Chocolate Chip & Pretzel Cookie Bars
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Pretzels and chocolate are like peanut butter and jelly – you’d think they were each made knowing they would some day be paired up with the other. As natural a combination as cheese and crackers, chocolate and peanut butter, or chips and dip. History has it that chocolate-covered pretzels were invented by Herr Joseph Franz von Liebniz in his pretzel bakery in Hamburg, Germany in 1544. Apparently his bakery was next door to a chocolatier and, well, one thing led to another, and one of the most popular chocolate snacks was born. Thank you, Mr. von Liebniz, you were indeed a genius.
These cookie bars are a sensational combination of sweet cookie dough, bittersweet chocolate, and salty pretzels. And because I couldn’t help myself and believe that peanut butter makes just about everything better, I went ahead and drizzled some on top of these cookie bars, along with more chocolate and more crushed pretzels. Have you ever had the Ben & Jerry flavor “Chubby Hubby”? It’s always been a favorite of mine. Chocolate-covered peanut butter-filled pretzel nuggets. Again, more genius. So I threw some of that flavor onto these cookie bars.
More scrumptious bars you may like:
Strawberry Pretzel Squares
Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies
Seven-Layer Bars
Chunky Pecan Pie Bars
Chocolate Chip & Pretzel Cookie Bars
Yield: Makes 32 squares
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12-ounce bag bittersweet (or semisweet, if you prefer) chocolate chips
1½ cups mini pretzel twists, coarsely chopped
¼ cup chocolate chips, for drizzling (optional)
¼ cup peanut butter, for drizzling (optional)
¼ cup pretzels, crumbled, for topping (optional)Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Using a mixer, beat the butter and both sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips and pretzel pieces.
3. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and press it down evenly with a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool completely.
4. In separate sandwich size baggies, melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter. Cut off a small corner on each bag and drizzle the chocolate and peanut butter over the top of the bars. Sprinkle the extra crushed pretzels on top. Let set and then cut into squares.
(Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod)
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mmmm I could eat those right now!!
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Love the peanut butter addition! They look delicious! Glad you liked them!
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These look good! I wish I could take a piece right out of my laptop…
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Oh. My. Gosh. Looks like heaven on earth.
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YES. Chubby Hubby.
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Oh, just when I thought I’d seen it all, this is amazing. My family already loves Strawberry Pretzel Salad, I know they’ll love this too!
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These will be perfect for the fall!
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I’ll definitely have to try those!
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Heidi – I am a huge fan of the strawberry pretzel salad as well! I’m sure your clan will love this!
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Wow, these look amazing! I’m a chocoholic so these will definitely be on my list of things to try.
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What a fantastic combination – something that I would never have thought of and they look great. Will definitely be trying these.
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Those sound GOOOOD! Very clever!
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chocolate and pretzels is my favorite combination!! salt and chocolate…mmmmmm!
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Great photos, so crisp! And they make that chocolatey goodness look so delicious!
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Dang! These look good!!! I am drooling here. I think I might have to make these sometime when I am feeling evil. Nice pictures too.
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Bring on the chubby hubby in bar form! these look just amazing!!!!!!!!! I am adding to the list to make!! yum!!!!!
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I think I’m hyperventilating with delight. I really love the sound of this and shall surely try it. Thank you! x
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Those look really good. It’s funny they were apparently invented in Germany, because I’m a born and raised German and I never saw chocolate covered pretzels here until about 5 years ago. I always thought they were an American invention, especially since hard pretzels aren’t as prevalent here as they are in the States.
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*drool*
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Looks fantastic! Interesting history behind pretzels and chocolate, too…thanks!
Riley
Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen
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That salty-sweet combination is nothing short of addictive. I’m imagining myself curling up on the couch, watching a chick-flick, and eating half a pan of these.
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Coon Doggies…is all I can say!
http://www.alovefornewrecipes.blogspot.com
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Gosh this looks really good and I am not a big fan of pretzels!
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Mmmm want to eat them now.
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of course peanut butter makes everything better! those looks fab!!
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Great minds definitely think alike!
http://kevnkoi.blogspot.com/2009/07/peanut-butter-and-chocolate-covered.html
http://kevnkoi.blogspot.com/2009/07/twd-rewind-chunky-peanut-butter-oatmeal.html
Your bars look fantastic!
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OMG! I am going to have to make these stat!
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Those look very nice. Do you prefer salted, lower salt, or salt free pretzels for it?
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I so agree about pretzels and chocolate!!! Take 5 bars were my favorite, but I never see them anymore. These look delicious!
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These have got to be the ULTIMATE brownies!!!!!!! AMAZING! Chocolate, pretzels, AND peanut butter!!!!!!! I can’t take it! I’ve gotta have one!
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Okay, how did you get them to tower like that? Cool picture! These look scrumptious!
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OK. I am DEFINATELY going to have to make these when I get home from Chicago. They look absolutely GORGEOUS!
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Oh my Blog!
This is irresistible, wonderful recipe, full of colour, body and taste. I just discovered your blog, and I love it! I will be coming back for more, please visit mine if you have the time,
cheers!
pity
http://www.pityinthekitchen.blogpot.com
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I agree – I love chocolate covered pretzels! These bars look fabulous – yum!
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Yum, those look terrific! Sweet and salty go perfect together so I bet these are delicious.
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Wow! These look and sound absolutely amazing. They remind me of a cookie bar version of a Take 5, which I love!
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LOVE the combination of pretzel and chocolate. these look wonderful!
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OMG!! YUMMY!!! These look so good, I am a big fan of the chocolate covered pretzel so this is heaven!! I am hosting a brunch for my whole family in two weeks and this would be a great treat for the end of the meal!! Can’t wait to try them , thanks for sharing!!
