Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Prepare a 9x13-inch rimmed baking sheet (23x33cm) or a baking pan, brush it lightly with butter, and line it with parchment paper (buttering the pan helps the paper stick to the pan).
Arrange the pretzels in a single layer in the pan.
80 mini pretzels
Add the butter, sugar, and vanilla to a small pot. Cook over low heat, stirring from time to time, until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Cook for 3 more minutes until the mixture is golden in color and smells like caramel. Be careful not to burn it.
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar, 1/2 cup (115g) butter, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Spoon the mixture over the pretzels. They should be mostly covered in caramel, but if there are a few bare spots, that’s fine—the caramel will spread out in the oven and cover the pretzels evenly. You can make a little more caramel for a thicker layer, but I prefer it a bit thinner so the dessert isn’t overly sweet.
Put the pan in the oven and bake for 8 minutes, the caramel must be bubbling.
While the caramel is baking, finely chop the chocolate and nuts.
12 ounces (340g) bittersweet chocolate, 1 cup (100g) roughly chopped walnuts
Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the pretzels and hot caramel. If the chocolate hasn’t melted completely, put the pan back in the warm oven for about 1 minute.
Sprinkle the melted chocolate with flaky sea salt, then with the walnuts. Press the walnuts slightly into the chocolate. You can also sprinkle some sprinkles on top.
flaky sea salt
Put the pan in the fridge until the chocolate is set - this will take about 1 hour.
Crack the chocolate bark into smaller pieces. It tastes best cold, straight from the fridge.
Enjoy!