There are a couple of times you'll be rushed here, so "mis en place" (yes, Anne Burrell ~ we do listen) is very important. (That means get everything out that you'll need before you start ~ open your bags of chocolate chips ~ have your utensils handy ~ have your M&Ms and Sno-caps opened too.). I use my rubber scraper for spreading the caramel and then the chocolate chips. A small spoon is good to have out for "scooping out the pooled caramel" and putting it somewhere else in the pan. I put my white chocolate in a glass micro-waveable bowl and have my smaller whisk out next to that. **
If you've never used a candy thermometer, I highly recommend getting one. Mine was less than $5 @ Kroger (by the kitchen gadgets) and comes with the cover ~ 250 is clearly marked on the side, and there's a clip which may (or may not) clip onto the side of your pan. Other recipes may give you a time to boil the sugar & butter instead, but this is much more accurate than "eye-balling" it. **
I've made this for other Holidays too, using other colored M&Ms or larger seasonal sprinkles. I got the Sno-caps @ Dollar Tree (and there will be some little white pareils in the box when it's empty) ~ get an extra box to eat! OK ~ let's GO!
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HOLIDAY Double CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE CARAMEL PRETZEL BARK
tiny PRETZEL twists ~ my other recipe calls for 8 oz. but those are the small sticks. You need enough to lay them single layer in a 9x13" rimmed pan (with some extra to break and fill in the "holes")
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
12 bag. DARK CHOCOLATE Chips (semi-sweet is fine too, but milk chocolate not as good)
1/2 cup WHITE CHOCOLATE / vanilla chips / wafers (I actually used the entire 10 oz. bag b/c I tend to "over-do". You can put extra melted white chocolate into a small covered glass dish or tupperware & keep in the fridge to reheat 1 min. in microwave and drizzle on other stuff another time)
2 tsp. to 1 TB of vegetable oil or Crisco (depends how much white chocolate you use)
about 1 cup (or more) Holiday M&Ms (even the mini baking M&Ms would be fine)
2 boxes Sno-Caps ................................ and/or about 1 cup Holiday SPRINKLES
cellophane Holiday treat bags (Dollar Tree)
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Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9x13" rimmed baking sheet (aka jellyroll pan) with parchment paper. Spread your pretzels in a single layer, filling in the "holes" with broken pretzels. (Later, when the pretzel bark is all cooled, you'll be breaking it into random pieces and won't know where the pretzels actually are, so you want to be sure there will be pretzels in every bite).
Bring brown sugar and butter to a boil in a heavier saucepan (stirring & watching it ~ when it starts to boil, stir constantly ~ I use a wooden spoon) until it reaches 250 degrees on a candy thermometer. **
Now, QUICKLY ~ pour the caramel sauce over your pretzels (I recommend you go from the inside out, so it doesn't pool against the sides of the pan). I spread it with my rubber scraper (don't be afraid to press down hard with the rubber scraper). This may take a few minutes to get it even. I use the little spoon to transfer caramel from areas where it's pooled to other areas that don't have caramel. You'll probably have some pretzels that have "popped up", but just stick them back in, if you can find a place for them. Use the spoon / rubber scraper to get any caramel off the sides of the pan and onto the pretzels.
(I put my pan into the sink now and asked my husband to fill it with hot soapy water, so the caramel didn't stick. He opened the oven, and asked where the pot was. Then opened the Dutch oven on the stove, that I was simmering soup in! IN THE SINK!! ~ Because you really want to be getting those chocolate chips spread out across your caramel as fast as possible.)
Sprinkle the dark chocolate chips all over the caramel, as evenly as possible. Stick the pan into the pre-heated oven for about 3 minutes. Then, when you take it out, the chocolate should be melty enough to spread evenly all over the pretzels with your rubber scraper. **
Like a relay race here ... after the dark chocolate chips are melted, put the white chocolate into the microwave (with the oil) for 1 minute and stir / whisk. If you still have little pieces in there, put it back in another 30 seconds and whisk. Then drizzle it all over the dark chocolate ~ making sure to get to the edges of the pan (which is why I do a straight line along the sides of the pan). The white chocolate is where the M&Ms and Sno-Caps will stick (since the dark chocolate is probably almost hard), so make sure you have lots of white drizzle on there!
Next up are the M&Ms and Sno-Caps. Sprinkle them all over the white chocolate. Then go back and move the ones around that are on top of each other, or not on white chocolate.
Let the chocolate and toffee cool completely before cutting. (You can put the tray in the fridge to set it up faster if you are in a hurry.) If it's reasonably dry where you live, it could harden up totally in a few hours. But, if it's raining or you just live where it's really humid, it might take overnight to harden. Cut or break apart toffee. You can put it into the cellophane Holiday treat bags from Dollar Tree for gifts.
WORRIED ABOUT ANTS when you're leaving this out on your counter? If you have Avon's Skin-so-Soft (it's non-toxic) or there's an ant spray that's also people & pet safe (think it's a cream-color can by the other ant spray) ~ I will spray the counter under where I'm going to put the pan (about an inch bigger all around) and then put paper towels on top of the Skin-so-Soft / ant spray ~ and put my pan on top of that.