Heat butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking and stirring until a candy thermometer reaches 248 degrees, about 30 minutes.
Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
Dip each pretzel rod into caramel, turning to completely coat.
Allow excess to drip off, then place on parchment paper to set.
Place bittersweet chocolate in a large bowl and heat in the microwave for 1 minute on HIGH. Stir, then continue cooking and stirring in 15 second intervals until chocolate is melted and smooth. Do not overheat the chocolate!
Dip caramel covered pretzels in the melted chocolate, using a large spoon to cover all sides. Place on parchment paper to set.
Place milk chocolate chips in a large bowl and heat in the microwave for 1 minute on HIGH. Stir, then continue cooking and stirring in 15 second intervals until chocolate is melted and smooth.
Hold chocolate covered pretzels over the bowl of melted milk chocolate. Use a large spoon to drizzle the chocolate randomly over the pretzels. Set on parchment paper to set and cool complete.
Notes
Allow the caramel to completely cool before dipping in the chocolate!
You can use chocolate chips, broken chocolate candy bars, or candy melts in this recipe.
To keep your chocolate looking glossy and smooth, do not over heat it.
To make your pretzel rods fancy, add decorative sprinkles, chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, or chopped toffee pieces while the chocolate is still warm.
Use white or colored chocolate to match the holiday: green with Christmas sprinkles. Black with Halloween sprinkles. White with gold sprinkles for New Years Eve, etc.
Be very careful when lifting caramel covered pretzels off the parchment paper!! They will snap in half if you apply too much pressure. Hold the pretzel, lift and pull the parchment paper from below to remove.