Categories: real meals
Tags: 5-ingredient, chocolate, dessert, food, gifts, holidays, pretzels, snacks
While browsing Pinterest the other day, I found a pin that made my heart stop, my mouth water and my pants bulge all at once (yes, that’s possible).
It’s called Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark… but I just call it heaven.
You most likely have the five ingredients you need in your pantry/fridge already. If you don’t, it’s worth a quick trip to the store.
Ingredients:
- ½ bag of mini pretzel twists
- 2 sticks of butter (1 cup total)
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1 bag of chocolate chips (2 cups)
- Sea salt or table salt
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Then line a large jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and lay a single layer of pretzels down. I was pretty meticulous about this and made neat little rows (you can fit more on that way right?).
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and the brown sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Let it boil gently just until it starts to stick to the bottom and it forms a nice smooth caramel. You’ll want to let it bubble a little and get really thick.
- Remove from heat and pour evenly over the top of the pretzels (don’t worry if every single pretzel isn’t covered). Put in the oven at 350 degrees for five minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. You can let the caramel melt the chips, but I prefer to put it back in the oven for one minute.
- Spread the chocolate chips around with a spatula until mostly melted.
- Sprinkle generously with salt.
- Let cool on the counter top for a few minutes and then pop in the freezer for at least two to three hours.
- When it comes out of the freezer, break it up into uneven chunks with your hands and serve.
It’s that simple! Seriously, the hardest part of this recipe is NOT eating it all.
Quick tip: I found it tastes best when right out of the freezer. It will start to melt after sitting on the counter top for more than a few minutes.
This would make the perfect gift for your child’s daycare teacher, for a summer BBQ, a housewarming gift… or just because it’s, you know, Tuesday. I’ve made it three times already and be warned, you’ll be looking for reasons to make it (anyone want me to make it for them? Seriously, I don’t mind).
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220 Responses
yum that looks amazing!
yummm!!
This looks divine!
Man those look and sound amazing! You could deff make some for me! Ha I love pretzels and heck chocolate and sea salt caramel too! That’s heaven! We won’t think about calories when these are in our hands!
This looks awesome – I’m going to try it.
This recipe is evil, and I MUST make it! Thanks Mary Ellen!
At the moment, I like this article best because I’m pregnant and this is perfect for my cravings!
I was very excited to make this so I did and it was really bad. I think I cooked the caramel to long it kind of tasted burnt. How long should I cook it? It looks so great. I had to throw it out and it was hard to get the bad taste out of my mouth. I want to try again. thanks carolyn
Carolyn,
The times that I’ve made it, I stirred the butter and brown sugar over medium heat until it got thick…probably 5 minutes? Good luck next time!
Sorry that your first attempt wasn’t a success
Mary Ellen, I haven’t made this yet, but have a question. We’re using salted pretzels, right? And then we are generously sprinkling with salt? Seems like a lot of salt – and I don’t want to overdue it. Can you give me an idea of how much “generously sprinkling” is? Thanks.
I have a similar recipe and you can use saltine cracker, ritz crackers, graham crackers also for the base instead of pretzels and just as delicious….
Thanks for the question Diane! Yes, I used salted pretzels, but I assume unsalted would work just as well. I used regular table salt when I made mine (because I didn’t have sea salt) and sprinkled less than 1/2 tsp. over the entire tray. Hope that helps!
I do mine with saltine crackers instead of the pretzels and I can’t stop eating them. It’s the mixture of salty and sweet that is so good. Next time I will have to try the pretzels.
I’m making these tonight, but, as I always do with anything asking for chocolate chips, they will definitely be milk chocolate! Can’t wait!!!
Made these! They were great. I forgot to add salt, but they didn’t need it.
You commented about eating it right after you take out of the freezer because it would start melting. How well does it work to give as a gift? Does the chocolate start melting together in the packaging?
Dianne,
They could also just stick it right back in their freezer when they got home.
I think it tastes best right out of the freezer, especially on hot days. But it still works well for gifts – I made this for my room parents this year in my classroom. I packed the bark in plastic gift bags (like goody bags) right after breaking it up after it had cooled. I stored the gift bags in the freezer until I handed them out. It was a hit!
I’m sure if you were giving it as a gift, whoever received it wouldn’t mind if it was a little melted. It just might be a bit messier.
Our batch is in the freezer! Can’t wait. Thanks for sharing:)
I make this, too, and posted it on my blog last winter. If you use a candy thermometer and get it hot enough…about 290, it doesn’t need to stay in the freezer.
Yum! I even added a layer of creamy pb sauce under the caramel on top of the pretzels. Delish!
Hey there! Just wanted to let you know we featured you in our Favorite Find Fridays post over at Whimsically Homemade. We used one of your pictures. If that’s a problem let us know and we’ll remove it immediately. Thanks for your great inspiration!
I halved the recipe and make a small batch in a cake pan. a little less for me to eat. it was great! thanks!
Erin – thanks for the tip!
These are so good! I’m just curious if you have issues with it sticking to the foil? I’m having some difficulty peeling that foil off and wondering what I could do to make that a non-issue next time?
This looks yummy!!! I am going to try it, however i am not sure how much 2 sticks of butter is.. 1 cup????
