Author of Ed Engoron’s Choclatique, Running Press, 2011
I have been working on some new chocolate confection flavors in the Chocolate Studio for the last month. Tasting sweet stuff can be sweet and then again, there’s a limit that most of us have when it comes to super sweet, sugary concoctions. I love them and they are always delicious, but a few bites too many can be overwhelming. The perfect combination to add with sweet and especially chocolate is a little bit of salt.
Sebastian, one of our chocolatiers, worked on these sweet-and-salty bars until he got the balance just right. The name says it all — gooey cookies combined with salty pretzels in easy-to-make bars. They look like most cookie bars at first glance, but that surprise salty crust makes them unbelievably delicious. I bet you can’t eat just one!
Chocolate-Pretzel Bars
Ingredients:
For the crust:
3 1/2 cups salted pretzel sticks, crushed into tiny pieces
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
For the cookie dough:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups Choclatique Milk Chocolate Chips
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350º F.
- Line a 9x13x2 baking pan with parchment paper to make it easier for you to remove the bars from the pan.
- Combine the crushed pretzel pieces with the melted butter, stir to combine. Spread pretzel mixture over the bottom of your prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes.
- 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.
- 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 clean fingers, press the dough into the pretzels.
- Place the pan in your preheated oven and bake for 25 -30 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through the baking time. Remove when the bars are golden and a tester comes out nearly clean.
- When bars have cooled lift from the pan using the parchment paper, place on a cutting board and cut into 15 bars.
Tags: Chocolate Dessert Recipe, Chocolate-Pretzel Bars, Sweet and Salty