Toffee Pretzel Crunch. Oh My!

I was making care packages this week to send off and deliver locally

as several friends needing the TLC of homemade treats.

I was thinking how tasty it would be to dip pretzel rods in toffee, but

then at a little Oprah light bulb moment and decided on this...

you can thank me later.

What you need to make this ridiculous treat:

3 1/2-4 cups Pretzel Crisps

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Line a large jelly roll pan* with aluminum foil, and then thinly coat the foil

with butter (I just gently rub one of the sticks used in the recipe along the 

foiled surfaces. You will not use much) then place a layer of Pretzel Crisps 

along the bottom of the buttered pan.  I break up some of the crisps. Don't 

worry if the crisps are overlapping. 

* a jelly roll pan is smaller than a sheet pan, but larger than a 9x13 pan.

 In a saucepan over medium/high heat, begin melting the butter, brown sugar and salt.

 This is one pot you want to watch boil.  Continue stirring as the sauce boils 

and thickens.  Watch that it doesn't burn.  I stir at boil for a couple minutes.

Pour the boiling sauce evenly over the pretzel crisps.  

Place pan in a 425 degree oven.

The sauce will thicken in the oven. After 4 minutes I pulled the bubbling concoction 

out of the oven.  Check at 4 minutes. If it isn't super bubbly and darker in color, 

put it back in for 1 additional minute.

 Immediately sprinkle the semi sweet chocolate chips evenly 

over the toffee pretzels. 

The heat of the pan will quickly melt the chocolate chips.  If you

find that they aren't melting, pop the pan back into the cooling oven for 

1 minute and the chocolate will be ready to spread with a knife.

After the chocolate chips are evenly spread across the top of the toffee,

pop the pan in the freezer to set up for 30 minutes.

 After setting in the freezer, I pull the brick of toffee from the foil,

double checking that all foil pulled away, then use my hands to 

break into chunks.  I store in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

It packages up nicely, in boxes, to drop with friends and neighbors.

I buy bulk food safe boxes on the Internet.

Enjoy!!!

HOWDY POLLY Pan-o-Bars!!!!

I should love "Hello Dolly" pan-o-bars, but I don't.  Do you know why?  I cannot stand graham cracker crust.  So, a few years ago I decided to kick these classics up a notch, with pretzel crust.  Oh my. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup chopped raw pecans
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk (I use Trader Joe's)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

 

Crush the pretzels.  Either the old fashioned way: in an unsealed plastic bag, 

crush with a rolling pin OR use a food processor.

Yields 1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels. The crush will be much finer when

using a food processor, but either way is just fine.

Mix the crushed pretzels with 1 stick of melted butter and 

1/2 tsp sea salt.

Press the pretzel/butter mixture into a lightly greased (I use coconut oil), 

parchment lined 9x13 pan.

 Chop the raw pecans.

 Over the pressed pretzel crust, evenly sprinkle the chopped pecans,

coconut and chocolate chips.  Press firmly, again.

Evenly cover all the goodies with sweetened condensed milk.

Bake at 350 degrees for 23-27 minutes.

Remove from heat and slide a knife along the edges of the pan that were not 

parchment covered.  Then place bars (still in pan) on a cooling rack for an

 hour (or pop in the refrigerator, to speed the cooling process up). Then gently wiggle 

the bars out of the pan, using the parchment paper as handles, and place on a 

cutting board.  Use a pizza wheel to make desired sized cuts.

Store in an air tight container, either at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

You are about the be the hero of your next potluck!!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Pretzely 'Easter Eggs'

I was spreading peanut butter on some crackers for my little sweets, remembering 

that peanut butter crackers are the second best thing to peanut butter pretzels 

(in the peanut butter department).  Well thank the lawdy for some little elves living 

in a tree, as they were wise enough make straight up pretzel crackers...not pretzel thins.  

These are pretzel on one side and butter cracker on the other.  Amazing!  Of course 

I then remembered that chocolate makes almost anything better, 

so I give you my 'gas station style' Easter egg treat!

What you need:

pretzel crackers

peanut butter

semi-sweet chocolate chips

On a nonstick surface (parchment paper or Silpat)

place crackers, pretzel side down, and spread with

peanut butter.

 

Pop the chocolate chips in the microwave for 25 seconds at a time,

this is after 2 spins in the microwave (stirring after 25)

This is after the third spin in the microwave (3-25 second spins)

This is after the fourth spin in the microwave (4-25 second spins)

For every peanut butter cracker, you need a cracker mate.  Spread

the melted chocolate on the cracker side of each mate.

Sandwich the chocolate cracker with the peanut butter cracker.

Same chocolate melting steps, but 3-25 second spins in the microwave,

as I melted less chocolate.  Transfer melted chocolate to a bottle.  I have

a few squirt bottles, one from the grocery store (pictured), and a couple

from a baking/restaurant supply store...you can even find them at a 99 cent 

shop. I only let the chocolate fall to the bottom of the bottle, for this pic.  

otherwise, I work  to keep it at the top, filling bottle on it's side...it is easier 

than knocking the bottle on the counter until all the chocolate is back at the top...

which you want before 'decorating the eggs', to avoid air bubbles.

No rhyme or reason to the 'decorating'...just make sure the chocolate

is at the top of the bottle to avoid air bubbles.

After each 'egg' had a bit of decoration, I popped the tray in the 

refrigerator.  An hour later the chocolate was set.

Reason #24 that you need to raid the kitchen aisle at TJ Maxx...

a ceramic egg tray!