I saw this on the foodgawker.com website, www.thecherryontop.blog.com. They look beautiful and its like a salty, caramely, crunchy pretzel, chocolate party in your mouth! They are easy to make and do not take a lot of effort. A great one for holiday gifts!
Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Pretzel Bark
Yield: 1 sheet of bark
2 sticks of unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 pound bag of mini pretzels (my grocery store only had sticks which worked just as well but required more effort placing them neatly on the tray)
12 ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 cups, but I used 3 cups because I really like chocolate)
sea salt, for sprinkling on top
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside.
Melt 2 sticks of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. While the butter is melting, place enough pretzels on the prepared baking sheet to form a single, even layer.
Once the butter has melted, add the brown sugar and stir well to incorporate. Allow the brown sugar and butter to simmer and bubble, but do not let it boil. You may need to adjust the temperature to low. Stir the butter-sugar mixture occasionally. It should take about 3 minutes for the butter and sugar to caramelize, but keep a close eye on it because it will burn quickly.
When the sugar and butter have caramelized, pour the mixture evenly over the pretzels, strafing it back and forth down the length of the sheet. The caramel hardens quickly so it’s important to pour it as evenly and quickly as possible. If there are any clumps, use an offset spatula to spread the caramel as best you can. Bake for 5-7 minutes.
Use a microwave safe bowl to make the chocolate layer. Microwave chocolate chips in intervals of 30 seconds, stirring after each interval, until smooth. The chocolate should melt in only a couple of minutes. (I used my stovetop and stirred every 10 seconds. Once the chips were ALMOST fully melted, I took the pot off the heat and let them melt themselves the rest of the way. This prevents them from burning.)
By this time the pretzel-caramel mixture should be out of the oven. Pour the chocolate over the pretzel-caramel mixture, strafing it down the length of the baking sheet just as you did for with the caramel layer. Again, move evenly and quickly. Use an offset spatula to smooth out any clumps or thick spots. Sprinkle sea salt evenly over chocolate before it starts to harden. Allow the baking sheet to harden in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
When the bark has cooled and hardened, remove from the fridge and carefully pull the aluminum foil off the back. Break the bark into pieces and serve. Best stored in the refrigerator. EnJOY!
