Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark

Pretzels. Homemade caramel. Chocolate. And salted. This bark has only 5 ingredients, it’s super easy to make, and you keep going back for more.

Oh yes.  For the sugar lovers, sweets devotees, and when you want to whip up something delicious with precious little effort, this bark is it.  Some people even refer to it as crack bark. Maybe because you break, or crack it, at the end?  (Just kidding everyone, I know what they mean when they call it that.)  Plus all 5 ingredients are pretty easy to have on hand. 

Now, if this were Pinterest, you could call it "5 Ingredient Crack Bark."  Remember my thing with Pinterest names?  Yep.  Still there.  Keep it classy, people, keep it classy.  It already bothers me that this recipe has as many words in its title as it does ingredients.  If you have any better and more concise ideas for the title, please, let me know!

Slightly adapted from Where the Cookies Are

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Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark

Makes approximately one 11x17in / 28x43cm sheet of bark

Ingredients:

• Enough mini pretzels to cover an approximately 11x17in / 28x43cm jelly roll pan, about half of a 15oz bag / 200g.

• 1 cup / 226g butter

• 1 cup / 200g brown sugar

• 2 cups / 340g semi-sweet chocolate chips

• coarse salt

Directions:

Oven 375°F / 190°C.  Line an approximately 11x17in / 28x43cm jelly roll pan with tinfoil. 

1. Cover pan with an even layer of pretzels.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter and brown sugar.  Stir until mixture starts to simmer, then allow to cook, without stirring, until mixture turns a nice golden-brown.  This should take 3-5 minutes after the mixture has started to simmer. 

3. Remove mixture from heat and immediately pour evenly over pretzels. 

4. Place in the oven and bake for 6 minutes. 

5. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over pretzels and caramel. 

6. Wait a few minutes, then use a spatula to spread now melted chocolate chips over pretzels.  Sprinkle with salt. 

7. Allow to cool completely before breaking into pieces.  You can place your pan in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process. 

Jenny's Notes:

• If you’re wondering what a jelly-roll pan is, it’s merely a baking sheet with about a 1in side around it, which in this case keeps the bark contained. You can shop them on Amazon by clicking on the link to the right. —>

• Don't have tinfoil?  You can always use wax or parchment paper, but I would recommend greasing them beforehand as I have had the bark stick to both of those products. 

• Want to go crazy?  Use any kind of chips in place of the semisweet chips, such as milk, peanut butter, bittersweet...or a combination! 

• Once you have spread the melted chocolate, feel free to add some extra toppings if you wish.  Coconut, chopped peanuts, finely chopped coffee beans...

salted caramel, salted chocolate, bark, butter, toffee, caramel, chocolate chips, crack bark

dessert, snack

American

Yield: 12-15 servings

Author: Jennyblogs

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Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark

Salty, crunchy, chocolatey, caramelly, and only 5 ingredients to whip up this addicting bark!

prep time: 25 Mcook time: 6 Mtotal time: 31 M

ingredients:

• mini pretzels, enough to cover an approximately 11x17in / 28x43cm jelly roll pan, about half of a 15oz bag or 200g
• 1 cup / 226g butter
• 1 cup / 200g brown sugar
• 2 cups / 340g semi-sweet chocolate chips
• coarse salt

instructions:

How to cook Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark

1. Oven 375°F / 190°C. Line an approximately 11x17in / 28x43cm jelly roll pan with tinfoil.
2. Cover pan with an even layer of pretzels.
3. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter and brown sugar. Stir until mixture starts to simmer, then allow to cook, without stirring, until mixture turns a nice golden-brown. This should take 3-5 minutes after the mixture has started to simmer.
4. Remove mixture from heat and immediately pour evenly over pretzels.
5. Place in the oven and bake for 6 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over pretzels and caramel.
7. Wait a few minutes, then use a spatula to spread now melted chocolate chips over pretzels. Sprinkle with salt.
8. Allow to cool completely before breaking into pieces. You can place your pan in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process.

NOTES:

If you’re wondering what a jelly-roll pan is, it’s merely a baking sheet with about a 1in side around it, which in this case keeps the bark contained. Don't have tinfoil? You can always use wax or parchment paper, but I would recommend greasing them beforehand as I have had the bark stick to both of those products. Want to go crazy? Use any kind of chips in place of the semisweet chips, such as milk, peanut butter, bittersweet...or a combination! Once you have spread the melted chocolate, feel free to add some extra toppings if you wish. Coconut, chopped peanuts, finely chopped coffee beans...

