Warm caramel, salty pretzel bits and rich chocolate come together in this gooey treat.
Ingredients
For pretzel crust:
1 stick of salted butter, melted 1⁄2 cup flour
1 cup crushed pretzel sticks
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
For Brownie Layer:
1⁄2 cup unsalted butter
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate 1 and 1⁄4 cups sugar
2 eggs room temperature
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla
3⁄4 cup flour
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
3⁄4 cup caramels, cut
Preparation
For Pretzel Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 by 19 inch baking dish. Melt butter in a medium size bowl in the microwave. Add the flour, crushed pretzels, brown sugar, and baking soda. Stir until the mixture is very well combined. Press evenly into the bottom pan. Bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven and let sit out while making the brownie mixture.
Brownies:
In a medium saucepan melt butter and semi-sweet chocolate, stirring constantly, until melted. Remove from heat, and let the mixture sit for 12-15 minutes. In a large bowl add the sugar and pour the butter/chocolate mixture over the top. Mix until well combined with a whisk. Add one egg at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Then gently fold in half of the flour and salt. Fold in the caramel pieces, then finish folding in the rest of the flour/salt mixture. Make sure to not over mix. Pour
the brownie mixture over the pretzel crust and spread until evenly distributed. Add crumbled pretzels if desired to the top of the brownies (about 1⁄2 cup). Bake for about 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Cool for about 45 minutes to an hour on a wire rack.