Lisa,
I never had an issue with that…sorry! I would try to make sure it’s in the freezer for at least 2 hours and it’s frozen solid. Maybe that will help? Good luck!
Maureen,
Yes you are correct. Two sticks of butter is equal to 1 cup!
Yes Maureen…it’s one cup. Enjoy!
I’m going to make this today, it sounds delicious, does it need to be covered with anything before it is placed in the freezer???
Made these today. They are absolutely delish! However, the caramel seems to melt at after room it from freezer. Next time, i will try the other poster’s comment to make sure the caramel gets to 290 degrees. Thanks so much for the recipe. Can’t stop eating them! Thank goodness the party i am taking them to is in a few hours…
Katelyn,
Nope, no need to cover it with anything!
Laurrie – I agree, I’m going to try using a candy thermometer next time too! Hope the party was a blast.
This sounds amazing. Wonder what it would taste like with crushed peppermint candy canes for around Christmas time? Thank you for sharing.
Mia,
There’s only one way to find out! Let us know if you try it…and it sounds like it would be great
I’m renaming this Carmel Pretzel CRACK – I can’t leave it alone!!
I switched it up by using tiny pretzel sticks-laying them in rows covering the entire pan bottom, mini chocolate chips and NO extra salt – fantastic!!
Very good! I used the thermometer (to 285)
and the Carmel doesn’t melt.
Also used 1tsp. of vanilla in Carmel.
Looks Delish!
Would this work with caramel candies instead of making the caramel? I may try it that way because I am quite clumsy in the kitchen
Cindi,
I’m not sure! You could certainly give it a try, but I think the caramel candies might be too thick. If you try it, let us know!
OMG these are SO good, I can’t stop eating them. I keep them in a ziplock bag in the freezer and they have become an addiction. And the best part is they are so simple to make and have very few ingredients that usually we always have on hand.
Made this today with white chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate. It was absolutely wonderful!
Try using melted carmels…instead of the butter/brown sugar concoction…might be easier
You could also use the butter snaps. I use those for my other pretzel/choc treats…very yummy! and for those of us you love uniformity…nothing beats a square!
Just made this and it is yummy!! Had a hard time not eating it before it actually made it into the freezer!
Hubby rocks!! He found some little caramel “bits” that are as small as the chocolate chips. I sprinkled them on the pretzels and put in the oven, but I think next time I will melt them first. And there will be a next time XD
Can’t wait to make these!!
I made this last night! Very easy and extremely delicious. I brought some to my coworkers and they are in love
Yummy, that looks good!
This is so good! thanks for sharing!
Looks delish! Picking up the ingredients for this tomorrow!
“Snaps” work great. They’re square, so your pan space will be maximized! I used to make these years ago with saltines, but I think the pretzels will be better! Yum!!!
This is the most ridiculous recipe EVER. Vague much?
Sorry you weren’t a fan Ashley. Is there something that we can make more clear for you?
I made this last weekend! SO yummy and easiest recipe ever! Seriously only took like 10 minutes!!
This stuff is seriously AMAZING! Me and my mom ended up having to make this twice. I must stress this DO NOT use waxed paper!!!! Also we find it better when you use almond bark instead of chocolate chips because the chips tend to melt quickly and pecans on everything is a MAJOR plus (:
Did you use Semi Sweet or Milk Chocolate chips?
Trying these with Gluten Free pretzels!!! What an awesome idea!
I usually buy semi-sweet, but I’m sure they’d be delish with milk chocolate as well. I’m thinking I might try to mix chocolate chips and peanut butter chips next time
Found it worked better with Heavy Duty tinfoil, then rub some butter on it then put pretzels on it. That makes it easier for the bark to be removed. I made it with butter & with Margarine (parkay) Works WAY better with real butter!!! It was super popular at our neighborhood party. People couldn’t tell it was Gluten Free pretzels. Will so make many more times!
Also melted chips & put in a ziploc, cut the corner & made it much easier to cover with chocolate quickly
Pretty great post. I simply stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I have truly loved surfing around your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing for your feed and I hope you write once more soon!
I’ve done it sprinkled with crushed candy canes. SO addicting!!! Fabulous:)
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe! I added almonds to mine! Just make sure you add them after you spread the chocolate; it works much better that way! My friends & family can’t get enough of this!
Hi Mary Ellen,
These look absolutely delicious, but my 3 attempts have been dismal. I can’t get the caramel to work. It’s like the sugar and the butter split and the sugar remained gritty. Where am I going wrong? I put the chopped butter and sugar in at the same time and stir. Should I stir or not? Please help :-/
Suzanne,
I would definitely stir – when I made it all three times, I stirred it almost constantly. I’ve done this with unsalted butter and also “I Can’t Believe it’s not Butter” and both times, the butter and sugar melted together just fine.
I did some research and read on another site that “low heat is important to prevent separation later” – maybe try that and then increase the heat once the butter and sugar are combined?
Sorry for the trouble – please let us know how it works out!
I MADE THIS, didn’t just look at the picture. It was AMAZING!!!!! SO absolutely DELICIOUS and super EASY!
oh my. I am going to have to go make this.
Made these for a family reunion everyone loved them, I added chopped pecans on top and it was delish!! Added to the family recipe book.
Mine didn’t turn out good, caramel taste burnt.. shucks!
