Take 5 Candy Bar Pie
82 comments » 
Between the homemade Snickers bars that I posted last Friday and today’s post, I’m starting to think that I have some sort of serious subconscious craving for candy on Fridays. Perhaps I should start a candy Friday ritual? I’ll have to give that some serious consideration. Candy once a week definitely could be a good thing. Now, let’s talk about this pie! This pie is everything that is right with the world of candy bars. It takes all of the awesome elements found in a Take 5 candy bar (pretzels, caramel, peanut butter, peanuts, and chocolate) and throws them all together into a pie. The result? An incredibly rich, amazingly delicious dessert that pairs wonderful flavors and textures. Creamy and crunchy. Sweet and salty. It’s all here. And it’s every kind of wonderful.
This pie starts off with a pretzel crust (drool). Ground pretzels, a little bit of sugar, and a healthy amount of melted butter are mixed together and pressed into the pie plate to form the crust, and then baked briefly.
After the crust each layer is added in succession, with a 10-minute or so trip to the fridge to set up before the next layer is added. On top of the pretzel crust we spread melted peanut butter, then homemade caramel sauce, then chopped peanuts. I could barely keep myself from taking a nibble each time I added a new layer. The fact that I didn’t is earth-shattering.
Finally, you melt down some chocolate and pour it over the top of the pie. After a short stint in the refrigerator to let it set up, you end up with one of the prettiest pies I’ve ever seen. Sure, a sky-high meringue and lattice-top have their place, but this beauty? This one is special. Especially if you like chocolate. Or caramel. Or peanut butter. Or peanuts. Or pretzels. Or all of them, together, throwing one big happy dessert party.
That’s precisely what this pie is. One, big, happy candy bar pie party. I want to be invited to this party every.single.day.
Happy Friday! Cheers!
One year ago: Irish Brown Bread
Two years ago: Chewy Brownies
Five years ago: Mexican Rice
Candy Bar Pie
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Pretzel Crust:
4 ounces pretzel sticks, finely ground in a food processor or blender
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugarFor the Caramel Sauce:
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
¾ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubedFor the Pie:
½ cup creamy peanut butter, melted
1/3 cup prepared caramel sauce
¼ cup coarsely chopped peanuts
10 ounces semisweet chocolate, meltedDirections:
1. Make the Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together the ground pretzels, melted butter, and sugar. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and chill in the refrigerator until firm, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, Make the Caramel Sauce. Whisk the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a medium-size heavy saucepan until well combined. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook the sugar mixture, without stirring, until it becomes a rich caramel color, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the cream until the caramel sauce is smooth, using caution as the mixture may bubble up. (If the sauce seizes, stir it over low heat until the hardened caramel is melted.) Whisk in the butter and set aside.
3. Assemble the Pie: Smooth the warmed peanut butter evenly over the bottom of the pretzel crust. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Pour the caramel sauce over the peanut butter layer and gently spread with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the caramel layer. Refrigerate for another 10 minutes. Finish with a smooth layer of melted chocolate. Refrigerate the pie until the chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes. Pie can then remain at room temperature until serving. If you have leftovers, cover with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
*Note: You will not use the entire batch of caramel sauce that you make. You can keep the leftovers in the refrigerator for ice cream topping, apple dipping, or eating with a spoon.
(Recipe adapted from Devour the Blog)
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Every time you listed another of the key elements of this pie, I drooled a little bit more. This sounds incredible and I can’t wait to try creating it. I love the layers of melted peanut butter and caramel. Yuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmm!!!
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no. no. no. did this really just happen? sweet jesus.
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This is pretty much heaven in a pie crust. Stellar looking! That chocolate is just begging for some teeth marks in it
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I bring freshly baked goodies into the office every Wednesday and this is exactly what I needed for Pi Day next week!
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“Creamy and crunchy. Sweet and salty”. That says it all for me!
Have a nice weekend!
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Oh, wow! NEED THIS!
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Oh man, I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet and am already drooling!
That looks beyond amazing. Just the consistency of the filling… YUM!
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Absolutely in LOVE with this pie!!
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Seriously how do you not weigh like 500 lbs!? I gained weight just looking at the picture!! looks very yummy, will prob. have to try this one
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Ah, such a great idea! I’m thinking of other candy bars that can inspire treats now. If you have any ideas for a Zero bar (caramel, peanut and almond nougat covered with a layer of white fudge), please pass ‘em along. It’s an obscure bar, but a favorite from childhood.
