![Furikake Tomato Sandwich](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/07/23/multimedia/23EAT-tomato-sandwich-zlwm/23EAT-tomato-sandwich-zlwm-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bars
![Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bars](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/08/16/dining/pretzel-bars/pretzel-bars-articleLarge-v3.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 50 minutes, plus chilling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
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
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
Cooking Notes
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!
Made a double batch of these to bring for a weekend trip with friends. They were entirely gone within 24 hours -- they're addictive! I recommend cutting these into smaller pieces as they can crumble easily if you take large bites. The amount of chocolate they recommend is the perfect amount -- don't be tempted to add more or else the chocolate layer will be too thick to bite in to easily.
We have a nut allergy in our house so they are not part of it, and not missed! Just skip the nuts and add extra pretzel! (If you wanted, you could probably add sprinkles, marshmallows, rice crispies, pumpkin seeds or dried cranberries for the holidays, but not necessary!)
I followed the recipe exactly and had no problems at all. It was an instant hit and I know I'll be making it again soon.
This recipe was very easy to follow, and the product tastes delicious. However, I had a few issues. 1) Yes, the crust needs more butter. 2) I poured my chocolate layer after my caramel layer had cooled "slightly" and it didn't work. The chocolate melted into the caramel, which tasted fine, but did not produce layers. It needed maybe 20 minutes to cool? 3) Perhaps I should have anticipated this, but the pretzels on top got stale 2 days later, so these need to be eaten quickly.
Not “smarter” living, but perhaps this recipe intends to provide a “more fulfilling life.” I can see being pretty fulfilled after eating a couple of these bars.
I think I'd like to try dulce de leche instead of the caramel.
Not as sweet as you would think from looking at the recipe (a plus for us.) Canadian sweet tooth is much less sweet than our friends to the South, so a hit in my family.
This recipe worked perfectly. It was a bit involved but not at all difficult. Could not get chopped chocolate where I live so I used good-quality (60%) chocolate chips. The chocolate layer doesn't look chalky or uneven.
I used sliced almonds that I have for salads (a very different use) instead of pecans and they worked very well. These are jaw-droppingly good if you enjoy caramel/pretzel combos; I almost couldn't believe it (until I thought about the butter content). Very easy and inexpensive, as well. It's going to be a go-to for the holidays.
I would double the butter next time-6 cups of pretzel crumbs needs more butter for sure-(for a graham cracker crust of 1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs, you use 4 oz of butter). My crust did not hold together.
Followed the recipe exactly, using weights indicated. Couple of notes: the crust didn’t brown, even after an extra 10 minutes or so. If I made this again, I would cool the crust completely. The caramel kind of melded with the crust because it wasn’t completely cooled. I also really prefer chocolate and pretzels, with a light hint of caramel, so I would double the chocolate and half the caramel. But winner of a recipe.
Only had an 8x8 pan. Reduced crust (pretzel/sugar) crumbs by about 1/4 cup, kept butter for crust the same. Pecans and caramel ingredients remained same. Slightly reduced chocolate and pretzel topping amount. Increased the 2 baking times by a few minutes each. Turned out great! Delicious recipe even with adjustments.
Has anyone tried using sweetened condensed milk as a shortcut ingredient in making the caramel?
I made these using the gram weights and they turned out perfectly, no issues with the crust proportions. Only change was using an 8x8 pan, as that's all I had. Everyone loved them - will definitely make again.
Good flavor combination but I think the crust could, in fact, use a little more butter to hold together more. (And yes, I weighed my pretzels.) I also think that the chocolate needs some cream or oil added is not so hard. It is difficult to cut the bars cleanly with the hard chocolate on top of the softer caramel. I did add about a teaspoon of sunflower oil but it wasn't enough.
I made a rookie mistake: not reading the recipe through before starting! I added the chopped nuts to the pretzel crumbs, butter and sugar, which made for a really thick crust. However, they taste delicious and just look a little uneven (half of the bar is crust!). Next time I’ll remember to read first, bake second!
I followed this recipe exactly with weighing each ingredient for a Super Bowl party. The pretzel crust completely fell apart. We all ate the toppings and everyone enjoyed that part but I won’t show up with this again.
These were delicious if you're a sucker for sweet and salty. I followed the suggested for added butter to the crust to make it stick together and it was a success. I added an extra 2oz butter and spent time really compacting the crust. The result was bars that stuck together - however you still have to be wary of the size you cut the bars so that all layers stick together.
I weighed the pretzels and the butter, and the crust was too crumbly, a lot of the pretzels fell right off. So the suggestion to add more butter is spot on.
Also had difficulty getting the crust to stick, maybe more butter and longer bake time next time. Flavours are there and delicious but the composition needs work.
If someone doesn't have time to make the caramel from scratch, what would be the best substitute to purchase?
Could these be frozen, if I were planning on making them ahead of time?
Add butter. I used 1.25 sticks and it was great.
Kind of torn. Love the sweet-salt combination. However, even though I measured by weight not volume, we find the base way too crumbly. Even added an egg and it would still just feel like crushed pretzels. Keeping them in the fridge helps a bit. But since I liked the flavour combination, I would simply substitute 1/2 up to 2/3 of the pretzels with flour. Other than that - great!
I had the same crust problem
Followed the recipe exactly, using weights indicated. Couple of notes: the crust didn’t brown, even after an extra 10 minutes or so. If I made this again, I would cool the crust completely. The caramel kind of melded with the crust because it wasn’t completely cooled. I also really prefer chocolate and pretzels, with a light hint of caramel, so I would double the chocolate and half the caramel. But winner of a recipe.
Advertisement