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These sound really good. I love pretzels and chocolate together.
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These are gorgeous & your blog is stunning. I love it!!
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OMG, I must try these!
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TammyJo – I prefer salted pretzels because it contributes to that salty/sweet combination.
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Hi Kendra – No secret to the towering, I just stacked them on top of each other and snapped away!
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Oh my! Looks like heaven on a plate! YUM!
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Oh wow do these ever look amazing!! I live in Canada so have only dreamed of Chubby Hubby ice cream… it sounds so good.
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Wow these look DELICIOUS! I definitely need to try this recipe soon! My husband will LOVE them!!!
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I made these two nights ago, OMG deliciousness! My mom can’t stop sneaking bites in. I’m trying to have a little more will power, but it’s hard. And by the way, Chubby Hubby is my favorite Ben and Jerry’s flavor!
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I totally tried these. Check them out… My photos don’t do them any justice though. Yours look the bomb. But seriously..these taste dang good! Thanks for the recipe! Looking forward to trying more!
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These weren’t as good as I’d hoped, the pretzels baked into the cookie didn’t maintain their crunchiness and just tasted kind of weird. I liked them on top though.
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wow chocolate and pretzels are one of my favorite combos – i would love one of these over ice cream!
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These look great! I was searching for a choc. chip pretzle cookie & your site appeared. You have a great blog here. Thanks for the inspiration
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I made these and they were really good. A perfect mix of sweet and salty. See my pictures and post here
http://muminbloom.blogspot.com/2010/03/recipe-chocolate-chip-pretzle-cookie.html
Thanks again for sharing your great recipe
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Made these yesterday for a picnic and they were delicious! A nice change from the ordinary cookie and bar. The peanut butter and chocolate drizzle really hooked me on them!
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Not bad, but they were lacking that “WOW” factor that I look for when trying new recipes. I love to bake and try new recipes, but I have enough other recipes that are alot better, so I don’t see myself making these again. With that said, however, we did polish off the entire pan pretty quickly! I adore anything with chocolate and pretzels, but this just wasn’t what I was looking for. I little too cakey, I guess, maybe I need something with more crunch. My 6-year-old said they tasted like “stale pretzels.” Sorry!
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kelly on August 19th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
I know this was posted a year ago but I wanted to comment that I made these tonight and opted for the drizzling on top because the cookie needed a little extra something. I followed the recipe and melted the pb in a ziplock bag and when I took it out some dripped on the floor and I realized it burned a hole through the bag. To save my floors I instintively cupped the open part under my hand and now I have half my left hand severely burnt. ugh. Be careful everyone when you melt it!
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just made these today for a co-workers birthday. did anyone else have problems with the pretzels getting too soggy? i just tried my cooled batch and noticed the pretzels had turned into an unpleasant piece of mush. i am afraid if i serve them at work without an explanation that people will think they are an un-identified object that mistakenly made it’s way into my batter!
in all the pictures i’ve seen it appears the pretzels have held up better. thoughts?
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Michelle on September 28th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
Hi Rei, I’m sorry to hear you had broken down, mushy pretzels! The one thing that I thought of was what type of pretzels did you use? I think maybe something like Rold Gold, that are inherently buttery, might break down than some other varieties.
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Melissa H on March 8th, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Hi Michelle, Would you mind letting me know what pretzel you recommend? I made some sweet/salty cookies with pretzels and noticed the pretzels seemed a little “stale” in texture after a day. Thanks!
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Michelle on March 8th, 2011 at 7:19 pm
Hi Melissa, I honestly can’t remember the exact brand of pretzels that I’ve used, but probably something like Snyder’s. Another thing you may want to try is using hard (thick) or sourdough pretzels, as they are inherently crunchier.
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I made these over the summer and a colleague reminded me of them today. I had to blog about them to share the recipe and will be making them again soon – thank you for the recipe!
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I’m late to the party… but I’ve had these bookmarked forever and FINALLY made them last night. They were Deeeelicious!!!
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oh my goodness these are delicious!!!!!! cant wait to make them again
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These look amazing!! Can you use natural peanut butter for the drizzle or do you use the regular skippy/jif kind?
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Michelle on June 14th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Hi Patti, I use regular peanut butter for all of my baking (although I eat natural!). I think if you used a natural like Jif that doesn’t really separate you would okay but the ones you need to refrigerate that tend to be oily might not work as well as it could end up oily.
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I made a double batch of these this morning…one for home and to share with neighbors, and another to leave with son/dil when I visit them tomorrow. I used a combo of semi sweet and peanut butter chips, and for the top I did melt peanut butter and chocolate chips together in the microwave (for the drizzle). We have enjoyed a few so far, but it was “just okay” for me….nothing too special. I like the taste of the added pretzels on top…the ones in the batter seem to have lost any distinct flavor for me, although the crunch is still there. I love this site, and have made many really good recipes from here so far. But, I think I’ll try a different cookie bar next time. Or a brownie….mmmmmm.
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OMG. I made these last week, and they were so good that I am making them again tonight. A definite MUST-MAKE. I’m going to try adding more chocolate this time. Either way, favorite cookies yet.
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this is the first Brown Eyed Baker recipe that has got me hooked! the only problem is that I like the dough just as much as the actual cookie (:
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I made these and wrote about them here. For some reason they didn’t set up very well. Luckily, they were still every bit as delicious as I had imagined. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
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i’ve made these and put them in a air tight container since i baked them three days before the party. THEY WERE SO STALE AND HARD AS A ROCK (like a biscotti). beware if making ahead of time….
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These have made me famous around here! The combination of salty and sweet is perfect and then, when mixed with a cookie, it’s perfection. They are quick and easy and definitely a crowd pleaser
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