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Michelle on March 10th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Awesome idea! I will add this to my list!
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Pi day is next week and I’m thinking of surprising my older son’s class with this yummy deliciousness! YUM
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Awesome!! This sounds delightful!
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Wow! That layer of chocolate looks particularly thick, I thought it might be fudge at first. Which brand of chocolate did you use?
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Michelle on March 10th, 2012 at 2:43 pm
I used Ghiradelli baking bars.
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Oh my goodness, this looks awesome! I’m definitely going to have the best pie for Pie Day
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No Bake desserts have a special, permanent place in my heart! So great to keep a handful of these recipes around for when you forget to have dessert prepared for guests.. insta-pie!
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Take 5 is my absolute favorite candy bar, love this take on it!
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omg are you even serious right now? Take 5′s are only like my favorite candy bar in the history of, um all candy bars. I feel like it would be wrong NOT to make this.
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This pie definitely does make it a very happy Friday indeed. It looks absolutely perfect!
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Yummmm. I love those Take 5 candy bars, so I know I’d adore this! Now if I could just get my bf on board with the sweet and salty combo so I’d have someone to share it with…
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Michelle on March 10th, 2012 at 2:43 pm
More for you!
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What a beautiful pie and it I bet it tastes way better than it looks! Yum
I pinned this recipe right away, can’t wait to try it out!
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OMG!
this sounds AMAZING!
baking ASAP & will be @ the gym forever!!
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Take 5 is an all time favorite candy bar of mine, I need to try this pie!
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I love your Friday Candy Cravings! This looks fantastic! Super Yum!!
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My teeth almost hurt from looking at your photos (in a good way of course)! Take 5 is my favorite candy bar!!!
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I have never had a Take 5 candy bar, but this pie version sounds great. Last weekend my husband and I stopped at a gas station and were going through the candy aisle. I have never been much of a candy bar eater (I was always to busy eating goodies like cookies, cake, and brownies!) and he was amazed at all the kinds of candy bars I have never had. I guess I have some candy eating to do!
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WOW!!!!!!! I’m adding this one to the list, YUM!
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You just made every 5-year-olds dream.
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Oh my goodness, I am recovering from some minor surgery but I absolutely have to try this today.
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This just can’t be true!!! It looks awesome!
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I am drooling at the sight of this. Take 5 is one of my favorite cady bars! This has quickly moved its way up onto my list of baking adventures! Can’t wait to make it!
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What an amazing pie recipe! I have never seen a pretzel crust but I can just imagine the saltiness would bring out the amazing flavors in the pie.. Such fabulous home baking! You go girl.
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.com/
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Oh my…my heart just about stopped! I love Take 5, this pie looks ridiculous. Like, insane.
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i can’t think of a more perfect Friday treat! Fabulous creation!
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Love Take 5 Candy bars; this pie looks delicious!
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Thanks to my drooling, I am now dehydrated. Just wow!
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First all this pie looks amazing, secondly I have a Friday candy ritual and it is one of my favorite parts of the week, 2 hour reading time with chocolate every friday afternoon, heavenly, I highly recommend it!
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Michelle on March 10th, 2012 at 2:44 pm
That sounds wonderful! I might have to steal your idea!
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I think it’s quite possible that you and I are twins separated at birth. This looks phenomenal, but the fact that we’re still working our way through the Snickers bars (I actually turned them into Milky Way bars) will keep me from making this for a bit. Yummy!
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I love the layering! Sounds like 4x the fun of making a peanut butter pie, which is one of my favorites. Must make this asap!
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Oh, I’m making this and pinning this. I cannot even handle how hungry this makes me. You’re combining chocolate, peanut butter and pretzels, three things I absolutely love together.
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Caramel AND chocolate AND peanut butter!? yum yum
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Wow!! Looks mouth watering! Have pinned it…
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OMG OMG OMG how on earth did I miss this post!!! It’s amazing
Just look at it!!! It’s got all the most delectable ingredients and flavours hehe i can imagine this candy bar pie being so rich and filling BUT i’m still going to make it!
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Wow, this looks AMAZING!!!
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Oh man I need one of these now! Too bad I am stuck in an airport. Until I have a kitchen handy I will be dreaming of a slice of this.
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Just put this pie together to take to a party. Was quick and easy to make. One hint for those who have not made it yet: be sure to whisk the cream into the hot sugar slowly or you will have the sugar seize (easy to recover from, but just adds extra time). As a seasoned cook, I knew better, but still went too fast with the cream.
