Chocolate Chip & Pretzel Cookie Bars
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.
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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
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 1½ sticks (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 ounce (340.2 g) bag bittersweet chocolate chips, or semisweet, if you prefer
- 1½ cups (63.75 g) mini pretzel twists, coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup (45 g) chocolate chips, for drizzling (optional)
- ¼ cup (64.5 g) peanut butter, for drizzling (optional)
- ¼ cup (20 g) pretzels, crumbled, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- 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.
Did you make this recipe?
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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.
These look amazing!! Can you use natural peanut butter for the drizzle or do you use the regular skippy/jif kind?
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.
oh my goodness these are delicious!!!!!! cant wait to make them again
I’m late to the party… but I’ve had these bookmarked forever and FINALLY made them last night. They were Deeeelicious!!!
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!
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?
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.
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!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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 :)
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 :)
wow chocolate and pretzels are one of my favorite combos – i would love one of these over ice cream!
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.
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!
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!
Wow these look DELICIOUS! I definitely need to try this recipe soon! My husband will LOVE them!!!
Oh wow do these ever look amazing!! I live in Canada so have only dreamed of Chubby Hubby ice cream… it sounds so good.
Oh my! Looks like heaven on a plate! YUM!
Hi Kendra – No secret to the towering, I just stacked them on top of each other and snapped away!
TammyJo – I prefer salted pretzels because it contributes to that salty/sweet combination.
OMG, I must try these!
These are gorgeous & your blog is stunning. I love it!!
These sound really good. I love pretzels and chocolate together.
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!!
LOVE the combination of pretzel and chocolate. these look wonderful!
Wow! These look and sound absolutely amazing. They remind me of a cookie bar version of a Take 5, which I love!
Yum, those look terrific! Sweet and salty go perfect together so I bet these are delicious.
I agree – I love chocolate covered pretzels! These bars look fabulous – yum!
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
OK. I am DEFINATELY going to have to make these when I get home from Chicago. They look absolutely GORGEOUS!
Okay, how did you get them to tower like that? Cool picture! These look scrumptious!