Calories

398.37

Fat (grams)

24.26

Sat. Fat (grams)

14.77

Carbs (grams)

47.86

Fiber (grams)

2.24

Net carbs

45.63

Sugar (grams)

31.99

Protein (grams)

3.04

Sodium (milligrams)

384.00

Cholesterol (grams)

40.49

Nutritional information is approximate and based on 12 servings.

https://jennyblogs.com/blog/2017/2/3/salted-chocolate-caramel-pretzel-bark

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Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Whipped Cream

Shortbread crust.  A layer of creamy peanut butter filling.  Topped with a mountain of chocolate whipped cream.  And chocolate shavings.  Because, we're so fancy, you already know.  Did I mention No-Bake?

I first made this pie with a pretzel crust.  The salty sweetness really off-set the creamy full-bodied mouth feel of the layers well.  Yes, sometimes I describe dessert and food like wine.  It just works so well.  But if you ever catch me saying "I prefer the '98 vintage of this cheesecake" or something along that line, I might have taken it too far.  Ew, rancid cheesecake.  Anyway...

The next time I made this pie was in Italy.  Pretzels do exist here, but they have a very strange texture.  Think pretzels that went stale and chewy and then got so stale they got crispy again, almost. But still a little chewy.  And don't chop well in a food processor. It took over 8 minutes to get them partly broken up.  The crust was still good, but it looked more like a bird's nest of pretzel sticks than a uniform crust.  

Oh hey, Thanksgiving pie. And there is Lucia the poinsettia in the background. Good times, good times.

Regardless, all the Americans in Italy are so peanut butter deprived that everyone loved it.  In fact, two days later was Thanksgiving and it was requested of me to make and bring this pie to Thanksgiving dinner.  Not pecan pie.  Not pumpkin pie.  Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Whipped Cream.  With a delicious but slightly strange looking crust.  

When I made the pie this time, I used shortbread cookies with great success.  The Italian supermarkets have practically a whole aisle devoted to all their different kinds of shortbread cookies, called frollini.  A nice big 800g bag for 1.5-2.5 euros?  Hehe don't mind if I do.  Shortbread with cream, or chocolate and stars, buckwheat, almond, almond and chocolate, hazelnut, stuffed with apricot, stuffed with chocolate, coarse sugar-topped, made with egg, chocolate drops...the varieties go on. 

Someday I will share with you the pretzel crust, but when I have access again to pretzels that behave in a food processor and I can get some decent photos.  But until then, get your hands on some shortbread cookies.  You could make some homemade (classic shortbread consists of just 3 ingredients: flour, butter, sugar) or if you're in the States buy some Sandie's shortbread cookies or something similar. 

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Recipe adapted from the Cooking Channel

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Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Whipped Cream

Makes 1 9in / 23cm pie - 8-12 servings

Ingredients:

For the Shortbread Crust

• about 15 / 150g shortbread cookies

• 4 Tbsp / 56g butter, melted

For the Peanut Butter Filling

• 1/2 cup / 119g heavy whipping cream

• 1/2 cup / 113g mascarpone or cream cheese, room temperature

• 1/3 cup / 87g creamy peanut butter

• 1/4 cup / 50g brown sugar

For the Chocolate Whipped Cream

• 3-4 oz / 100g good quality dark chocolate, chopped

• 2 cups / 474g heavy whipping cream

• Extra chocolate in bar form, for chocolate shavings, optional

Directions:

Make the Chocolate Whipped Cream First

1. Place chocolate and cream in a double boiler or a glass or metal bowl over a pan of simmering water.  The bottom of the bowl shouldn’t touch the water.

2. Gently stir until chocolate is mostly melted.  Remove from heat and continue stirring until chocolate has completely melted.  Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours. 

Make the Shortbread Crust

1. In a food processor, pulse cookies until they become crumbly.  Add butter and pulse until smooth and can be pressed into a crust.  Depending on the type of cookies you use, you may need to add a touch more melted butter to ensure the crust will stay together.  Press into a 9in / 23cm pie dish and refrigerate.

Make the Peanut Butter Filling

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form.  Transfer to another bowl. 

2. Again, in the bowl of the stand mixer beat mascarpone, peanut butter, and brown sugar together until smooth.  Gently fold in the whipped cream with a spatula.  Pour filling over crust and return to the refrigerator. 

Assembly

1. Once the chocolate cream is cooled, beat with a stand mixer or handheld mixer until stiff peaks form.  Remove pie from the refrigerator and spread or pipe chocolate whipped cream over the top. 

2. Use a vegetable peeler or knife to shave a chocolate bar over the pie for the finishing touch. 

Jenny's Notes:

• Try using Nutella or Biscoff spread instead of peanut butter.  YUM.

peanut butter pie, no bake pie, summer dessert, chocolate whipped cream, mascarpone, shortbread crust

dessert, pie

American

Yield: 8-12

Author: Jennyblogs

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Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Whipped Cream

No-bake pie with shortbread crust, mascarpone peanut butter filling, chocolate whipped cream and topped with chocolate shavings.

