Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line two large (13x18) heavy duty rimmed baking sheets with nonstick foil. Parchment should be fine, too.

With an electric mixer beat the butter until creamy. Add both sugars and continue beating until creamy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the egg and beat until mixture is lighter in color and fluffier (about 2 minutes). Beat in the salt and baking soda. By hand, stir in the flour. When flour is incorporated, stir in the wheat germ and pecans. At this point, you might want to divide the batter in half and add chocolate chips to one half and butterscotch chips to the other.

Divide the dough into four sections. Starting with one baking sheet, press two sections of dough, side by side, as thinly as you can on the baking sheet. The point of doing it in two sections rather than one big one is to get more edge pieces. Repeat, pressing the other two dough sections side by side on the second sheet. If using the pretzels, break them into small pieces and press into dough.

If you have time, bake one sheet at a time on middle rack. Otherwise, bake sheets on lower and middle rack, alternating halfway, for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and using a pizza cutter, cut into uneven triangles and such. Return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Let cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to to a wire rack and let cool completely. Bark should crisp as it cools.