Salty, sweet, chocolatey but completely gluten-free, these salted caramel chocolate pretzel bars are the perfect sweet treat. With the perfect amount of pretzel crunch in every bite, this is definitely a recipe that will impress your friends.
This post is sponsored by ALDI. All opinions are completely my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Eat With Clarity possible!
If you follow me on instagram, you may know that I was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease. After years of mystery symptoms, it’s kind of a relief to get a definitive diagnosis, but also something that’s going to take some getting used to. I’ve dabbled in gluten-free eating off and on for a while, but it’s a bit different now that I have no say in the matter!
While the world has come a long way in recent years with developing gluten-free products, the really good ones can be hard to come by! Plus, finding good ones that don’t break the bank is even more challenging. So, I am so excited to partner with ALDI for Celiac Disease Awareness month!
ALDI has an incredible selection of gluten-free products, from pasta (which we all know is my favorite food ever) to wraps, bread, baked goods, frozen products and more. Their exclusive line, liveGfree, has over 50 certified gluten-free products that are high-quality but won’t make you gasp at the price!
My mission with Eat With Clarity has always been to bring delicious and easy to make recipes that cater to a variety of dietary needs, and this holds true now more than ever!
Celiac Disease is something that will be with me for the rest of my life, but I am here to show you that you don’t need to give up any of your favorite snacks or recipes because of dietary restrictions, and they can most certainly taste just as good as the real thing. (Seriously, I’ve fooled a lot of people with many of my baked goods!)
These chocolate caramel bars are downright indulgent, but I promise you’ll have NO idea there isn’t a touch of gluten when you take that first bite.
How to make this recipe
This recipe may seem kind of intimidating because it has a few different parts and steps, but I’m going to break it down for you to make it super easy! There are three main steps to making this recipe.
The first is to make the gluten-free shortbread crust. In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, add the room temperature butter and sugar.
Beat together until well incorporated, about 30 seconds. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
Finally, beat in all remaining ingredients until a dough forms. It should look a bit like sugar cookie dough. You don’t want it too wet or too dry, so if it’s either or those, add in a touch more flour or milk, respectively.
Press into a 9×9 or 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper. You want enough parchment paper to hang over two opposite ends to make it easy to pull these out once they’re done. You can use either an 8×8 or 9×9 for this recipe, but an 8×8 will yield a thicker crust and bars. I used an 8×8 for reference, but it works in both!
Use your hands to spread evenly into the pan, then press down with a spatula to get rid of any fingerprints and even it out.
Sprinkle on top the chopped pretzels and press gently into the crust.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown and the center doesn’t look raw.
While baking, we can prep the salted caramel! Add all ingredients for the caramel to a medium pot on the stove. Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool to thicken.
When the crust is done, place it in the fridge to cool slightly for 10 minutes. You don’t want the caramel or crust to be too hot when you combine. Slightly warm is fine, but not hot.
While you’re waiting, melt the coconut oil in a pot on the stove. Add in the chocolate chips and melt together, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn. If you have a double boiler, use it here.
Whisk in the chocolate baking mix and milk if needed to thin it out slightly.
Once the crust and caramel are cool, pour the caramel on top of the crust and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.
Pour the chocolate on top and carefully spread, trying not to combine the caramel and chocolate. Top with crushed pretzels and a sprinkle of sea salt.
Place in the fridge for about 2 hours to set, or in the freezer for about 30-45 minutes.
To make sure it’s set, press down with your finger or wiggle the pan. If the chocolate jiggles or leaves an indent, let it set for longer or the slicing can get messy!
Once the chocolate is completely set, remove from the pan (the parchment paper should lift right out, but you can take a knife and slice the edges to make sure nothing is stuck) and slice into 16 even bars.
If they were in the freezer, I recommend letting them come to room temperature for a bit before you eat them just to ensure you get plenty of that gooey caramel filling and it isn’t too firm.
Recipe tips & tricks
- You can store these chocolate caramel bars in the fridge, freezer or at room temperature. I think they’re best when eaten at room temperature, but if you want them to keep for longer, the fridge or freezer is best. You can just let them come to room temperature for about 20 minutes before enjoying.
- Any GF all purpose flour should work for the shortbread crust, but make sure it has xanthan gum in the mix.
- I always recommend using refined coconut oil to prevent any coconut flavor from lingering in the recipe. This is for the caramel and the chocolate layer.
- Be sure to use a sharp knife to cut these chocolate caramel bars for best results.
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Salted Caramel Chocolate Pretzel Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust:
- 1 stick butter at room temperature (8 ounces or ½ cup, dairy free or regular )
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup gluten free all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated cane sugar
- 1 cup slightly chopped ALDI liveGfree Mini Pretzel Twists
Caramel Layer:
- ½ cup refined coconut oil
- 1 tbsp granulated cane sugar
- ½ cup Specially Selected 100% Pure Maple Syrup
- ¼ cup Simply Nature Almond Butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt (only if nut butter was unsalted)
Chocolate Layer:
- 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped up chocolate bar
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1-2 tbsp milk as needed (to thin (only add if needed))
- 1 cup chopped pretzels to top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, add the room temperature butter and sugar.
- Beat together until well incorporated, about 30 seconds.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Beat in all remaining ingredients until a dough forms. It should look a bit like sugar cookie dough.
- Press into a 9×9 or 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper. You can use either size for this recipe, but an 8×8 will yield a thicker crust and bars. I used an 8×8 for reference, but it works in both!
- Use your hands to spread evenly into the pan, then press down with a spatula to get rid of any fingerprints and even it out.
- Sprinkle on top the chopped pretzels and press gently into the crust.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown.
- While baking, add all ingredients for the caramel to a medium pot on the stove. Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool to thicken.
- When the crust is done, stick in the fridge to let it cool slightly for about 5-10 minutes. You don’t want the caramel or crust to be too hot when you combine. Slightly warm is fine, but not hot.
- While you’re waiting, melt the coconut oil in a pot on the stove. Add in the chocolate chips and melt together, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn. If you have a double boiler, use it here.
- Whisk in the chocolate baking mix and milk if needed.
- Once the crust and caramel are cool, pour the caramel on top of the crust and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.
- Pour the chocolate on top and carefully spread, trying not to combine the caramel and chocolate. Top with crushed pretzels and a sprinkle of sea salt.
- Place in the fridge for about 2 hours to set, or in the freezer for about 30-45 minutes.
- Once the chocolate is completely set, remove from the pan (the parchment paper should lift right out, but you can take a knife and slice the edges to make sure nothing is stuck) and slice into 16 even bars. To make sure it’s set, press down with your finger or wiggle the pan. If the chocolate jiggles or leaves an indent, let it set for longer or the slicing can get messy!
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