Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownies

We had some pretzels in the kitchen and I thought that it would be a good idea to look for recipes that used pretzels. I don’t know if you are like out family, but we buy pretzels, eat some of them, and then the rest linger on the counter until they go stale. I try not to be wasteful, but I can only eat so many pretzels. I guess I should buy those small individual packages, but they sure cost a lot more than the regular-sized bags.

Pretzels can be used in a number of different ways; in this case, the form the base of the brownies. I made the base by crushing the pretzels in the food processor, and then added the remaining crust ingredients. I pressed them in the pan fairly well, but the base becomes more stable once you add the brownie batter and bake everything together.

The original recipe had you make your own caramel, but I used purchased caramel sauce. Sometimes I have success making caramel and sometimes it end up being a big mess! I topped the bars with caramel and Hawaiian sea salt and refrigerated them for 24 hours. The caramel seemed thick but as soon as I took the bars out of the refrigerator to cut them, the caramel was everywhere. These are so messy and sticky, but they are also so tasty! I guess I can handle some stickiness in exchange for such a tasty brownie.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownies
1 cup crumbled pretzels
75 grams butter , melted
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

160 grams butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup caramel sauce
Coarse salt

Heat the oven to 390 degrees. Line an 8” square pan with aluminum foil.

Mix together the pretzels, melted butter and brown sugar in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and pack it down evenly.

Bake for 8 minutes; make the brownies while the base is baking.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the butter melts. Make sure that the mixture doesn’t come to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the eggs, one at a time, and then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour and baking powder and stir just until the flour disappears.

Spread the brownie mixture over the partially baked crust.

Bake for 25-28 minutes, until a thin knife inserted into the brownies comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Allow the brownies to cool completely.

Once the brownies are completely cool, top with about 1 cup of caramel sauce, then sprinkle with salt. Refrigerate the brownies for at least two hours before cutting. When cutting the brownies, dip the knife in hot water after each cut, which will make for cleaner edges.

Recipe from The Brick Kitchen

Salted Caramel Truffle Cookies

I have gone from looking for recipes that make a small quantity, but this time I wanted to make something that wasn’t too perishable, since I wanted them to last. It seems like the softer the cookie, the quicker it turns, so anything with fresh fruit, applesauce, pumpkin and that sort of thing is tricky. This recipe seemed good: it’s a variation of a chocolate chip cookie with chopped pretzels and the salted caramel filled baking truffles. Thankfully I had picked those up when I first saw them.

The original recipe called for the cookies to be baked for a shorter time at 375 degrees. I did one sheet of cookies at that temperature, but I think the cookies browned too quickly. Since most cookies bake at 350 degrees, I decided to try that. I had to bake my cookies for 12 minutes, but I think that the lower temperature resulted in a better cookie. A few cookies looked under baked, but they continued cooking and set up after they cooled.

Another change that I made to this recipe was the amount of pretzels in the dough. The recipe called for 3-1/2 cups (!) of chopped pretzels, which I think is ridiculous. I had some small bags of pretzels and I ended up using about a cup of those. When everything was said and done, I think that was the correct amount. The pretzels add a perfect saltiness to the cookies. The chocolate chunks are decadent, which is off set by the salt in the dough. These are simple, but really great!

Salted Caramel Truffle Cookies
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini pretzels, chopped
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 2/3 cups Sea Salt Caramel Filled Baking Truffles*

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Chop the mini pretzels and set aside.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla on medium until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. When the flour is almost fully incorporated into the dough, stir in the chopped pretzels and the sea salt caramel baking truffles.

Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, using about 1-1/2 tablespoons of dough per cookie.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until golden around the edges. The centers may seem slightly under baked, but will continue to cook as they cool. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Nestle- The Very Best Baking

*This is a specialty item, and likely won’t always be available. You could use chocolate chunks, or a combination of chocolate chunks and some caramel bits to capture similar flavors.

Peanut Butter Caramel Pretzel Cups

Knowing that I had pretzels remaining as well as some leftover Halloween candy, I went looking for a recipe where I could use them. I have made many cookie cups for this blog and they are one of my favorite things to bake. When I came across this recipe, which is cookie dough, stuffed with a peanut butter cup, topped with caramel and a pretzel, I knew that I couldn’t go wrong.

Since these cookies bake in a regular-sized muffin tin, they do make big cookies. Thankfully, the recipe only makes a dozen, which is somehow better. I didn’t change anything from the recipe with the exception of the caramel- I used a prepared caramel sauce rather than making my own by melting down caramels. The prepared sauce is a lot easier, but it doesn’t firm up quite as much. Ultimately, these cups are on the messy side because of that.

Despite having several steps, this cookie is very easy to make. I liked not having to measure the dough between the muffin pans. I just guessed and had a little dough left, so I added a bit more to the smaller ones. The baking time is best calculated by when the edges of the cookies are golden. If they are slightly under baked it works out in the end as you press down the cookie with a peanut butter cup. These are said to mimic a Take 5 candy bar, and they are pretty close. Not nearly as close as the Take 5 candy that my dad makes, but very tasty!

Peanut Butter Caramel Pretzel Cups
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 peanut butter cups (snack size, not miniature)
12 mini pretzels
Caramel sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a standard muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, salt, and baking soda and stir until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough between the 12 indentations in the muffin pan.

Bake for about 14-16 minutes, until the edges of the cookie cups are golden.

Once the cookies come out of the oven, top each with a peanut butter cup, pressing the cup into the cookie until the cup is lower than the edge of the cookie. Place the muffin tin in the refrigerator and allow the chocolate to set.

Once the chocolate has set, remove the cookies from the pan and transfer to a wire rack. Spoon a small amount of caramel on top of each cookie, and then press a pretzel into the caramel. Allow the caramel to set before serving.

Recipe from Lovely Little Kitchen

Pretzel Caramel Thumbprints

When my husband and I visited my parents a while ago, they sent us home with all sorts of things. I made a couple of different things with Kit Kats, which I posted over the summer. They had also sent us home with pretzels, as they had bought a big container. I had planned to make these cookies, but in the end, we ate the pretzels. Oops! I recently purchased some more pretzels so I could make this and other recipes.

 From not liking thumbprint cookies as a kid, I sure make a lot more of them now. There can be so many flavors incorporated into a thumbprint that I find them to be endlessly interesting. This version is a fairly standard cookie dough that is paired with crushed pretzels and a filling of caramel. How could you go wrong? With my fresh bag of pretzels, I made these right away.

 As I am doing smaller batch baking, I halved this recipe, which made about 15 cookies. The only difference in the cookie recipe is the inclusion of honey. Since we have local honey farmers around us, I had recently stocked up on honey. The cookies work well, and they are just sticky enough that the pretzel crumbs cling with no issue. The cookies are a little flatter than I’d like, but not too bad. Since they are on the flatter side, a little caramel goes a long way, so don’t fill the cookies too much! I added just a little salt, but it certainly packs a punch! The caramel is a little bit messy, so best to eat these at home.

Pretzel Caramel Thumbprints
1 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups pretzels, processed into crumbs
Caramel
Sea Salt

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light. Add the eggs, honey, and vanilla and stir to combine. Add the flour and salt and stir on low until the dough comes together. The dough will be soft. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls and roll the balls in the pretzel crumbs. Place on the prepared baking sheets and make an indentation in each cookie, with your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden. Reshape the thumbprint when the cookies come out of the oven. Allow to cool before filling with caramel.

Fill the thumbprints with a spoonful of caramel and sprinkle with sea salt.

Recipe from Big Green House

Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Bars

Halloween has come and gone and most folks probably don’t want to even think about chocolate and candy for a while. The stores have completely turned to Christmas decoration, but it’s just the beginning of November! I do have to admit that since I do so many cookies for Christmas, I have already started some of my holiday baking, but I wait until after Thanksgiving to post those recipes. There are still a few weeks of fall flavors left!

I have had this recipe pinned for a while, and I do make a lot of chocolate and peanut butter creations. This one is a little different, in that it uses chocolate covered pretzels. I like them, but they are often so dry that I don’t typically pick them up at the store. For this recipe I bought a fairly small bag, about 8 ounces, and I used the entire bag for the cookies. Ok, except for one pretzel. I ate that one. I am sure there are different brands of chocolate covered pretzels, but my store only had the Hershey ones.

Similar to most bar cookies, these are easy to put together. The dough is very sticky, so the greatest difficulty was in spreading the dough into the pan. I tried with my spatula, but that didn’t work well. I ended up wetting my hands and that worked. Sometimes your hands are the best tool there is! I wasn’t sure when the bars were fully baked. I did mine a little longer than 30 minutes and I think next time I will stick with just 30 minutes. These cut nicely and I was happy that the chocolate covered pretzels on the top of the bars didn’t shatter when I cut them.

Chocolate Pretzel Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chocolate covered pretzels, chopped

About 12 chocolate covered pretzels, for topping

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, peanut butter, and sugar. Beat on medium until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring for 1 minute after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt. When the mixture has almost come together, add the chopped chocolate covered pretzels and stir on low until the mixture comes together.

Spread the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Randomly top with additional chocolate covered pretzels.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the bars are set and a toothpick inserted into the bars comes out clean. Cool completely. Once cool, lift the cookie from the pan and cut into bars.

Recipe from Pretty. Simple. Sweet.