Combining sweet, tart and salty, Caramel Apple Bark is an amazing fall dessert recipe. Fresh apples, creamy caramel, crunchy pretzels and chocolate make a delicious new version of your favorite pumpkin patch treat.
Caramel Apples In A Bite-Sized Dessert
If you love caramel apples then this dessert is definitely for you. Giant caramel apples can be overwhelming to make, totally messy and honestly, a little difficult to eat! This is a great way to get that classic fall recipe flavor in a snack form. You’ll also want to try our Caramel Apple Dump Cake, Caramel Apple Empanadas, and Caramel Apple Cheesecake to satisfy that caramel apple craving!
The base of this caramel apple bark recipe, like most bark recipes, is milk chocolate. After that is a layer of salty pretzels followed by caramel with diced apples all mixed in.
Wouldn’t this be a great at Thanksgiving?
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here is everything you’ll need to make this yummy caramel apple bark. Check down below the complete recipe card with amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Apples: We used Granny Smith apples for this because we think the tart flavor is the perfect choice to go with caramel. You can try it out with a different apple variation if you want!
- Chocolate Chips: Semi-Sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips work great, but if you love dark chocolate that would taste great as well.
- Pretzels: Tiny twists or snaps (those are the little square ones) will work.
- Caramel Bits: These are perfect for this because you don’t have to individually unwrap every single caramel. Important note: if you use caramel squares instead of melting bits, you will need about 50 of them.
How To Make Caramel Apple Bark
If you’ve made a “bark” recipe before a lot of this will look familiar. It’s really quite easy!
- Melt the chocolate. Use two cups of the chocolate (saving the rest for drizzle) to melt in the microwave. Start off at 30 seconds and stir, then heat for 15 seconds at a time until the chips are smooth. Make sure not to over cook, the chocolate will burn. Spread the melted chocolate onto a parchment lined baking sheet and smooth out with a spatula.
- Add pretzels. Place them in an even layer on the warm chocolate.
- Make the caramel apple mix. Dice up your apples in bite-sized pieces. Melt the caramel in the same way you did the chocolate; in 30 seconds and 15 second intervals. When the caramel is creamy, stir in the apples and then pour the whole thing over the chocolate/pretzel layer. Melt a little more chocolate to drizzle over the top. You can also add some sea salt to the top.
- Chill. Place the cookie sheet in the fridge to set fully, which usually takes a couple of hours.
How Long Does Caramel Apple Bark Last?
Because of the pretzels, this is best eaten the same day. The pretzels start to lose the crunch and get soft, and the apples start to turn a little as well after about a day. However, if you store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate it, it can last for a few days.
Can I Use a Caramel Sauce Instead of Melting Caramels?
You can, but it needs to be very thick or the bark will not set up firmly. Usually a jarred sauce will work, but don’t get anything that uses the word syrup. If you use a sauce instead of melting your own, you’ll need 1 1/2 cups.
What Are The Best Apples To Use?
The best apples to use for this recipe really depends on your taste. I prefer a tart apple to balance the sweetness of the chocolate and caramel. If you are looking for a tart taste, then Granny Smith, McIntosh or Pink Lady are what you want. If you are looking for a sweet apple flavor, then Golden or Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp work well.
Other Great Fall Desserts
- No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Apple Cider Donut Cake
- Caramel Apple Dump Cake
- Apple Fritters
- Easy Pumpkin Dump Cake
Caramel Apple Bark
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 3 Granny Smith apples
- 2 ½ cups of semi-sweet chocolate divided
- ½ 10-oz bag of pretzels (about 3 cups)
- 1 ½ 11-oz bags of melting caramels bits
Instructions
Directions:
- Prepare a large cookie sheet (13” X 18”) by lining it with parchment paper.
- Melt 2 cups of chocolate chips in the microwave. (Set the remaining ½ cup aside for drizzling later.) Start with 30 seconds on high power. Stir well. Then cook for 15 seconds at a time on high power. Only cook them until you can stir the chocolate chips smooth. Spread this onto the prepared cookie sheet.
- Place the pretzels in one even layer all over the top of the chocolate.
- Unwrap and melt the caramels in the microwave. Again, start with 30 seconds on high power then stir well. Continue cooking for 15 second intervals stirring well in between. Cook this until it gets bubbly.
- Dice the apples. Pat them with paper towels to remove excess moisture.
- Mix the diced apples into the melted caramel. Pour this mixture evenly over the base, then carefully spread.
- Place the pan into the fridge and allow it to cool for half an hour.
- Melt the remaining ½ cup of chocolate chips and drizzle it over the bark.
- Return the bark to the fridge until completely set. (This may take a few hours.)
- Then you may remove it from the fridge and cut it up into pieces.
Last Step:
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5 comments on “Caramel Apple Bark”
How do you store the apple bark
If you cover and refrigerate it, it can last for a few days.
This recipe sounds delicious! The only thing I’m going to do different, is break the pretzels up a little bit and spinkle on top of the bars!!!
breaking up the pretzels a bit sounds like a good idea
I tried making this and the Caramel was very sticky when I put it on and very runny after refrigerating. I think I am going to try the wrapped caramel pieces next time.