Peanut Butter Fudge Pretzel Brownies.
Dear Monday.
Why must you ruin lives?
You do things like fling entire pots of coffee on the floor while leaving ugly droplets on that pretty white dress and don’t even apologize. Then you take a certain someone’s keys and lock them inside while that person is outside… and the oven is on with a big fat chicken roasting in pan way too small. Not cool.
I also hear that you silence alarm clocks and blow out flat irons and hide the toothpaste. And this morning you made my bed feel eight million times warmer and more comfortable than it already is and you made me hit snooze and you made me eat that piece of coffee cake while standing over the sink in my workout clothes. Then you made me lay on the couch with a second piece of coffee cake while I searched for Nick and Vanessa’s Dream Wedding and you even threw that cashmere blanket from Restoration Hardware on top of me and made me take a nap… even with my shoes still on.
And really… was it you that made Ari Gold run to Dana Gordon?? Probably. You’re a life ruiner. You and Regina George.
So now here I sit covered in cake crumbs with my eyes half shut and no sweat or remnant of a workout to speak of. Which you know… doesn’t really matter because I ate SO MUCH HEALTHY STUFF WHILE ON VACATION. Lots of salads and grilled chicken and steamed fish and tons of broccoli. That sort of stuff I eat everyday.
Or not.
But seriously Monday… what really ruffles my feathers is that you just couldn’t make that stupid wedding appear on TV one more time for me. Whatever. I even scrolled through the guide until August 12th and that took a whopping 13 minutes and guess what? No sign of it. Not that I want to see that mess but really… I do.
Even with the coffee cake and skipped exercise, this other thing you made me do is far worse. I wanted to talk about a healthy dinner recipe today but you made me post these pretzel brownie thingies that I made last week. Yeah. Those ones. The ones that are the perfect mix of sweet and salty. The ones that are easily reversible. The ones I planned to take on our trip but then… ate. All of them.
You probably made me do that too. You’re such a bad influence.
Peanut Butter Fudge Pretzel Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2/3 cups chocolate chips, optional
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 powdered sugar
- 1 3/4 cups crushed pretzel pieces
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8×8 baking dish and set aside.
- Combine melted butter and pretzel crumbs in a bowl until moistened. With the back of a spoon, press pretzels into the 8×8 pan making a crust. If pretzels seem loose, drizzle some additional melted butter over top of hit with a quick shot of non-stick spray.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. With the mixer on medium speed, add in cocoa, flour and salt, mixing until combined – about 2 to 3 minutes. Fold in chocolate chips. Using a spatula sprayed with non-stick spray, evenly spread brownies on top of pretzel crust. Set pan on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until brownies are baked through.
- When brownies have about 3 minutes left baking, melt peanut butter (I melted mine in the microwave in 30 second increments then stirring) in a bowl. Once melted, stir in 1/3 cup powdered sugar and mix until no lumps remain. Pour over warm brownies and spread evenly. Refrigerate brownies for 1-2 hours, then cut into bars and serve.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Bye Monday. Go back from where ever you came from. [/donotprint]
279 Comments on “Peanut Butter Fudge Pretzel Brownies.”
I’m pretty sure any Monday that involves this babies will automatically be translated to a Friday night.
Oh me oh my, do those bars look good.
Oh wow, these look so unbelievably amazing. They’re the only way I’m gonna get through this Monday!
Omg Jessica these are amazing looking!!!
The pretzle crust
The brownie layer
And then a layer of PB + powdered sugar?
Wow.
Your brain works in marvelous!! ways!!
And I always love your crumbs/messy look photos. When I try this, it looks like a nuclear bomb went off on my image. When you do it, it looks delicious. I wish I could get the messy look down pat!
You aren’t going to hate on me if these inspire a healthier, vegan version are you? They will be mine…oh yes, they will be mine.
I guess I’ll let that one slide… ;)
Oh monday…I think these make Monday SO much better.
Oh lordie.. You can’t go wrong with sweet and savory here. I love pretzels and chocolate ;)
Basically, this entire post is awesome just for the fact that you threw in a Regina George reference. Smoooth.
I love these. Pretzels and brownies make my life.
I love pretzels + PB + choc. You are so smart.
Yum. This recipe is genius. Cannot wait to try these out!
Now these are just plain sinful. CAN NOT WAIT to make them.
I think that this post and these brownies would make any Monday better.
I haate mondays and therefore bake breakfast goodies every monday morning…..I’ll send you some lemon cream scones (with sweetened condensed milk on top!) if you’ll send me some of these!
