Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bars

Notes

Line entire pan with parchment, otherwise the butter from the crust and the caramel will stick.
Graham crackers are an acceptable substitute for pretzels in the crust. Bake the crust a little longer in that case.
Stir the chopped nuts into the caramel before spreading over the crust, rather than pouring the caramel over the nuts (which will cause the nuts to spread around unevenly).
Use extra pretzels in the topping, because inevitably they’ll fall out when cutting the pan into bars.

One 9” x 13” pan.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. In the bowl of a food processor, combine pretzels and sugar and process until you have fine crumbs. Add melted butter and process until evenly moistened. Transfer mixture into prepared pan and press down into a compact, even layer. Bake until crust is fragrant and edges are browned, about 17 minutes. Sprinkle with pecans and set aside.
Prepare the caramel: In a medium saucepan, combine butter, cream, brown sugar and salt. Heat mixture over medium heat, stirring, until butter melts and everything is well combined. Turn heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes. Pour over pecans and prepared crust. Bake until caramel is bubbling and has darkened slightly, 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack.
While caramel cools slightly, melt chocolate in short bursts in a heatproof bowl in a microwave or over a pot of simmering water. Let chocolate cool for a few minutes, then spread evenly over caramel. Sprinkle with crushed pretzels and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator to set for 30 to 60 minutes.
To serve, lift the bars out using the parchment overhang and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 20 squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.