The butter/sugar ratio seemed way off for hardening, so I used another chewy caramel recipe(1 C. butter, 1# brown sugar, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, pinch of sea salt)and used a candy thermometer-to soft ball stage. I am not sure how it has come out…still waiting for it to cool!! (I also added unsweetened coconut flakes on top-put it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes)…
Mine is in the fridge now. The kids will love this for a after school snack. The hardest part of this is waiting got it to cool.
I tried the butter and brown sugar part of the recipe twice and both times was a fail. The first time it never really thickened and then ended up burning, so the second time I didn’t want it to burn and it still didn’t thicken up.
I sure can’t figure out what I am doing. Looks so yummy!!!
I think you have to be pretty dumb for this to be considered “vague” lol!
I’m planning to use dark chocolate – yummo!
Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
So glad you hopped the wagon with me.
How did it turn out? I promise you, the ratio is perfect if you heat it to the right temperature – I’ve done it many times! Hope yours turned out great too
any tips for someone who doesn’t have a ton of room in their freezer? a whole pan definitely wouldn’t fit, i don’t think the door would close!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I can’t wait to try it out. It looks so yummy!
Katie
You can split it into two pans (or even three). I do that sometimes too! Good luck
First attempt is in the freezer now. Used white chocolate chips instead of milk, but they weren’t very spreadable, so it’s more like chip form, still. Oh well, hopefully will still taste good!!
Any tips on making it more spreadable??
Also……I wonder what the difference is in the caramel……this recipe is just butter and brown sugar, but when I make caramel corn, I also use dark Karo syrup………
Amanda,
I’ve only used chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk) and not white, so I don’t know if that would make a difference in the melting, but I mentioned in the recipe that I like to put it back in the oven for about one minute. It helps the chips melt a lot quicker!
Hey!! I made this delicious recipe for my daughter’s birthday and everyone loved it. So I put a post about it on my blog and wanted to let you know. If it’s a problem, let me know and I will take it down. Really love the recipe!!
Super easy and DELISH!!!! Thanks for the recipe! LOVE IT!!
I have made it for years with saltines and just recently with graham crackers. Pretzels sounds incredible!
I couldn’t get the chocolate chips to melt either. I have had it back in the oven for 10 minutes and now the chocolate looks weird.
Just popped these into the freezer! Cannot wait to try them!!
I made this today. I wish I didnt. I am afraid i will eat the whole thing by myself! it is super delish and so easy to make. yum city.
Colleen – I have the same problem! I can only make this when I have an event to go to so I know I’ll bring most of them with me
Hope you liked them.
Thank you for this recipe – I have been doing another very simular recipe called Christmas Crack so I as I looked at this recipe I decided I could use the Flip side crackers and my family couldn’t get enough.
As for the Carmel 1 cup butter to 3/4 cup brown sugar when it starts to boil let it boil for 3 minutes whisking often.
I make this every thanksgiving and Christmas but instead of pretzels our family recipe calls for saltines
thanks for sharing
Marti,
If you make it again, try putting the tray back in the oven for about 30 seconds. That should help the chocolate melt a little bit.
I made this over the weekend, it was sinful! OMG Even my husband loved it and he do not like sweets! Would love to know the nutritional value.
I made this over the weekend, and it was fabulous!! Thanks!!
Made thus tonight and I’m pretty sure I just gained 5 lbs…this stuff is AMAZING and would definitely make a very tasty gift during the holidays or for birthdays! Thank You!
I made this tonight and I ate so much I’m pretty sure I’ve gained 5 lbs. this stuff is AMAZING and would make very tasty treats for the holidays and for birthdays. Thank You!
Haha Florence – I would NOT like to know the nutritional value. I’m sure it’s not a good number!
I am gonna make these this weekend with the the ritz cracker or graham cracker suggestion…had them before with the pretzels and they are fantastic!!! I’ve also used this Carmel sauce version before too an the ratio is perfect…it is key to heat to perfection!! Love them! ; )
I did the same thing. Does the humidity have any effect on it? It tastes amazing, but not the right consistency.
If you love chocolate covered pretzels this recipe is for you. Super easy. Amazingly good!!! I will definitely make two batches next time.
she is probably talking about the amounts of stuff like Half a bag of pretzels? and a bag of chocolate chips? I shop at BJ’s and have a 2 lb bag of pretzels and a 72 oz bag of Chocolate chips I am sure you do not mean for me to use all that. How ever I did figure out the measurement’s on my own, it would have been easier if you had used actual measurements. but that’s OK.
I just got mine out of the oven so excited I really don’t want to wait two more hours
I made this tonight and it was soo good! This would be a very good Christmas treat. I find the secret to making a good caramel is melting it over low heat first and then bringing it to a boil over medium heat for a couple minutes. It got really nice and thick and I have had no trouble with it melting. Great recipe!! Thanks for sharing
I do a very similar recipe every year for Christmas – I use saltines instead of pretzels, but I can’t wait to try it with the pretzels this year. I do some things a little differently though – rather than boiling the brown sugar and butter, I slowly microwave it to avoid burning, which seems like a common problem. Granted, the butter and brown sugar don’t mix as well as they would on the stove, but that’s never affected the how the batch came out or the taste, and really I don’t give a crap how it looks, just how it tastes, haha. I always use one stick of butter per one cup of brown sugar per batch. Don’t really know if that would help or hurt, and her batches look MUCH bigger than mine, so who knows. And dark chocolate is really good with it too. Hope this helps those who were having trouble!
