Stepped Up Pretzel Crust Brownies Recipes

PRETZEL BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C and line an 8-inch square pan with foil so that it hangs over each side.
• In a small bowl combine the crushed pretzels, brown sugar, baking soda, and flour. Mix in melted butter so everything is evenly moistened. Place into prepared pan and use the palm of your hand to pack tightly. Bake for 5-8 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Prepare brownie batter while the crust is baking.
• Preheat your oven to 350F and line a 9X9 or 8X8 square pan with foil and grease heavily.
• In a large pot add the water, butter, sugar and cocoa powder. Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes until it is all combined together, the mixture will look weird and not liquidy enough, that is fine. Then add the oil and vanilla extract. Cook on low an additional minute and mix to combine everything.
• Take off of heat, let sit for 5 minutes then add the egg and egg yolk. Whisk to combine.
• Add the baking soda, salt, cornstarch and mix to combine. Gently add the flour by using a spatula to fold in until just combined, just before there are no flour streaks add your chocolate chunks/ chips. Do not over mix, this will affect the end product. Gently press in the chopped piece of peanut butter cups.
• Pour into prepared pan and bake 25-35 minutes. Everyone's oven is different, for me, the brownies always bake within 29-31 minutes, but I would start checking at 25 minutes for your oven. Don't overbake the brownies. You want a toothpick in the center to come out with moist crumbs, not completely dry. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting. Cutting the crust will be messy. Store in an air-tight container on the counter for up to 4 days.

PRETZEL BROWNIE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). In medium bowl, mix crust ingredients. Press in ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Bake 8 minutes; cool 10 minutes.
• In medium bowl, stir brownie ingredients until blended. Carefully spread batter over cooled crust. Bake 24 to 26 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out clean or almost clean. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1 hour.
• In medium bowl, beat powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, melted chocolate and the vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until combined. Beat in 1 tablespoon milk until blended. Beat in additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until frosting is desired spreading consistency. Frost cooled brownies; sprinkle with crushed pretzels. Cut into 8 rows by 4 rows.

SALTED PRETZEL BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
• In a medium-large saucepan, melt the butter with the bittersweet chocolate over low heat, whisking occasionally until smooth and melted. Sprinkle in the cocoa powder and whisk to combine. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
• Stir the sugar and vanilla into the chocolate mixture until just combined. One at a time, stir in the eggs. Gently stir in the flour until halfway incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and stir just until combined.
• Sprinkle half of the pretzels in the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Pour the batter (it will be very thick!) in the pan over the pretzels. Spread to even out the top and arrange the remaining pretzels all over the top.
• Bake for 40 minutes, then check the brownies with a toothpick. If overly gooey/messy, return the pan to the oven for 5 to 10 more minutes, being careful not to burn the edges. Allow to cool completely (important!), then cut into small squares.

SALTED PRETZEL BROWNIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square metal baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches of excess on each side to help you lift the cooked brownies out of the pan.
• Make the crust: In a food processor, combine butter, graham cracker crumbs, crushed pretzels and egg white. Process until mixture is well blended. Transfer to prepared pan and press crumb mixture into an even layer on the bottom. Bake until deeply browned at the edges, about 14 to 17 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool.
• Make the brownies: Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Put butter and chocolate into a medium pot and place it over low heat. Melt the mixture, taking care not to let the chocolate burn and stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until smooth. Scrape chocolate mixture into a large bowl and mix in the sugar. Let mixture cool until it's just warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk eggs into cooled chocolate mixture. Whisk in flour, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt. Mix in chocolate chips, if using.
• Scrape batter into an even layer on top of the crust. Top with pretzels and bake until the top is set and firm to touch, especially in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into 16 squares.

STEPPED-UP: PRETZEL CRUST BROWNIES

Steps:

• Pretzel Crust: Mix first four ingredients together and press into a 11 x 7 1/2 baking dish lined with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl stir together butter and sugar. Ad and stir in vanilla and syrup. Add eggs, one at a time and mix well. Gently fold in flour mixture until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread batter on top of pretzel crust. Bake 30-35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool brownies on counter 5 minutes. Place brownies, still in pan, into the fridge for 30 minutes to cool. Remove from fridge and finish cooling on counter. Once completely cooled, lift parchment paper and brownies from pan. Flatten the parchment paper and cut brownies into squares.