Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark

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It’s that time of year when everyone’s calendars are sprinkled with holiday parties. To get in a festive spirit, I have been sharing a collection of desserts to bring to – or serve at – at holiday party. We started off simple with some store-bought favorites, and then moved along to halfway homemade desserts that utilize mixes to save time and energy. Today, I am sharing a delightful dessert that is made from scratch: Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark.

This pretzel bark is really easy to make, and it would make a beautiful gift. It is also dangerously good – some of my co-workers were addicted. I love the sweet and salty flavor combination. While the active preparation time is only 30 minutes, you do need to allow a few hours of time for the bark to harden. I suggest making this the night before the party.

For the Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark you will need:

a 9×13 inch pan with edges
Parchment paper
24 ounces melting Chocolate (or Chocolate chips)
2 cups Mini Pretzels (the traditional pretzel shaped ones)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Salted Butter
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1 tablespoon Vanilla

Total time: 4 hours
Active Time: 30 minutes

Step 1:
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Then add the brown sugar and whisk until melted.

Step 2:
Add the cream and vanilla and let the sauce slowly simmer and reduce for 20-25 minutes, until it has thickened.

Step 3:
While the caramel is simmering, line the pan with parchment. Then lay pretzels over. I was generous with the pretzels, adding as many as I could in a single layer.

Step 4:
Once the caramel is ready, reduce heat to low to keep warm. Then melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or, by placing a saucepan into a larger pan of boiling water). If you are using chocolate chips, you may find that adding a tablespoon of cream helps the chips melt into a smooth chocolate.

Step 5:
Drizzle about 1/3 of the caramel over the pretzels. Then drizzle half of the chocolate over. Use a spatula to evenly spread out the chocolate. Then drizzle the remaining caramel and then the chocolate over. Again use the spatula to evening distribute everything.

Step 6:
Let the bark cool. I let it cool on a counter, but you could place it in the fridge.

Step 7:
Once the bark as hardened, lift the parchment to remove it from the pan. Then use a sharp knife to cut into triangles. It might break a bit as you do this, but the little broken bits are great snacks.

I still have one more post coming in this holiday dessert series. Ready for a sneak peek?

The recipe for Raspberry White Chocolate Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting is coming your way next week.

These photos were all shot by my incredibly talented friend Regan Baroni who writes Up Close and Tasty.