Glad I’m not the only one with the sticking to foil issue and chips not melting. I’m attempting this time with non stick butter spray and next time just melting the chocolate and pouting on top.
Can’t wait to make this for my next get together!
So yummy!!
yummy! i know what family is getting for Christmas from me>
I made these tonight and although they taste great they dont look like they should. The caramel looks like butter and they are chewy….they dont snap when you break them. I have no idea what went wrong
Oh my, tell me it isn’t that easy!
This sounds amazing, I think a trip to the store is on my list of things to do today. Thank you for sharing!
OMG – I want these now!
Thanks for the recipe. These were a hit at a work potluck. I added a layer of peanut butter like another reviewer suggested. A great addition!
Us too! I love saltine candy, and my little corn syrup allergic one can eat it happily. i prefer it without chocolate, though.
Be sure to keep stirring – if you walk away it will burn. Try melting on only a low or medium setting also.
Katie, you could try maybe making them in small rounded cake pans rather than a cookie sheet. They would be smaller, and they could be stacked!
)
I tried this with ritz crackers instead of pretzels and it was really yummy! Thanks
I had a lot of trouble with the caramel portion of this recipe. First batch the color was right but the consistency was off. The second batch the color was off but the consistency was right. But with both batches it seemed like there was WAY too much butter. I did low heat, and stirred the whole time with both batches. I am not fully incapable in the kitchen but for some reason can’t seem to master this caramel recipe. I will definitely be making this again, but I will have to research a different caramel recipe to substitute. I can’t stand wasting ingredients :/
yikes Jessica, sorry about the waste of ingredients! I hate that too. I don’t know if it would make a difference, but I made the caramel over at least medium heat and stirred constantly. As long as you’re doing 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar, your measurements should be okay. Some other readers that commented had some good success with melted caramels. Good luck if you make it again!
Oh man, I just had the same problem! I’ve been looking at this recipe for weeks. Not that I finally decided to make them for an event tomorrow, my caramel didn’t get. I too am pretty good in the kitchen and HATE wasting ingredients. Not sure if I want to try again. But my mouth is watering and boy do these sure look good!
I made this and we lover it I did have to make the caramel twice the first wasn’t right. Instead of using 2 sticks of butter reduce to 1 stick. Everybody loves this already. Going to make for holidays
My chocolate chips didn’t melt, they dried out when I tried to spread. You think it matters if the chips are bought recently?
I also used 1 bag of wrapped Caramels with a 1/2 stick of butter to smooth out… Worked well but not with chocolate
As a single person, I typically don’t have ingredients in my pantry that most recipes say I do… well, technically, I don’t even have a pantry…what’s the point?!? But, I had to make this recipe, and guess what, all of the necessary ingredients were in my home!!! I just made this recipe this morning, it was extremely easy and the end result is delicious! Definitely something I can make for myself and be able to take “left overs” in to work the next day to share, which means I’m not eating the same thing every day for a week!
I thought that would work well too, the tiny pretzel sticks! I’m going to try this during the holidays…
I like the idea of dark chocolate chips; they do that with the Sea salted caramels in Monterey CA… The combination of sea salt, caramel and dark chocolate is to die for!..
Mary Ellen,
Do they stick to the aluminum foil? I haven’t made them yet that is my only concern.
Thanks!
Ashley
I have made this recipe 3 times now and each time they have turned out slightly different… all delicious though! The first time I made them, I don’t think I cooked the butter and brown sugar long enough because I could still feel a little crunch of sugar and it was lighter in color than in the photo. I used a smaller cookie sheet and halved the recipe. I used closer to 3/4 of a bag of chocolate chips because half of the bag didn’t look like enough chocolate on top, and I love chocolate (who doesn’t!). The second batch I made, I cooked the sugar and brown sugar longer but I still wasn’t sure when I should take it off the heat. I got a nice brown caramel color and was easier to break when it was out of the freezer than the first batch. The third time I made them, I cooked the butter and brown sugar even longer, which I thought brought out even more of a caramel flavor. Overall, it is hard to tell when to take the butter and brown sugar off the heat. I would say maybe 8-10 minutes is good on the stove, although i’m sure other people have had different success. I used aluminum foil and once it has been in the freezer for at least an hour, you do have to “pry” them off the foil and break up into pieces. And most importantly, they should be kept in the freezer!! If you leave them out of the freezer, the caramel and chocolate get soft and its not nearly as delicious as straight out of the freezer. I can see this being a staple in my house from now on because it is such an easy treat. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Thanks for the recipe. I made these and took to work. Was a big hit and everyone wanted the recipe. I will be adding them to my Christmas goodie basket I hand out every year. Thanks again.
I’m so glad you had all of the ingredients and that it was a “hit” for you!
Ashley,
I’ve made them 3 times and haven’t had that problem. I put them in the freezer for 2 hours at least to let them cool and then the bark easily comes off of the foil (or I’ll turn it over and peel the foil off the bark). Good luck!
