These candy corn pretzel balls are a delicious bite of sweet, salty, creamy fall delight. They are perfect for both Halloween and Thanksgiving.
Ah yes….fall. My favorite season. There are so many reasons to look forward to fall.
The cooler temperatures…all the gorgeous colors in the leaves, pumpkin decorating, and oh yes…candy corn!
Time to celebrate the holidays with these candy corn pretzel bites.
Sometimes a recipe of mine happens because of a mistake.
In my case, it was spending all day long making some candy corn fudge, only to discover that I had not cooked it quite long enough and had to start over again.
Candy corn is very popular, particularly in the fall. Did you also know that you can grow candy corn plants in your garden?
You won’t get the candy but the look and colors are the same!
After all…who wants to throw out 6000 calories of fudge that won’t set? Not me…nosiree! My first batch of the candy cane fudge tasted great but did not set properly.
However, it was the perfect consistency for this recipe and so it was born.
One thing I learned from this is that the amount of time that you spend cooking fudge is directly related to how well it sets. Not to self…don’t take shortcuts with fudge….ever!
Cooking tip for Fudge. In order for fudge to set well, it needs to be cooked to the soft ball stage.
Have a glass of water near the stove and drop bits of the mix into the glass. When a soft ball forms, it means the mixture has cooked long enough and will set well.
But back to these little bites. What to do?
The first step was to take spoonfuls of the fudge mixture and roll it into balls about 1 inch in size.
It worked beautifully and they kept their consistency well. (you can get the recipe for the mixture in the recipe card below.
These photos show what I did with it after I made that part.)
Next, it’s time to get out a meat tenderizer.
I filled a bag full of pretzel sticks and went to town on it. (getting all my frustration out because I had to redo my fudge recipe and make it all over again.) Presto!
The candy corn pretzel ball coating is all ready to use! You will want the consistency to be a little uneven.
I wanted these bites to have quite a bit of crunch to them, so I just pounded until the pretzels were roughly chopped up….some bigger pieces and some crumbs.
Roll those decadent little fudge balls in the pretzel mixture until they are well covered. My fudge frustration is easing with each perfect little ball.
“I don’t have to throw this away, I say!”
These bites are amazing. They are sweet, but not overly so. The pretzel coating is nice and salty and tones down the sweetness of the fudge well.
Even my non-fudge-eating husband liked them!
And the texture? Perfect for this recipe even if it didn’t pass the fudge test!
I served them with some cheese and fruit. All we had was just one! Promise…
Have you ever resurrected a cooking disaster and come up with something even better? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Candy Corn Pretzel Balls
These candy corn pretzel balls are a delicious bite of sweet, salty, creamy fall delight. They are perfect for both Halloween and Thanksgiving. Ah yes....fall. My favorite season. There are so many reasons to look
Ingredients
- 1 cup of candy corn
- 1 cup of chopped stick pretzels
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup of heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup of butter
- 2 1/2 cups of white chocolate chips
- 1 7 oz container of marshmallow fluff
- Extra chopped pretzels for coating.
Instructions
- Chop the candy corn and pretzels and place them into a bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the marshmallow fluff and white chocolate. (don't mix it yet.)
- In a large pot, cook the sugar, heavy cream, salt and butter over a medium heat until it is smooth and soft.
- Cook the mixture for 7 minutes. Be sure to cook to the soft ball stage.
- Let cool slightly and add the the stand mixer with the chocolate and marshmallow.
- Beat until smooth and everything is well combined.
- Add the chopped pretzels and candy corn.
- Place in the fridge until it is almost set but not firm.
- Remove and roll into 1 inch size balls.
- Roll in the extra chopped pretzels and return to the fridge until they are firm.
- Makes about 40 pretzel candy corn balls..