Prep time: 50 Mininactive time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 50 M

Ingredients:

For the Shortbread Crust

• about 15 shortbread cookies / 150g
• 4 Tbsp / 56g butter, melted

For the Peanut Butter Filling

• 1/2 cup / 119g heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup / 113g mascarpone or cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup / 87g creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup / 50g brown sugar

For the Chocolate Whipped Cream

• 3-4 oz / 100g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups / 474g heavy whipping cream
• Extra chocolate in bar form, for chocolate shavings, optional

Instructions:

Make the Chocolate Whipped Cream (first)

1. Place chocolate and cream in a double boiler or a glass or metal bowl over a pan of simmering water. The bottom of the bowl shouldn’t touch the water.
2. Gently stir until chocolate is mostly melted. Remove from heat and continue stirring until chocolate has completely melted. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Make the Shortbread Crust

1. In a food processor, pulse cookies until they become crumbly. Add butter and pulse until smooth and can be pressed into a crust. Depending on the type of cookies you use, you may need to add a touch more melted butter to ensure the crust will stay together. Press into a 9in / 23cm pie dish and refrigerate.

Make the Peanut Butter Filling

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer to another bowl.
2. Again, in the bowl of the stand mixer beat mascarpone, peanut butter, and brown sugar together until smooth. Gently fold in the whipped cream with a spatula. Pour filling over crust and return to the refrigerator.

Assembly

1. Once the chocolate cream is cooled, beat with a stand mixer or handheld mixer until stiff peaks form. Remove pie from the refrigerator and spread or pipe chocolate whipped cream over the top.
2. Use a vegetable peeler or knife to shave a chocolate bar over the pie for the finishing touch.

Notes:

Try using Nutella or Biscoff spread instead of peanut butter. YUM.

Calories

636.86

Fat (grams)

54.27

Sat. Fat (grams)

29.83

Carbs (grams)

27.35

Fiber (grams)

1.81

Net carbs

25.54

Sugar (grams)

20.45

Protein (grams)

7.07

Sodium (milligrams)

259.95

Cholesterol (grams)

119.26

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on the pie cut into 8 servings; includes chocolate shavings.

https://jennyblogs.com/blog/2016/8/9/peanut-butter-pie-with-chocolate-whipped-cream

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Tag @jennyblogsandbakes on instagram and hashtag it #jennyblogs

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IPA Pretzel Bread

This post was written from the London Heathrow Airport!

Bread is delicious. #FACT.

Then when you make pretzel bread and add beer to it, it becomes extra delicious. #FACTZ. And that’s exactly what this bread is, boiled beer bread.

Pretzel bread is made simply by boiling bread dough in baking soda water. This particular recipe adds a bit of beer to the boiling water, because if you’re going to make beer bread, you might as well go all out!

Beer in baking

Beer can be added to all kinds of desserts from cookies and brownies to cakes and breads, even caramels and candies! It creates tender baked goods, can help raise, and of course, adds wonderful flavor notes. One of the beauties of baking with beer (and wine!) is choosing from all the different varieties, as each will lend its own unique flavor.

If you’re new to baking with beer, you’ll probably want to start with the recipe’s suggested beer, an Indian Pale Ale if you decide to make this bread. Once you start to get an idea of how beer acts and tastes in recipes, you can begin to branch out and try your favorite beers to find matches with different baked goods. For example, stouts (think Guinness) are lovely in chocolate cake. A staple of a bakery I worked in was a Chocolate Guinness Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Actually, the photos of the bread you see in this post are made with an American Pale Ale from Short’s Brewery, not an Indian Pale Ale. But they’re similar, I don’t know I’d notice the difference between breads made with an IPA or an APA. Just stay away from light beers, those are watery and not good for baking.

If you don’t like beer, chances are you will still like desserts and breads made with beer. Most of the alcohol gets baked out as well, so if it’s more the alcohol you avoid that can be reassuring. However, you’ll probably want to make your own informed choice on that as there will still be trace amounts of alcohol even after baking/cooking. :)

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Recipe adapted from Little Market Kitchen

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IPA Pretzel Bread

Makes two loaves

Ingredients:

    •    1/2 cup / 119g warm water (about 105-110 Fahrenheit)
    •    2 1/4 tsp / 7g active dry yeast
    •    1 1/2 cups (12 oz) / 356g IPA or beer of choice, room temperature, divided into 1 cup and 1/2 cup
    •    4 cups / 480g bread flour or all-purpose flour
    •    1 Tbsp / 13g sugar
    •    1 tsp / 5g salt
    •    3 Tbsp / 42g oil
    •    10 cups / 2,370g water
    •    1/2 cup / 110g baking soda
    •    1 egg yolk beaten with 1 Tbsp / 15g water
    •    coarse or flaked salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

Oven preheated to 425°F / 218°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.

