Chocolate Pretzel Spider Webs and Wicker Men (vegan)

These chocolate pretzel spider webs are the first of many fun Halloween ideas that will creep out until the end of the month. Make them for a party or just for fun!

Find some vegan pretzels and chocolate chips. My co-op didn’t have a wide selection of pretzels so I’m not sure what brands are at the grocery store, that happen to be vegan. Just check the ingredient panel for any milk, dairy, etc.

Lay out pretzel sticks on a layer of wax paper in radial fashion.

Alternatively you can make Wicker Men using half and whole pieces of pretzel.

I think it was two years ago that Jeremy found out about the horror movie, The Wicker Man. We watched the original 1973 version and the 2006 remake with Nicolas Cage at home on Amazon and then randomly found out that the 2011, The Wicker Tree was playing at the Living Room Theater in downtown Portland.

It was too much wicker for one weekend but if you’ve seen the movies or have an affinity for bad Nicolas Cage movies, this treat is a must-have. You could have a wicker weekend and make these treats too.

You can use an apple corer to cut round shapes out of flattened candied ginger—if that’s the kind you have—or cut into small slices for decorating.

My chocolate took about a minute and thirty seconds, stirring at 30 second intervals, to melt. I tried my hardest not to waste any chocolate.

Have fun decorating, I became a little impatient while going for a ginger spider so do whatever you have patience for 😉

For the wicker man, I just made sure the chocolate covered all the connecting joints and then laid a few ginger slivers for a shirt.

The raisin centers were also good, especially if you like chocolate covered raisins!

Allow them to harden over a few hours or overnight (they can also be placed in the freezer for a speedy delivery). Be gentle and they will peel right off the wax paper.

Have you had the chocolate ginger combo before? It’s pretty amazing!

Repeat the steps to make as many as you want. Depending on the size of your pretzels, mine were about 3 inches in length, 1 cup of chocolate chips should make 7-12 spider webs.

Chocolate Pretzel Spider Webs and Wicker Men (vegan)

Ingredients

Bag of vegan pretzel sticks (they are often the gluten-free ones)
10 oz bag vegan chocolate chips
raisins
candied ginger
wax paper or parchment paper

Instructions

Lay out wax paper.
Arrange about 7-12 pretzel webs and/or men on the wax paper. For webs it's 8 sticks and for the men just break some in half for the arms, legs, and head and use whole sticks for the body (see photos).
Start with 1 cup of chocolate chips and add them to a microwave-safe glass bowl. Microwave the chocolate at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until it melts. Be careful not to burn. Alternatively, you can place the bowl in a sauce pan filled with an inch of water and heat over low heat until the chocolate melts.
Spatula melted chocolate into a sandwich-sized Ziploc bag, squeeze everything towards one bottom corner and cut off a sliver of the tip. Really, just a sliver, it will come out fast.
For the webs, start on the outer edge and work your way in creating a spiral, end with bigger glob at the center to really hold the web together. Top with raisins, or candied ginger and additional chocolate if desired.
Place in freezer to harden or allow to sit out for a few hours. These will keep at room temperature. Store in a cake-pan or similar hard container to prevent breaking.

https://feedyourskull.com/2013/10/14/chocolate-pretzel-spider-webs-wicker-men-vegan/

I just learned while writing this that the movies are somewhat based in reality. Ancient druids used to build large man-shaped wicker statues, place men inside and set them ablaze for the occasional sacrifice.