Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

I’ve said before that in the hot weather I don’t always want super heavy, decadent chocolate cookies. But sometimes you can have the best of both worlds and have chocolate that works in the warm weather. These cookies are just that: chocolate, mixed with pretzels and peanut butter, but in a no bake cookie.

No bake cookies have come a long way from the ones I used to make as a kid. Now you can make nice layered cookies that you wouldn’t necessarily know are no bake. That’s fine by me! Nanaimo Bars (these and these) are no bake and those are some of my favorites. I though these sounded interesting as they used crushed pretzels as the main base of the cookie. So you get the richness of the peanut butter and the saltiness of the pretzels.

These come together quickly. I always measure the peanut butter by weight. I think using a measuring cup with peanut butter is just too much trouble. Make sure that you let the bars cool completely before cutting them. I found that they just didn’t get cool enough in my warm summer kitchen so I refrigerated them before cutting. This recipe doesn’t make that many, which is probably a good thing as they have that wonderful addictive quality that keeps you going back for more and more!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

6 tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup (7 ounces) peanut butter

1 1/2 cups pretzel crumbs, fine

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup chocolate chips

2 tablespoons peanut butter

Line an 8” × 8” pan with foil. Spray with baking spray.

Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove; pour the melted butter into a medium bowl. Stir in the peanut butter, pretzel crumbs, and powdered sugar. Spread evenly into the prepared pan and refrigerate at least 10 minutes.

To make the topping, combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter and microwave, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Spread evenly over the peanut butter/pretzel layer and refrigerate at least one hour. Remove the foil from the pan and cut the cookies into squares.

Recipe from Bakerlady