchment paper lined sheet pan.
5. Bake in a 325 degrees F oven for 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes so the pretzels bake evenly. Remove from the oven and cool.
6. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the pretzels. Let harden and serve.
Hint
For the pretzels cook evenly, make sure they're in a single layer on the sheet pan. Also stir them ever 10 minutes while they're baking.
Variations
Try some of these variations to make the recipe one of your favorites.
- Spicy - Add ⅛ teaspoon of cayenne pepper along with the spice mixture.
- Deluxe - After the pumpkin spice pretzels are drizzled with the melted chocolate, mix with plain or peanut M&Ms, mini peanut butter cups and/or your favorite nuts.
- New drizzle - Drizzle the pretzels with the melted milk, semi sweet or dark chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or peanut butter chips.
- Plain ~ Skip the chocolate drizzle and enjoy the sweet, salty and crunchy pretzels with just the delicious pumpkin spice coating.
Storage
The pumpkin spiced pretzels are the best enjoyed the day they are made. Any leftovers can be an airtight container for up to a week. These meal prep containers are my favorites.
Expert tip
For the tastiest pretzels, make sure the butter, sugar and pumpkin spice mixture completely covers the pretzels.
Frequently asked questions
Definitely! Substitute 2 tablespoons of a store bought pumpkin pie spice blend to speed up the prep time of the recipe. Also, if you don't keep many spices on hand, you'll save some money too. You won't need to purchase the spices that go into making the spice blend.
Yes it can. Just be sure to purchase gluten free pretzels.
More recipes like this one
Looking for other snack recipes like this? Try these:
One more thing
Did you try this recipe?
Let me know by leaving a comment and a star rating below. Share it on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook.
Thanks ~ Amy
Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Pretzels with White Chocolate Drizzle
Ingredients
- 16 ounce bag of small shaped pretzels ~ twists or waffles
- ½ cup salted butter melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prep the pan: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add pretzels to bowl: Place the pretzels in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Make glaze: In a small bowl, add the melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves, ground ginger and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- Coat pretzels: Pour the mixture over the pretzels and toss until they're evenly coated.
- Transfer pretzels to pan: Place the coated pretzels in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake pretzels: Bake for pretzels for 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes so the pretzels cook evenly.
- Cool pretzels: Remove the pretzels from the oven and completely cool.
- Melt chocolate: Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave at 15 second intervals. Stir after each interval. Alternately, melt the chocolate in a double boiler over low heat.
- Drizzle: Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cooled pretzels.
- Serve: Let the chocolate harden then enjoy!
- Storage: Store in an airtight container.
Did you make the recipe? Leave a comment.