Warning: this stuff is addictive!
One day, Steve brought home some chocolate- and caramel- coated saltines, and I couldn’t stop eating until the the bag was gone!
When I saw recipes for caramel and chocolate pretzel bark, I knew it was going to be the perfect sweet, salty, creamy, crunchy treat. I based my recipe on the Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark from Mama Says What and I added almonds and some subtle spices to give it an extra rich taste.
ULTIMATE Almond Pretzel Bark recipe with a secret ingredient!
Ingredients:
- 8 oz mini pretzel twists
- 1 1/2 cups roasted salted almonds
- 16 oz semi-sweet dark chocolate chips or 16 oz bar baking chocolate, chopped
- 3/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (my secret ingredient for a little kick!)
Instructions
- preheat the oven to 350F
- line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
- layer pretzels and almonds on the foil (pictured below, top right)
- in a pot on the stove, melt butter and stir in brown sugar. Bring to boil and keep stirring until smooth and thick.
- Pour caramel over the pretzels and almonds (pictured below, middle left)
- bake in oven for five minutes
- sprinkle cinnamon and cayenne evenly over the mixture
- add chocolate on top and bake for another couple of minutes to melt
- use a spatula to smooth out the chocolate (pictured below, middle right)
- cool for 10 minutes at room temperature and move to the freezer for at least two hours
- break into small chunks
Easy steps for making the ULTIMATE Almond Pretzel Bark recipe with a secret ingredient for extra kick!
For maximum freshness, store the bark in a container in the freezer. Mine is in the chest freezer in our basement, and I would like to say that I burn enough calories going up and down the stairs to justify this treat, but that’s probably wishful thinking…
“Jewels”
Jewels at Home 
I want to make this! Can you clarify the type of caramel – is it a syrup?
Cathmae, you’re either going to love me or curse me (or both!) for introducing you to this recipe! The caramel isn’t completely syrupy, but it is sticky at room temperature. I would say it’s fine to give, or serve at room temperature but should be stored in the fridge or freezer if you’re keeping it around for more than a day. Jewels
I promise never to curse you. Is the chocolate/brown sugar mixture the caramel? I see that the last step is adding chocolate, so I was thinking that was the chocolate/brown sugar mixture.
Cathmae, I won’t hold you to that promise, because I curse this myself! It is THAT GOOD. The first layer (middle left picture) is the caramel mixture, which is the butter and sugar melted together. The second layer (middle right picture) is the chocolate. It’s all a bit brown, because I used dark brown sugar, so it might be hard to tell in the pictures. In the finished product, the caramel is a bit sticky but not runny. Hope it turns out! Make sure your big boys are home to help eat it…
OK, somehow I was missing a step, but now I see that your instructions were very clear… I think I can do this! I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks!
I am sure it will be great… I am feeling a bit guilty that I’ve introduced you to this – it is not a wholesome recipe, but it is amazingly delicious. I’ve eaten more than I care to admit in the 24 hours since I made it…
Save your guilt! I promise to make this only when there is NO WAY I feel like eating something wholesome. Anyway, it has almonds, right?
Jewels, I made this a couple of weeks ago. Big hit with the family… I put some in the freezer for Derek’s reading week. He shared with his daddy and they both liked it a lot. But, as easy as the recipe is, I made some mistakes. There was a bag of chippits in my pantry from the summer and I thought they were still good, but they refused to melt! Also, my cayenne was in a standard spice jar with big shaker holes, and it didn’t give the light dusting effect, but dropped it heavily in some areas. I’ll make it again this weekend.
Glad it was a hit! And that you managed better than I did at sharing it! I think baking chocolate melts more smoothly than the chips, whether old or not. I just smooth it out while it’s melted. I’m drooling just writing about this.