1. Pour warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl.  Sprinkle yeast over the water and let sit for about 10 minutes, or until bubbly and frothy.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. 

3. Once the yeast is active, add the flour mixture, then the oil, then 1 cup / 237g of the beer.  Mix in a stand mixer with dough hook or knead by hand until a soft, but not sticky, dough forms, about 10 minutes.  If it's too soft, add more flour, or if it's too dry/stiff, you can steal a bit of beer from the reserved 1/2 cup / 119g. 

4. Give the dough a few kneads by hand if a stand mixer was used and place in a large lightly oiled bowl. Flip dough once so both sides are oily. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  

5. In a large pot, combine water, remaining 1/2 cup / 119g beer, and baking soda.  Bring to a boil. 

6. Once bread has doubled in size, punch down and divide in half.  Shape each half into a round loaf. 

7. Working with one loaf at a time, lower into the boiling water using a large sieve or spatula, boil for 30 seconds and flip in the water once.  Remove and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with second loaf. 

8. Brush the loaves with the egg yolk and water mixture, sprinkle with salt. 

9. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes then place a piece of tinfoil on top to keep the bread from darkening too much.  Bake for an additional 3-8 minutes until a baking thermometer inserted near center reads at least 190°F / 88°C. 

10. Allow to cool, slice, and enjoy!

Jenny’s Notes:

• If the dough is too soft when trying to create a round and it won’t hold its shape, add flour a bit at a time until it will.  Dough that relaxes a little bit out of shape is ok, just keep in mind that adding too much flour will create a dry bread. It’s about finding the balance between creating a soft dough yet strong enough to hold it’s shape. Properly kneaded dough is also important in a free form loaf holding its shape.

• This bread makes excellent toast. I think I say that about every bread recipe. Toast is so good.

beer bread, pretzel bread, IPA bread, baking with beer,

bread

American

Yield: 16

Author: Jennyblogs

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IPA Pretzel Bread

Pretzel bread and beer bread combine in this flavorful bread made with India Pale Ale.

Prep time: 35 MinCook time: 28 Mininactive time: 1 H & 10 MTotal time: 2 H & 12 M

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup / 119g warm water (about 105-110 Fahrenheit)
• 2 1/4 tsp / 7g active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups (12 oz) / 356g IPA or beer of choice, room temperature, divided into 1 cup and 1/2 cup
• 4 cups / 480g bread flour or all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp / 13g sugar
• 1 tsp / 5g salt
• 3 Tbsp / 42g oil
• 10 cups / 2,370g water
• 1/2 cup / 110g baking soda
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 Tbsp / 15g water
• coarse or flaked salt, for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Oven preheated to 425°F / 218°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
2. Pour warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over the water and let sit for about 10 minutes, or until bubbly and frothy.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.
4. Once the yeast is active, add the flour mixture, then the oil, then 1 cup / 237g of the beer. Mix in a stand mixer with dough hook or knead by hand until a soft, but not sticky, dough forms, about 10 minutes. If it's too soft, add more flour, or if it's too dry/stiff, you can steal a bit of beer from the reserved 1/2 cup / 119g.
5. Give the dough a few kneads by hand if a stand mixer was used and place in a large lightly oiled bowl. Flip dough once so both sides are oily. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
6. In a large pot, combine water, remaining 1/2 cup / 119g beer, and baking soda. Bring to a boil.
7. Once bread has doubled in size, punch down and divide in half. Shape each half into a round loaf.
8. Working with one loaf at a time, lower into the boiling water using a large sieve or spatula, boil for 30 seconds and flip in the water once. Remove and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with second loaf.
9. Brush the loaves with the egg yolk and water mixture, sprinkle with salt.
10. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes then place a piece of tinfoil on top to keep the bread from darkening too much. Bake for an additional 3-8 minutes until a baking thermometer inserted near center reads at least 190°F / 88°C.
11. Allow to cool, slice, and enjoy!

Notes:

If the dough is too soft when trying to create a round and it won’t hold its shape, add flour a bit at a time until it will.  Dough that relaxes a little bit out of shape is ok, just keep in mind that adding too much flour will create a dry bread. It’s about finding the balance between creating a soft dough yet strong enough to hold it’s shape. Properly kneaded dough is also important in a free form loaf holding its shape.

Calories

149.06

Fat (grams)

3.44

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.35

Carbs (grams)

23.58

Fiber (grams)

0.84

Net carbs

22.74

Sugar (grams)

0.91

Protein (grams)

4.04

Sodium (milligrams)

2046.95

Cholesterol (grams)

11.53

Nutritional information is approximate; based on 1 slice, if each loaf yields 8 slices.

https://jennyblogs.com/blog/2016/6/21/58d8j1ja1anbng1616b01m81fe42bx

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Tag @jennyblogsandbakes on instagram and hashtag it #jennyblogs

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