I went to the dentist yesterday.

I pretty much rocked it.  Didn’t even gag.

Dr. Dentist complimented me, “You’re doing good! I don’t see you gagging!”

That would be because I lied and told him I had a super sensitive gag reflex so that he would be extra careful not to let anything fall down the back of my throat and make me feel like I was going to choke to death and die.

I’m pretty sure he figured out I lied.

Sorry Dr. Dentist, “You’re just way better at what you do than the last guy I went to”.

He liked that.

So to celebrate a job well done, I came home and made this:

Did you see it?

This:

 I know. The irony.

I chewed my happy little self through 187 square inches of crunchy, buttery, stick-to-my-beautifully-clean-teeth toffee. Well, not all 187″, but I got a great start.

It’s been likened to crack here, and here — because of it’s insanely addictive quality. I like the name “Crack Bark” – it’s fitting and true, and apparently everyone is doing it, because it’s been popping up on food blogs for a while now.

I ended up with both chocolate and toffee on my camera lens because I was trying to lick it as I was shooting (this doesn’t work, BTW. Just put the camera down – it’s way easier)

It’s a dangerous recipe. . . risky if you’re trying to watch what you eat. It’s way too quick and easy to make, with only five ingredients that are likely to be in your cupboards already and requiring only about 20 minutes of  semi-attentive time. Dangerous?

Or perrrrrr-her-fect. . . .

And yes – it would make quite a lovely Valentine’s surprise.

Recipe:

Salted Chocolate Toffee Pretzel Bark

Ingredients:

Mini Pretzels – as many as it takes to cover your pan
1 Cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 Cup Light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 Cups, (1 12 ounce bag) chocolate chips
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 11″ x 17″ jelly roll pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Set aside.
Cover the pan in a layer of mini pretzels.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and brown sugar. When the mixture starts to gently simmer and bubble, let it cook that way for 3 minutes. (Don’t stir.)
Pour the butter and sugar mixture over the pretzels.
Bake for 5 minutes.
Place the pan on a cooling rack, and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top. Wait for about 2 minutes, until the chocolate melts. Grab a spatula, and spread the chocolate over the toffee. Sprinkle with sea salt.
Let the toffee cool completely, and break it into pieces. (To speed up the cooling process, you can place the pan of toffee in the refrigerator or freezer.)

Source: Although I’ve seen it several places, Ezra Pound Cake was where I spotted it originally – and hers came from Flower Patch Farmgirl and Legume Loyalist.