What a fabulous idea! And those scones sound incredible.
oooo these sound so good! maybe my monday would turn around if i had some of these, in fact i know it would, yum! :)
I hope you found Nick and Vanessa’s Wedding…it was pretty great :-) Not as great as these must be, though.
I didn’t. Ugh.
now THAT’S how to start a monday off right!!!
Ummm this brownie looks like the devil! I think I could eat the whole pan then lick it clean
If someone made me these, I’d marry them on the spot!
the second i saw the first picture i started drooling…this is INSANITY! and i love it!
“Why must you ruin lives?” <– couldn't agree with you more
Oh My. This might be my favorite recipe to date. I need some salty with my sweet. I just do. Chocolate covered preztels are my version of crack and these brownies might be my version of heroin. Everyone has their vices.
I’m right there with ya!
Best Monday ever!
Loving the pretzel crust!
Oh my goodness….. eating these would totally make me forget that it’s Monday! I used to think the salty-sweet combo was gross, but I love it now. Great recipe (and even better photos!!)
Jess these look amazing!!!!
Sweet! Savory! YUMMY!
I am so obsessed with baking with pretzels these days. But also I needs to stop baking with pretzels these days.
And I saw about 80% of the Nick & Vanessa wedding, and I have to say it was pretty spectacular… I’ve officially let go of my hope of a Nick & Jessica reunion and am now happy for them. In case you were wondering…
Nooooooo!
My Monday is perfect thanks to these brownies! OMG- they look AMAZING!
i want to make these right now and eat them for every meal today. and tomorrow. and maybe the week. pretzels to anything peanut buttery or sweet is just the perfect combo!
These were dangerous enough without the peanut butter layer. Then you added the peanut butter layer. And all I have in front of me is a peach. Unfair.
DANGIT. I missed Nick & Vanessa’s wedding. Thanks for doing the heavy lifting for me. :)
I watched the wedding with a big glass of red wine and absolutely loved it! It almost made me get over the whole Nick and Jessica thing. It was on TLC so chances are they will play it again soon! Send them emails until they air it again – don’t give up. LOL
Over Nick and Jessica?! Yikes.
It was pretty good, I must say! Although I kept thinking, what would Jessica S think/ how does Jessica feel about this? etc etc. I guess I’m not over it.
I love the combo of sweet and salty, these look sooo good!
I hope your Monday picks up :)
Whoooooa Nelly. Love me a pretzel crust.
I seriously think WizKid and I could sit down and eat this whole pan in one sitting and not think twice about it.
you know what they say about peanut butter and chocolate – Two tastes that taste great together!
True..True.
These are like reversible clothing, either side looks amazing!
I might make these for my high school reunion this weekend, then no one will notice the post-baby weight I haven’t lost yet, right? Have you tried Late Night Snack ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s yet? It has fudge-covered potato chips in it. No lie.
No! My brother told me about it a few weeks ago. I honestly don’t love ice cream except when I’m on vacation and it’s scooped, but that sounds like something I need to try.
Ditto to all that Monday junk…. I hear it makes people go in and get grumpy with bosses. just sayin….
Great combo, it should make Monday a little better….
My dad’s birthday is next week, these look like the perfect goodie to send him!!
Holy moly. I have no words.
This makes Monday so much better though!
Oh my. Yes, please. Is it bad that I am slowly becoming addicted to things like White Chocolate Peanut Butter and Pinterest and probably now Peanut Butter Fudge Pretzel Brownies even though I’ve never met the person who tells me about them? Oh well. At least we share the same brain.
Not bad. Wonderful!
omg these look fabulous!
Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to the kitchen I go…..!
These just made my Monday a whole lot better!
It’s Week 2 for me from returning from vacation. Sorry to report it just isn’t going any better.
And now I’ll have another kitchen full of dirty dishes from making these bars. Cuz since coming back from vacation I apparently forgot how to clean dishes.
Lisa, I love how you said “It’s Week 2 from returning from vacation.” Makes it sound like a sort of rehab or detox. That is exactly how I feel after returning from vacation! ;)
I feel the same way about vacation blues.
Holy moly.
These look so yummy!
My sentiments towards Monday exactly! Sorry you missed the wedding. It was exactly everything reality tv should be. :)
Thank you for the Mean Girls reference! I find myself referring to that movie more than any other, and most people just look at me like I’m crazy. Glad I’m not the only one!!
my monday hasn’t been too bad so far, but it would DEFINITELY be better with these :)