I’m so glad you liked it! I’ve found that if you heat the butter and brown sugar until it’s actually a caramel (and not just combined) then you don’t have to leave it in the freezer. But I thought that at first too. You can get a candy thermometer and heat the butter/sugar mixture until about 340 degrees (or so I’ve read on some sites).
Thanks for the recipe! My first batch is in the freezer now! I had no problems with the caramel, turned out perfect! It’s ard now waiting for it to set in the freezer! All ‘samples’ were delish!!
Mine turned out incredible!! We love them straight out of the freezer so no mess for us! Thank you so much, just love them!
Also just to add used half semi sweet and half milk chocolate hips. Think will use all milk chocolate next time!!
I am looking for things to send to my husband in Afghanistan. Do you know how well this will keep to send overseas? How long would it last if sealed in an airtight container? It’s been taking about a month for him to get care packages.
Use almond bark..wont melt!!
These are FABULOUS! My first try and they turned out to perfection. I did read all the reviews first before taking my turn at these treats and here’s a few things I was SURE to do: I purchased heavy duty tin foil with non-stick, not one issue at the end when peeling off the foil. Also, I was sure to stir the butter/brown sugar the entire time bringing it to a slight boil for about 2 min and cooking it for about 6-8min…it does get thicker the more you stir and simmer. I used dark chocolate and the chips melted without putting back in the oven. I used a small spatula and just worked it up and down until the chips were melted and the pan was covered evenly. This is a great recipe! Bringing these treats to Thanksgiving dinner for our dessert buffet. Thanks!!
It looks amazing and I’m anxious to try it. My only comment is that brown sugar and butter do not make caramel, they make toffee. I suggest if you’re having difficulty with the brown sugar and butter mixture that you check a toffee recipe.
I agree… there are so many sizes of the items listed. I gave it a whirl and it came out so/so… can’t help but think it’s because my stick of butter is the wrong size or I used too many or few chips/pretzels.
These have been a hit whenever I make them!
good for a thanksgiving treat i added m & m’s to mine and it tasted great so thank you a bunch!!!:)
I had the same issue with it sticking to the foil – I changed two things on my second batch – 1. I got the caramel to previous posters higher temp. and 2. I sprayed the foil with Pam
Don’t know which one fixed the problem but it didn’t stick the second time! Hope this helps.
Made this yesterday and it’s gone today! Used milk chocolate chips and heath toffee pieces and pecans. The toffee is yummy! Heavy duty foil is best for non stick removal. Thanks for the recipe. I will be making this for some simple Christmas gifts!
Made these yesterday gone today. I used milk chocolate chips and heath toffee pieces and pecan pieces. Yummy! Thanks for the recipe. Will be making these for Christmas gifts! Heavy duty foil will help with non stick removal.
Bethany,
I’m sorry, but I’m not sure how well they would hold up if it took them a month to reach your husband. It’s worth a try I guess! Best of luck
Yumm
Hi! I just wanted to point out that I made this, and I’m pretty sure that what this is is more butterscotch than caramel. Just to let you know in case you are expecting caramel!
I want to try this. Yummy!
This is soooo yummy!!!
Mmm looks amazinh!!
Love these!
I had a super hard time getting the aluminum foil off of the bark when I was finished… Do you have any advice?
This sounds like a wonderful idea, but “Bring to a boil, and stir continuously until mixture sticks to the bottom of the pan and forms a smooth caramel.” is awfully vague.
In my experience, if you stir sugar while making a caramel, you will cause crystals to form making it granular, like fudge- not crisp like toffee. Are we talking soft ball stage or hard crack? What temp do you cook the caramel? Candy making is precise. It is very difficult to make a good caramel without the use of a candy thermometer.
For those who need a bit more of a detailed recipe, try this one:
1 stick salted butter, cut into chunks (do NOT sub margarine)
1c granulated sugar
1/4c brown sugar, firmly packed
2T water
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4tsp baking soda
about 3 cups pretzel twists
6-8oz semisweet or milk chocolate chips
Put butter, sugars and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. DO NOT STIR. When butter melts, gently swirl pan to mix with sugar. Clip on a candy thermometer and cook to 285 degrees (hard crack). Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (careful, mixture will bubble a bit) and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. Stir until well blended. Pour evenly over pretzels laid out on a PARCHMENT lined baking sheet. While toffee is still hot, sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Allow chocolate chips to melt on warm toffee for 5 minutes, then spread into an even layer. Let cool 10 minutes on the counter before putting in the fridge to set. Break into pieces and enjoy!
You can also pour the toffee mixture over chopped, toasted pecans, almonds or hazelnuts (instead of pretzels) to make an amazing buttercrunch toffee.
340 would be SO burnt!!! 285 to 300 is hard crack stage.
For clarification, this recipe calls for a crunchy toffee, not a chewy caramel. If you make the toffee, you will not need to store it in the freezer. If you use melted store bought caramels, you will need to refrigerate it because it will be more like a “turtle” candy and will soften at room temperature. Either way, it is delicious- just a different consistency.
I used Reynolds Heavy Duty Non-Stick Foil. Came of easily! More expensive, but so worth it!!!