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You never fail to amaze me with all the kinds of desserts you come up with!!! This is such an exciting recipe!
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I love Take 5! I think this pie looks perfect!
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I can pass up most commercial candy bars but Take 5 is my weakness so this pie’s right up my alley!
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omygosh I need to have a slice of this pie!! This looks amazing! Take 5 bars are genius… pretzels caramel peanut butter anddd chocolate? YUM! And I absolutely love your candy bar friday idea
I can’t get enough of your candy bar recipes!
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this looks amazing michelle. absolutely perfect! i love no bake recipes!
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OMG!!!!!!! Take 5 is my favorite candy bar, and I have tried several times to make a bar that combined the flavors of this salty & sweet candy bar. I have to try this pie to see if it satisfies.
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Take 5 is one of my all time favorite candy bars! And you turned it into a pie?! Genius!!
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This looks amazing! I love Take 5 – definitely one of my favorite candy bars – and it looks amazing as a pie!!
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I don’t think I’ve ever had a Take 5 before, but I want one of these pies!!
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Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe. I posted it in my facebook page yesterday, & immeditely left for the store to get the ingredients. My friend Brian did the same thing as soon as he saw my post w/the link. BOTH of us poured the cream for the caramel too fast and I almost had a fire in the kitchen. Put it this way; even if I would have set my kitchen on fire… it would have been WELL worth it. Amazing. Nice work. This recipe will be in heavy rotation.
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Made this last night for today (Pi Day!). I really like it. I think maybe next time (there will be a next time!) I’ll use half milk chocolate as I think it would make it closer to an actual take five bar. It might make it too sweet though. I overcooked my first batch of caramel – used too wide/shallow of a pan and it went from caramel to DARK in seconds. Heads up to any caramel amateurs.
Thanks for the recipe!
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Can I use a store bought caramel sauce? Just wondering if I can eliminate a step?
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Michelle on March 19th, 2012 at 9:53 am
Yes, you could definitely do that.
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Kayla on March 27th, 2013 at 7:15 pm
If I use store bought carmel sauce, how much do I need?
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Michelle on March 28th, 2013 at 3:29 pm
About 1 cup.
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This was fantastic! I didn’t have heavy cream so I substituted sweetened condensed milk and it was actually much better!
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Michelle on March 19th, 2012 at 9:24 pm
Hi Maria, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing the substitution you used!
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I’m thinking of making this in bar form to make it easier to bring into the office. Does the filling harden enough to make that doable–since only the edges will have raised crust on the side?
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Michelle on March 19th, 2012 at 9:29 pm
Hi Rachel, If you refrigerate it, it will definitely harden. I would recommend refrigerating until you leave for work, and then leaving it out at room temperature so that the caramel filling can soften a tad bit.
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I love tarts. On my birthday i got some forms – i try Your recipe, soon!
Thanks,
Zuckerwandlerin
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Delicious but the chocolate was a bit thick. I think next time I make it, I will split the chocolate into two layers and add a layer of marshmellow and/or rice crispy.
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my caramel was too thin…any suggestions? If the heavy cream didnt thicken it enough, I was at a loss for how I could get it thicker?! It tasted great at least!
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Is there an alternative to the corn syrup for those of us living outside the US?
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Maria on April 18th, 2012 at 9:45 pm
I’d imagine honey could work, or perhaps maple syrup or molasses but that may be too rich.
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Michelle on April 18th, 2012 at 11:39 pm
Hi Shir, I have never used a substitute in caramel sauce, but maybe something like agave nectar or golden syrup could work?
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shir on April 19th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
Thanks! I’ll give it a try.
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I made this for an event last night. Fan-freakin-tastic. Definitely a keeper recipe!
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I just found what I’ll be bringing to my family’s Thanksgiving!
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I was thinking of making these for a friend! If I were to make these into custard cups (making them into mini pies) and needed to bake the crust, how long would you suggest to bake it for?
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Michelle on December 13th, 2012 at 11:42 am
Hi Jessica, I haven’t done it, so I’m not certain how long you’d need to bake them, but I’d start checking around 5 minutes just to be safe.
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Sounds delicious–thanks for sharing the recipe!
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The pie crust never stays up on the sides it al settles on the bottom while in the oven, am I missing something?
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Michelle on June 13th, 2013 at 10:30 am
Make sure that you are actually getting the pretzels ground to fine crumbs, and not merely crushed. It makes a big difference in the texture and might be why your crust isn’t cohesive and staying up the sides of the pie plate.
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