|

Pretzel-Crusted Cookie Bars

 

pretzel crust

I tend to think of Boston, food-wise, as the period of my life where I discovered Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. I think nearly every meal we ate that year included something from her blog.

These chocolate chip oatmeal bars were one of the very best things I made. I’ve made them several times and without fail, I have a bite of them and think, “these are just ridiculously ridiculously good.”

And then when I saw this similar recipe that included a pretzel crust and I just happened to have a half-full bag of pretzels in my pantry and an assignment to bring a dessert to a church event, well, I couldn’t resist giving it a try.

I am sad to say, I just ate the last one out of the fridge thirty minutes ago (er, I wrote this in the afternoon – I’m not eating chocolate chip bars at 6:15 a.m.).

They are amazing without the pretzel crust, but it’s a very nice addition – I love the extra little buttery crunch it gives it, plus it makes them just a little more unique.

pretzel crust bars

 

pretzel crust cookie bars

5 from 1 vote
Print

Pretzel-Crusted Cookie Bars

These pretzel crust cookie bars are ridiculously good and perfect for a big group!

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 26 minutes
Total Time 36 minutes
Servings 1 9x13 pan
Author Janssen Bradshaw

Ingredients

Pretzel Crust:

  • 4 cups pretzels
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar:

  • 3/4 cup butter softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup oatmeal quick oats or rolled oats are both fine
  • 2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with tin foil, leaving some excess on the sides so that you can remove the bars after baking.
  2. Crush pretzels (you could do them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin or pulse them in a food processor) until they are mostly in about 1/2 inch pieces. Stir in melted butter until they are completely coated.
  3. Evenly distribute them on the 9x13 pan and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
  4. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees.
  5. In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add the eggs and mix until well-combined. Add vanilla and mix again.
  6. Add the flour, soda, and salt and stir until somewhat combined. Add oats and mix until completely combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
  7. Drop the cookie dough in large clumps on top of the pretzel crust and press it evenly across the pan, making sure to press it down firmly so it adheres to the pretzel base.
  8. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until slightly golden in the corners. Be really careful not to overbake them - it's better to ere on the side of underbaking.
  9. Remove and let cool, before removing from pan and slicing.

Recipe Notes

(adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and Simply Scratch)

if you liked this post of pretzel crust cookie bars, you might also like these other posts:

 

This post is sponsored by The Goodies Company. Get a box of snacks in the mail each month for only $7. Use the promo code BLOGVIP. 

Similar Posts

9 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    You stop it right now. Here I am trying to be all healthy on non-weekends and it's only Tuesday and you post this. Dead. Dead, died, and gone. I'm making this asap.

  2. 5 stars
    These look amazing. I've made choco chip cookies with pretzels on top of them, but never with a crust of pretzels! Sounds tasty! Your poor family though.. there probably weren't any left-overs for them after the church activity!lol

    1. 5 stars
      I was intrigued by these so made them Saturday and as of Monday morning every single one of them is gone. They were great, thank you! That said, I found the contrast with the pretzels to be just slightly too much and am thinking of trying again this week with a crust of salted corn flakes — I think the texture might work slightly better.

    2. 5 stars
      Anyone know the calories on these? I would love to try to make them with my lil man, but I've also been eating healthy, I'm almost afraid to know..lol They look soooo good!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating