Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars
The perfect salty sweet treat made with a thick peanut butter shortbread base layer, a rich layer of chocolate ganache, topped with pretzels, and finished with flaky sea salt.
Equipment
- 9x13 baking pan
- electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment
- parchment paper, plastic wrap or aluminum foil
- spatula, whisk
- knife and large cutting board
- nonstick baking spray
- large heatproof bowl
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookie Base Layer
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (softened, room temperature)
- ¾ cup peanut butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache Layer
- 14 ounces heavy whipping cream
- 20 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup pretzels (lightly chopped)
- 1 tablespoon flaky sea salt (optional for topping)
Instructions
Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookie Base Layer
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Prepare a 13x9 baking pan/dish by lining it with parchment paper and spraying with nonstick baking spray.
- With an electric mixer, beat together softened unsalted butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down as needed. This can take several minutes for the mixture to be uniform.
- Mix in egg and vanilla until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add in flour, baking soda, and salt. As soon as the cookie dough forms, stop mixing! It will be softer.
- Spread the cookie dough evenly across the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for around 20-22minutes until lightly golden on top. Let cool completely in the pan. Cooke layer must be cool before topping with the chocolate ganache layer.
Chocolate Ganache Layer
- Once the base cookie layer is cool, make the chocolate ganache. Measure out the semi-sweet chocolate chips in a large heat proof bowl and set aside.
- In a small pot, warm the heavy whipping cream on low/med heat. Do NOT allow it to boil. Just before it starts to bubble, remove from the heat and pour the warm cream over the top of the chocolate chips. Let sit for 5 minutes and then mix until completely combined. The mixture will look milky at first, but keep mixing and it will come together into a nice smooth chocolate ganache - it takes a couple minutes!
- Pour the chocolate ganache mixture over top of the cooled baked peanut butter cookie base layer, still in the baking pan. Spread it around to create an even layer. Top with chopped pretzels and flaky sea salt if desired. You can also leave plain.
- Allow the ganache layer to cool for 10 minutes at room temperature. Then cover the pan with plastic wrap. Allow the chocolate ganache layer to set up by cooling in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
- When the ganache is set, pull the prepared cookie bars out with the parchment paper overhang and transfer to a cutting board. Slice into 24 even sized bars. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Enjoy!
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