Milk Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Tarts

I am not a huge chocolate dessert person. Given the option I will always choose a berry or lemon dessert over a chocolate bomb. It is just too heavy. But do you know what I  love - chocolate bars. I will take any kind of chocolate bar I can find. These days I am loving Seatles Chocolate and Chocolove. I can't leave the grocery store without at least a couple in my cart. But don't give me any of that dark chocolate stuff, I want milk chocolate. With lots of crunchy bits like rice krispies, toffee and nuts in it. Totally bad for you but so freaking delicious. I thought I would create a dessert that pays homage to my love of milk chocolate bars. This milk chocolate carmel pretzel tart is just like eating a chocolate bar, but may be even better.

Here is a secret, tarts are really easy to make. Way easier than cakes and pies. It all has to do with the crust. No need to roll out pie dough or make a short crust, you can use anything you want as the crust for a tart. I chose pretzels, but you can use graham crackers, Nila wafers or even potato chips. You can also make this tart gluten free really easily by using gluten free pretzels instead of regular.  Just throw them in a food processor with a little melted butter and a couple teaspoons of sugar, press into a tart shell, give a quick bake and you are good to go.

You can fill tarts with just about anything - these days I am loving ricotta or mascarpone but for this dessert I chose melted milk chocolate, a little salted caramel and some flaky sea salt. Totally perfect. If you don't have mini tarts, this will fill a 9" tart shell. Feel free to use semi-sweet or dark chocolate or any other filling you want.

Enjoy!