I almost did not make this because of the comments regarding the caramel being tricky. I figured, what the hey, and made it exactly as the recipe read – stirring the butter and brown sugar constantly for about 6-8 minutes. It came out perfect and DELISH!! So easy!! It was a big hit with my son and friends at work today. Thank you!! I also used the no stick heavy foil and had no problem at all with the foil sticking to the bark. Thank you for all the people who shared their comments…
I also added unsalted whole almonds on 1/2 of the sheet for the nut lovers
Yum!
I added a little corn syrup along with some cream before I cooked the caramel and then I cooked it to a ‘soft ball stage’ to make sure it turned out…butter is way too expensive not to make sure it’s going to turn out….and it was amazing!!!! Thanks!!!
I love this stuff!
Just wondering, do you think it would freeze well until Christmas? I’m trying to get some baking done ahead of time for my goodie tins.
Thanks
I just made this recipe and I had it in the freeze for about 3 hrs. when i took it out and tried to break it up, it was still very sticky on the bottom and the foil stuck to it. Should I put it back in the freezer for awhile or is this the way it is suppose to be? Thanks.
Hi Mary Ellen,
I made three batches and the caramel was stuck to the foil so I couldn’t peel the bark off :/ I made the caramel thick enough I think..could that be the issue? Have you had issues with it sticking to the foil? I ate what I could peel ha ha but I wanted to give it as gifts to my parent volunteers so any help or suggestions would be great! Thanks!
thanks, i AM into the details. But I’m presuming this is an American Recipe; which is why I have no idea what a “STICK OF BUTTER” is. Can anyone please put in the weight of butter that’s required? Doesn’t matter if it’s in imperial or metric, I can convert it to metric. Unfortunately “STICK” doesnt convert…!?!?
Sorry you had trouble with it sticking! Some other readers commented that they experienced the same thing. I’ve made this quite a few times and haven’t had that problem.
Two thoughts…
-Make sure the pretzels are tightly packed in the pan, so the caramel hits mostly the pretzels and not the foil.
-Heat the caramel and butter mixture until it starts to form a smooth caramel mixture, pulling off the side of the pan. Another reader suggested 290 degrees.
Best of luck!
Thanks for the additional recipe! I used the recipe that I found (and credited) so I apologize if the directions were vague. You can see in the pictures that it butter and sugar forms a smooth caramel (not toffee, soft ball or hard crack). Another commented suggested letting it reach 290 degrees.
Leanne
A stick of butter is equal to 1/2 cup of butter…so this recipe calls for 1 cup of butter total.
Enjoy!
I’m so glad you gave it a try and it worked out for you!
Fabulous, thank you Mary Ellen M.
Can I use jarred caramel instead of making my own? Please, please say its doable! Thanks!
Do you think it’s possible to use ice cream topping caramel? I’ve got 4 bottles of this that need used up…
Thanks!
My friend made them and I told her they should be illegal. however… I asked for the recipe…
Reynold’s Wrap makes a foil that is non stick which will work. You can also grease the foil with a little butter or use a quick spray of PAM.
Yes, it’s super sticky, no matter what. Parchment paper seems to be a bit better, or you can lightly grease the tinfoil wiht butter or spray. I’ve made this half a dozen times in the past two months-everyone loves it.
Note to all of you that make this..
MAKE SURE TO WATCH THE CARAMEL… I left mine and came back with pretzels and caramel at the bottom of my oven with it on fire!! EEK
Also, try it with crushed heath chips.. on top of the chocolate chips.. its super delicious, I promise
I love this, thank you! I used dark chocolate chips yesterday and wasn’t as impressed. The first time I made it I used 1 cup of milk chocolate chips and 1 cup semi sweet. What do you use….milk or semi sweet?
yum
Oh my goodness! I’m glad your kitchen was okay
and I agree…I’ve done it before with crushed Heath bars on the top…so good!
I used semi-sweet, but that’s what I usually use for baking, so it’s what I had in my pantry! If you’re a dark chocoalte fan, I’m sure it would taste great, but I haven’t tried dark chocolate in this recipe.
I just made this… and after the caramel wouldn’t thicken… I realized that maybe my problem was that I used margarine instead of butter????? Whhoops! It’s in the freezer… so hopefully it still freezes….
If not, I’ll try again with real butter sticks.
These look absolutely delicious. I’ll definitely be trying to make this before Christmas!
This looks so yummy. I make something similar at Christmas time and I basically make a hard crack brittle to pour on top. It is heavenly
THIS LOOKS DELICIOUS!!!!!!
I just took these out of the freezer.. YUMMY. My 11 year old son made them as Christmas gifts. We used store bought caramels and melted them on the stove. We made two large cookie sheet trays – one with semi-sweet chocolate chips, one with dark chocolate chips. We used parchment paper and had no sticking issues at all. I think next time I would use mini pretzel sticks for more pretzel flavor, 1 and 1/2 bag of choc. chips and 3/4 a bag of caramels per cookie sheet.
Do you stir as it is reaching 285 degrees? Thanks
bluegirl, in your recipe, do you stir while it is reaching 285 degrees? Thanks
Alisha – let us know! I’ve done it before with “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter” and it turned out fine. Would love to know if margarine is an option.
