Oven Baked 5-Ingredient Caramel Pretzel Crunch Bars

If you’re anything like me, you love recipes that require very little effort but look like you spent hours making them. These caramel pretzel crunch bars check all of those boxes. They’re easy to make, they’re deliciously salty and sweet, and they’ll be gone before you know it.

Oven baked caramel pretzel crunch bars are such an easy, impressive treat to have on hand. They’re a deliciously sweet and salty treat and take next to no effort to make. The recipe is perfect to keep on hand for bake sales, holiday trays, or a cozy weekend dessert.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Super easy: Only 5 ingredients and no fiddling with candy thermometers. This is a breeze to make.
• Uses common ingredients: Aside from caramel sauce, which is so much better when store-bought, there’s nothing special you’ll need to make these bars. They’re a treat you can whip up on a whim.
• Sweet and salty: There’s just something irresistible about this combo.
• Perfect for gifting or entertaining: These are a winner at bake sales, holiday trays, weekend dessert platters or homemade gifts.
• Adaptable: While nuts are the best addition to these, you can also opt for flaky sea salt.

Ingredients You Need

• Pretzel twists: Use either mini pretzels or regular sized pretzel twists. Arrange them in a single, even layer on the bottom of your prepared baking dish.
• Caramel sauce: The bars turn out best using a thick, gooey store-bought caramel. If your caramel is on the thinner side, it may run into your pretzels instead of coating them. If that happens, your bars will be more crumbly in texture. You can also try cooking the caramel to thicken it up before using.
• Chocolate chips: Semi-sweet chocolate is perfect for these bars, but you could use dark chocolate or milk chocolate as well. You could also use chunks of baking chocolate for a more homemade feel.
• Unsalted butter: Melted butter mixes with the caramel to create a rich, bubbly binding mixture.
• Chopped nuts: The recipe calls for coarsely chopped pecans, but you can sub in peanuts if you like. You could also top the bars with flaky sea salt instead of nuts.

How to Make It

Here is how easily these sweet and salty bars come together in just a few simple steps.

Prepare the Pan

Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a 9×13 inch glass baking dish, which makes it easier to tell when the edges are bubbling, by spraying with cooking spray.

Arrange the Pretzels

Arrange pretzel twists in a single, even layer on the bottom of the pan.

Add the Caramel Mixture

In a medium-size microwave-safe bowl, combine melted butter and caramel sauce, stirring well to combine. Set aside.

Bake the Base

Spread the mixture of caramel and butter evenly over the pretzel twists in the pan. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, just until the caramel is super hot and bubbling around the edges.

Melt the Chocolate

Remove the pan from the oven and scatter chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for about 2-3 minutes until the chocolate is softened and has begun to melt. Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread chocolate over pretzels and caramel.

Garnish and Chill

Immediately sprinkle nuts over the top and use a spoon to press the nuts gently into the chocolate. Set aside at room temperature to cool and then place in the refrigerator to chill until the chocolate and caramel is firm. Remove from the refrigerator and slice into bars with a sharp knife. Wipe the knife with a warm, damp dishcloth as needed. Serve and enjoy. 

Tips for Success

• Use a glass dish so you can see the caramel starting to bubble on the edges.
• If your caramel is super-thick, warm it ever-so-slightly so that it’s easier to incorporate with the butter.
• Chill the pan completely before attempting to cut into squares or bars. 
• Wipe off the knife with a damp, hot cloth between cuts for the best results.
• Want to make it nut-free? Substitute flaky sea salt for nuts.

Storage Instructions

• Store: Keep sliced bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the refrigerator if your kitchen is on the warmer side.
• Freeze: For longer storage, wrap bars individually with parchment and place in an airtight container or zippered freezer bag in the freezer for up to 2 months.
• Reheat: These are best served at room temperature or slightly chilled. No reheating necessary.

Serving Suggestions

• Try these with a cup of hot coffee, a glass of cold milk, or as part of a holiday cookie tray or a weekend dessert platter. 
• They would also make a pretty homemade food gift nestled into a cute little tin.
• Try serving one warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Oven Baked 5-Ingredient Caramel Pretzel Crunch Bars

Jennifer

Sweet and salty oven-baked caramel pretzel crunch bars are a crowd-pleasing recipe made with 5 ingredients. These easy candy bars are great for bake sales or a cookie tray.

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Cooling time 25 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 16 bars

Equipment

• 9×13-inch glass baking dish

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 10 ounces of whole pretzel twists mini or regular twists work best (about 1 bag)
• 1 cup store-bought caramel sauce preferably on the thicker side
• ½ cup unsalted butter melted
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips though milk or dark would be tasty as well
• ½ cup pecans coarsely chopped, or substitute peanuts or omit, or sprinkle flaky sea salt over the top instead of nuts

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9×13 inch glass baking dish.
• Arrange pretzels in an even layer on the bottom of the dish.
• In a medium-sized bowl, stir together butter and caramel sauce until smooth.
• Pour caramel mixture over pretzels and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the caramel mixture is bubbly around the edges.
• Remove the dish from the oven and scatter chocolate chips over the top.
• Allow chips to sit for 2-3 minutes then use a heat-proof spatula to spread into an even layer.
• Sprinkle nuts over the top and press gently into the chocolate.
• Allow bars to cool at room temperature, then transfer to the fridge to allow bars to chill and chocolate to harden before slicing.

*Nutritional information is a calculated guesstimate. Please note that this can change with different brands and modifications you may make to the recipe. For the most accurate information, use a nutritional calculator with the exact brands and measurements you’re using with each recipe.

©PinkWhen 2023

Share this recipe! Follow @PinkWhen on Pinterest.