Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with a Salty Pretzel Crust

These chocolate chip cookie bars have a salty pretzel crust! If you’re a fan of the whole salty sweet thing, then these are your jam!

Pretzels dipped in chocolate is probably the best snack invention ever!

I can’t even look at a bag of Flipz without thinking of Wednesday nights in High school. That was when the world fell silent and I’d park it on my boyfriend then (husband now) couch and to eat an entire family size bag of chocolate/pretzel/salt heaven… Intently watching 90210 all the while wishing I had Kelly Taylor’s bangs.

So enter me… my early thirties… and me still in love with chocolate and pretzels. This time… I have a food blog… which gives me every right to make bars like these. But you really don’t need a blog to make these bars, no… what you do need a best friend/neighbor you can give them away to before you eat the whole pan. That’s 15 bars… and a whole lot of extra minutes on the elliptical. Which reminds me…

To make These Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars You Will Need:

for the cookie batter:

• unsalted butter – softened
• granulated sugar
• dark brown sugar
• pure vanilla extract
• eggs
• unbleached all-purpose flour
• baking soda
• kosher salt
• milk chocolate chips

for the pretzel crust:

• pretzel sticks
• unsalted butter

To start, in a mixing bowl, add 3/4 cup unsalted butter and 3/4 cup each of granulated and dark brown sugar.

Then blend until smooth.

Add 1-1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract.

Crack in 2 large eggs.

Then mix on medium just until it comes together.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 2-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt.

Working in batches, add the flour.

Mix again until thick and well blended.

Lastly, get out the chocolate chips. I like using milk chocolate chips in this recipe and I particularly love Ghirardelli. I think their chips are bigger and flatter than Nestles… just sayin.

Add in 1 bag or 10 ounces of milk chocolate chips, mix on slow for a sec, and then just set aside.

There are a couple ways you can do this. You can place 3-1/2 cups pretzels in a food processor and let it rip until they are in small pieces. Or, you can add them to a baggie and bash them up with a meat tenderizer. I went with the latter.

Double bag it or place a dish towel over top, pretzels are known for wearing away the plastic and leaving little holes. I have made these bars a couple times and I prefer the food processor, only because it takes a moment. But either way would work.

Dump the pretzels into a bowl and drizzle with 3/4 cup melted butter.

Stir until every pretzel is coated with buttery goodness.

First, add the crushed pretzels in a 9x13x2 baking pan that is lined with parchment.

Spread them out to form an even layer. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 8 minutes. Ps… you could always make the pretzel chunks smaller… now looking back… maybe I was a little impatient.

Drop the batter in large spoonfuls and spread the batter, using your {clean} fingers if you have to, until the entire pan is covered. Because the pretzel crust is hot, it will spread easier. It’s not easy and it sure isn’t clean… but make sure you kinda press the dough into the pretzels so they don’t scoot around. 🙂 Now you can just bake it off for 20-24 minutes or until the top is golden and a tester comes out clean. As I’ve said it before… I like my cookie-stuff under baked.

Remove and let cool before slowly removing the bars.

Use the parchment paper that’s sticking out over the edge as handles, it should just glide out smoothly and effortlessly.

Pretzel overload… I want that corner!

Slice the bars into 15 squares.

Is my salty/sweet obsession completely obvious or what?

Enjoy! And if you give this Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

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Yield: 16 bars

Chocolate Chip Bars with a Salty Pretzel Crust

These chocolate chip cookie bars have a salty pretzel crust! If you're a fan of the whole salty sweet thing, then these are your jam!

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

FOR THE COOKIE BAR DOUGH

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ teaspoons real vanilla extract
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 bag milk chocolate chips

FOR THE PRETZEL CRUST:

• 3½ cups pretzel sticks
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Instructions 

• Preheat your oven to 350°. Line a 9x13x2 baking pan with parchment paper..
• Beat butter and sugars at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs and the vanilla, beating until just blended.
• Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk until airy and gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar/egg mixture, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and add in the chocolate chips, Mix one last time for a second then set aside.
• Place pretzels in a large baggie or food-processor. Once the pretzels are crushed, combine them with the melted butter and stir. Spread pretzel mixture over the bottom of your prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes.
• Drop large spoonfuls of the cookie dough and scatter it over the pretzel crust, carefully and evenly spread the batter over the warm pretzels. With your {clean} fingers, press the dough into the pretzels. Place the pan in your preheated oven and bake for 20-24 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through the cookie time. Remove when the bars are golden and a tester comes out clean.
• When bars have cooled, remove {by using the parchment paper} and cut into 15 bars. Enjoy!

Notes

Several people who've made this notice a lot of pretzel crumb leftover, I HIGHLY recommend using enough butter. If it looks too dry, just add a little more!

Also, pressing the cookie dough into the crust helps it to become a crust to the bottom of the bars. As you can see in my pictures above I have a few pretzel crumb stragglers, it's just the way this cookie. bar. crumbles?! 🙂

Serving: 1bar, Calories: 348kcal, Carbohydrates: 43g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 66mg, Sodium: 346mg, Potassium: 63mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 562IU, Calcium: 22mg, Iron: 2mg

Author: Laurie McNamara

Course: Desserts & Sweet Treats

Cuisine: American