Jacqueline Casey 
Chocolate covered pretzels are one of my favorite and most addictive snack/dessert. So it’s not that surprising that these have never lasted more than 2 days after making a baking sheet worth of them. They are the perfect mix of salty and sweet. If you have every made the popular saltine/toffee/chocolate bark, this shares some similarities, the biggest difference being the pretzel base. It’s so easy only using 5 ingredients (6 if you count the highly recommended sea salt topping) and 20 minutes to make!
Options, Substitutions and Tips!
- Pretzel thins or slims are the base of the “bark”. What makes them work is that they are so thin, they can easily be arranged in an even layer. I have tried making these using the whole pieces of the pretzels and also breaking them up a bit. They taste the same either way, but I preferred the look when using the pretzel pieces whole because it makes the layers look more distinct.
- When you are heating the butter and brown sugar together, it will be a rolling bubble but should not be boiling and bubbling over the pan. If it starts to boil, too much or seems like it is sticking to the bottom of the pan, the heat needs to be turned down.
- When you pour the butter, brown sugar and vanilla “toffee” mixture oven the pretzel thins, they might move and shift a little bit, but that’s ok, the toffee will continue cooking in the oven and then when it sets in the refrigerator, it will hold all everything together. The same thing when spreading the chocolate, it’s ok if it moves around a little bit.
- I’ve tried using this with semi-chocolate chips, semi-chocolate chunks and with a chocolate baking bar. They all work if you want to use a substitute, but I felt the chocolate chunks worked best. They set enough that they can be out in room temperature for a while without melting and becoming messy, but did not set and become so firm that it was difficult to cut into squares. If you use chocolate chips, you might want to store them in the refrigerator or a cool spot until right before you are ready to eat, especially if it’s a warm/hot temperature outside or inside. If using a chopped up baking bar, once it sets, you might need to allow it to warm up a little bit before cutting them into squares.
- I recommend using either semi-sweet or dark chocolate for this recipe since the toffee is so sweet.
- Just to see some pictures, this is what it looked like right before I spread the chocolate chunks over the pretzels and toffee and then what it looked like after it set in the refrigerator for 2 hours right before I cut them into squares:
- When I was ready to cut into squares, I picked up the parchment paper and transferred everything to a cutting board.
- You can see from the pictures, I wasn’t too concerned with making sure the border all around was perfect. I was able to cut away any of the bits that weren’t covered with chocolate and eat the yummy scraps.
- As mentioned in the recipe card below, these store best in an airtight container in the refrigerator and will last up to 5 days… if they last that long 🙂
Pretzel Toffee Bark
Pretzel thins are the base of this easy and addictive 5 ingredient dessert. A quick toffee is made with butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract then topped with semi or dark chocolate and sea salt.
- Baking Sheet, Parchment Paper, Saucepan
- 1 8 oz. Bag of Pretzel Thins/Slims
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter ((2 Sticks))
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 10 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks ((or Dark Chocolate))
- Optional Sea Salt to top
Pre-heat oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a Baking Sheet with parchment paper.
Spread pretzel thins/slims in an even layer on the baking sheet.
In a small or medium saucepan, heat butter and brown sugar on medium heat. Mix until they are combined and the sugar is dissolved. Mixture will be a rolling bubble but not boiling. Continue cooking and stirring for 3-5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in pure vanilla extract.
Pour mixture on top of pretzels on baking sheet and place in the oven for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chunks on top. Allow to sit for about 2 minutes or until the chocolate is melted enough to spread across the top in an even layer with a rubber spatula or back of a spoon. Optional but highly recommended, top with a little bit of sea salt.
Place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until chocolate is completely set.
Remove from refrigerator and cut into squares. If it's very difficult to cut, allow to sit at room temperature to warm up a bit and then try slicing again.
Once cut into squares, these can stay out in room temperature for a few hours unless it is very hot, then they run the risk of the chocolate melting and should be kept in the refrigerator. They will also store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