Making these for the second time! I the first batch came out perfect, today however I made the mistake of not constantly stirring the caramel! I had to remake the double batch! But the new batch came out great! I mixed white and milk chocolate chips, this time and used all white last time. It was delicious! Everyone loved it! Will make this again and again! Thanks for sharing!
I have been looking for amazing delicious xmas gift ideas. when i ran across this i was suprised that i had never thought of it. i love making candy particulary toffee and peanut brittle. while this is a genius idea, i had a bit of issue with the recipe. (please dont get me wrong, im not trying to be horrible. its just that, for beginning candy makers, it could be a bit confusing.) i would recommend being a bit more specific as to the type of candy you were making and definitly be sure to note that it needs to be babied! STIR CONSTANTLY! this is actually not a caramel. its toffee. like a Heath bar. it will be hard and brittle. (if you are making a “soft crack” toffee or treacle.)i like mine a bit burnt (treacle) so i let it get considerably darker than this. that taste is a bit strong and not for everyone. if you do want a bit of a burnt “wang”, it goes particularly well with milk chocolate chips. (i made this yesterday and it was amazing! thanks for the idea!) for ppl new to candy making they should know how fast this mixture can burn and become a treacle. maybe you could be a bit more specific as to exactly how long you boil this. (my peanut brittle is close to this butter/sugar ratio and i do that for exactly 7 mins.)
This is as good as she says it is! I made mine with white sugar (out of brown) and it worked just fine. I just added a splash of vanilla. I also used the Wilton light cocoa wafer melts instead of chocolate chips. I think they taste much better than chips. I used parchment paper and had no sticky issues. I only had it in the freezer about 30 min. Anyway, the recipe is as easy and tasty as it looks!
Ummm, yummy! I was drooling over picture number 2! These look delicious!
After reading all the comments, I decided to save myself the trouble of making the caramel using butter and brown sugar and just bought a bag of Caramel Bits instead. I put them in a microwaveable bowl and added 2 tbsp. of milk. The milk thinned it out easily enough to pour over the pretzels. I also used the Non-stick foil and it worked great, no sticking whatsoever! This is delicious… the salt just adds such a great flavor to the sweetness of the chocolate. I think next time I may use dark chocolate chips
I also had trouble peeling the tinfoil off the back of the bark. My solution was to omit the tinfoil altogether and place the pretzels and caramel sauce directly on the pan – greasing the pan is NOT necessary. After freezing the bark for the required 3 hours, I turned the pan over and banged it against my plastic cutting board and then banged the heal of my hand against the back of the pan. Voila, the bark fell right out.
Just made this, SO easy and SO good, but next time i will spray a little pam on the tinfoil first
My family lives in China, where it’s hard to get lots of ingredients for Christmas treats. I’ve made 3 batches of these and they are SO SO SO delicious, particularly popular with my husband! My first batch stuck to the foil so badly, we had to cut off lots of the food to remove the foil. I’ve since been making this on a non-stick jelly roll or sheet pan (with sides, to keep the caramel from oozing off). Pops right off out of the freezer! Thanks for the post…. a new Christmas (or anytime I can find pretzels!) favorite! If you have any tips on EGG NOG, I’m all ears!!!! Merry Christmas from China!!!
Looks amazing. Tastes great but my caramel did not turn out. Sat in freezer for 12 hours and it was still sticky. Next time I will try a different way of making caramel. I also sprayed Pam on foil, that helped a lot with getting this out of foil and broken up.
I made these last night at a cookie making party and wanted to leave a quick comment to address the many comments related to the caramel not setting up. After reading through a lot of the posts, these are the tips I followed which resulted in a PERFECT batch!! These cookies are too easy and good to give up on, so hopefully this will help others avoid “caramel pitfalls”!!
1 – I used the pretzel snaps (squares) instead of the twists…made for a better and solid base
2 – You MUST cook the caramel mixture to 290 degrees, stirring constantly (you’ll need a candy thermometer) or it won’t set up properly. It won’t need 2 hours in the freezer either if you cook it enough…mine set up in under 30 minutes and stayed that way.
3 – I sprayed the aluminum foil with non-stick spray to make sure it didn’t stick…the foil peeled right off!
Happy baking and Merry Christmas!
Made this today! Tastes so good. Just a few things: I used foil to line the pan, sprayed the foil a little, and then put a piece of parchment down. No sticking issues. Also, not to get technical but isn’t this more of a toffee? It still tastes great but I think next time I will add a little cream to make it caramel, it tastes way different from when I pulled it off the burner to when I pulled it out of the freezer. Still good though!! Thanks!
I love love this recipe
made for the second time today, both times completely successful. 
I like to melt the butter first and then add the brown sugar, takes a bit to fully combine but works great both times 
I’m giving as gifts for Christmas and its hard to not snack on them… Haha can’t beat chocolate and pretzel combo!
This stuff is sinful and evil, LOL! I attribute this to my 5 lb holidday weight gain! I have made this twice now and it’s so good-I combined dark choc with milk choc and it was great, although I definitely think there is a trick to the caramel part, as the second time I made it I cooked the caramel longer and my husband didn’t think it was as good.
Made this in just 20 mins. It also help that it was -15* outside, so it set up in just 10 mins.
Thank you so much for this recipe, it is very tasty. I will make this again, maybe next time I’ll even share. =)
I did it with parchment paper this year, sooooooooo much better!
