Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark

If you're like me, you've got plenty of opportunities through the holidays to make sweets for parties and potlucks, or to give as gifts.  I made a batch of this Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark for my family as a try-out to possibly be our teacher gifts this year.  While it's one of the best candies I've EVER eaten, the finished product isn't exactly pretty enough to go to our very special teachers.  So we just gobbled it up and I'm on to plan B for the teachers...

Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark (adapted from here)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup light brown sugar
about 1/2 bag of mini pretzels
12-oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
coarse sea salt

Wrap a baking sheet with tin foil.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. As it melts, cover the baking sheet in an even layer of mini pretzels.

Once the butter is melted, add the sugar and stir to incorporate. Allow the sugar and butter to softly simmer and bubble for 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes, pour the mixture evenly over the pretzels on the baking sheet. Bake the pretzel-caramel mixture in the oven for 5-7 minutes.

When the pretzels come out of the oven, sprinkle the entire bag of chocolate chips over the top. Wait for a minute, and then use a spatula to spread the melted chocolate.

Sprinkle sea salt evenly over the bark. Place it in the fridge to cool and harden for about an hour and then break into chunks.