Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bars
- Total Time
- 50 minutes, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 8ounces/225 grams pretzels (about 6 cups)
- ¼cup/50 grams granulated sugar
- 8tablespoons/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
- 4ounces/115 grams pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 10tablespoons/140 grams unsalted butter (1¼ stick)
- ⅔cup/160 milliliters heavy cream
- ⅔cup/145 grams packed dark brown sugar
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¼cups/215 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- About 2 cups/75 grams pretzels, crushed
For the Crust
For the Caramel
For the Topping
Nutritional analysis per serving (18 servings)
577 calories; 25 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 83 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 19 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 985 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. In the bowl of a food processor, combine pretzels and sugar and process until you have fine crumbs. Add melted butter and process until evenly moistened. Transfer mixture into prepared pan and press down into a compact, even layer. Bake until crust is fragrant and edges are browned, about 17 minutes. Sprinkle with pecans and set aside.
- Step 2
Prepare the caramel: In a medium saucepan, combine butter, cream, brown sugar and salt. Heat mixture over medium heat, stirring, until butter melts and everything is well combined. Turn heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes. Pour over pecans and prepared crust. Bake until caramel is bubbling and has darkened slightly, 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack.
- Step 3
While caramel cools slightly, melt chocolate in short bursts in a heatproof bowl in a microwave or over a pot of simmering water. Let chocolate cool for a few minutes, then spread evenly over caramel. Sprinkle with crushed pretzels and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator to set for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Step 4
To serve, lift the bars out using the parchment overhang and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 20 squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Private Notes
Comments
The recipe calls for ABOUT 6 cups of pretzels which you then process into crumbs. Not 6 cups of crumbs. This is why the butter quantity is off. Best to always use the weight measurements in baking.
Yes, my bars left have of the crust in the pan-even after chilling. I will definitely add at least another 2 -4 oz. of butter next time. Think about how much butter you add to a graham cracker crust recipe. 6 c. up pretzel crumbs definitely needs more butter. This is potentially a showstopper dessert!
The next time I made this, I added 10-15 more grams of butter and spent about seven minutes really pressing the crust down before baking. Crust held together perfectly!
This was a lot of work, but my pretzel crust totally fell apart even though I used less pretzels (4 cups mini pretzels). Also, the chocolate layer was too thick for the caramel. But the caramel was sticky, so I’m not sure doubling the caramel would help. Maybe if you used the saltine crust in the saltine peppermint bark instead of the pretzel crust? So, it tastes good but not pretty at the end. Might be good to crumble up and put on ice cream?
Disappointed. Crust fell apart when cut. Very crumbly but tasty. Might end up putting it on ice cream? Might try using saltine crust from the peppermint saltine bark instead of pretzel crust? Use a bigger pan and make them thinner?
From the comments I see there’s been a big debate about how much of the pretzel to use for the crust. I weighed type pretzels and with my mini ariety, it was about 4C. If you weigh ingredients you get a more precise amount of each ingredient!