When i made this i actually made plain chocolate pretzel bark first and tossed it in the fridge to solidify (i use parchment paper for lining the pan). For the caramel i instead used white sugar and caramelized just the dry sugar in a saute pan. Once the sugar was completely caramelized i added one stick of butter and whisked until combined. Finally i spread the caramel over the chilled chocolate bark. This method definitely takes longer but it actually gives you a brittle type caramel thats crunchy and not at all sticky even at room temp.
I just used this recipe and it seems to have worked out well. I plan on keeping it out this evening for our Christmas Eve buffet so I wanted to make sure it could withstand room temperature for an extended period of time. It took a while to get the candy thermometer to read 285F, but I think I got there!
I’ve done this recipe about 6 times now and 2 of the times were great, the other times it stuck or didn’t harden correctly. The main tip that helps everything: Make sure you cook the butter/brown sugar long enough. I actually did the stove way and the microwave and I prefer the microwave. I did 1 minute intervals 10 times. Then I did 2 rounds of 30 second each and I used foiled (which I used parchment paper before too). This came out great! I did have to peel the foil off, but that’s much easier to peel than parchment paper. Also, I only had to freeze it for 90 minutes to 2 hours. Good luck
I have made this twice with absolutely no problems. I suspect that some of the problems some are having with runny caramel are not cooking the mixture long enough. I cook over medium heat, and stir constantly. Once it amalgamates into a bubbling blob, continuing to stir, until it really thickens–that might take another 8 to 10 minutes.
I took it to a quilt retreat and have been told that I have to bring it to all future retreats! Great stuff!
I made this tonight, & it is hard to stop eating!!! My family loves it!
This turned out beautiful. I took the advice and used my candy thermometer and got the temp to about 285 degrees for the caramel. The final product is gorgeous. The candy bark stays together even at room temperature so no absolute need to keep it in the fridge or freezer (though I do that anyway). Thanks! Planning on making another batch today!
Do you mind posting a video of how you made the caramel? I have tried twice and failed both times. Both times the concoction never thickened and ended up burnt even though I cooked on medium heat and stirred constantly. Are you supposed to combine the butter and sugar at the same time? Now I’m out of brown sugar and butter
My daughter-in-law gave me a similar recipe using saltine crackers–did not put on foil but once candy hardens, it is a bit difficult to cut and remove. But oh, so good!
I made this for the very first time this Christmas. It was so amazingly good! I shared it with some friends and they want the recipe! That’s how good it is! I also used the non-stick foil…it worked extremely well.
I discovered this recipe the Thursday before Christmas and it FOUR times around Christmas. I just made yet another tray of it. It is a SMASH HIT. I’ve also shared the recipe several times.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I’ve made two batches, and both were great (the second was a bit better, because the caramel never got sticky, even after the bark was sitting out at room temperature). Thanks, again, and happy holidays!
I made this for New Years Eve and purposely cooked it longer on the stove, to almost the hard crack stage. I wanted more of a toffee than a true caramel. Also I added about an extra half cup of brown sugar and a cpl tsp of vanilla. It came out amazing! Think of a Heath or Score bar but way better (with the pretzels you don’t get the overly hardness of normal toffee, plus the salt, Yum!)!! Everyone loved it!! And I didn’t have to worry about keeping it in the freezer like some were saying they had to. But I imagine the hardness I had was comparable to the frozen version. Thanks for the recipe and idea!! AMAZING!
I’ve made a similar recipe for years and never had trouble with the chips not melting until recently. I searched online and read that Nestle’s puts something in their chips now so that they hold their shape when baking with them. I tried Hershey’s in the next batch and they melted perfectly.
looked so good ill have to try it
I love this pretzel bark recipe and the cracker recipe is good too. I have learn to line my cookie sheet with foil then use a stick of butter to rub all over the foil, had no sticking problems! Have you tried lining crackers in cookie sheet, melt 1 stick butter and add 1 cup sugar stir well, pour over crackers, put in over until all bubbly take out sprinkle chocolate chips and white chocolate chips put back in oven to melt chips then spread over crackers…..mmmmmm what we can do with chocolate a girls best friend!
This looks great and I will definitely make a batch. I would not take it to a BBQ or outdoor event though
as it’s likely to not do well in the heat. Thanks for sharing!
I made this to put in my goody boxes at Christmas. It was so easy and very tasty!!
I made this the other day. Used half white/half brown sugar just because I didn’t have enough brown. I guess I cooked mine long enough because it wasn’t sticky at all. Hard to stop eating it. So yummy it’s amazing. Thanks for the great recipe!
Definitely make sure the stove is on low setting and the caramel is only making a few bubbles. It took me about 20 minutes and I used white sugar. It came out beautiful. The bark hardens right upon cooling and does not stick at all. I did not even bother to freeze.
Trust your gut when you think baking caramel on aluminum foil is a stupid idea! It is. Otherwise this is a delicious mess.
This is a great, easy recipe!! I’ve made it several times since I”ve found it, and every time someone has asked for the recipe!! I don’t put any foil or parchment paper in the pan, I just spray it really well with cooking spray, and everytime it has come out easily (I turn the pan upside down and if it doesn’t come out on it’s own, I just bang it on the table a little). Thanks for the recipe.