Pretzel and Graham Cracker Chocolate Bars

I went to a super fun blogger event on Saturday – Shannon’s annual cookie swap! Last year I made cookies inspired by my very favorite ice cream, Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby, and this year I wanted to incorporate Nestle’s Flipz White Fudge Coated Pretzels aka crack that I can never buy because I’ll finish the whole bag. I thought the pretzels would go well with chocolate cookies bars and then I spontaneously threw some graham crackers in the mix that were left over from this Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie (yum – the perfect apple treat, I highly recommend the recipe!) and finished them off with some drizzled chocolate.  I really liked the contrast of the soft chocolate cookie and the crunchy goodies on top.

It was so fun catching up with everyone. Our mouth watering spread included Bridget’s Lemon Ricotta Cookies, Cara’s Peanut Butter Butterscotch Rice Krispy Treats, Elina’s Almond Macaroons with Chocolate Ganache, Jen’s Meyer Lemon Shortbread, and Shannon’s Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cookies. They were all fabulous and I was on a delightful sugar high the rest of the day. I’m already looking forward to next year – big thanks to Shannon for hosting!

Pretzel and Graham Cracker Chocolate Bars
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped graham crackers
2 cups coarsely chopped white chocolate covered pretzels
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:
Heat oven to 350˚F. Place butter and sugars in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until creamed. Mix in eggs, vanilla, and melted chocolate until smooth. Mix in flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt. Spread dough evenly in a greased 13×9-inch pan. Bake at 350˚F for 15 minutes, then remove from oven, and gently press graham cracker and pretzel pieces into the dough. Return to oven and bake an additional 5 to 8 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let cool to room temperature, about an hour. Place chocolate chips and cream in a bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds; mix until smooth. Drizzle over bars and cut into 24 rectangles.

Nutrition: 223 calories, 11.9g fat, 1.5g fiber, 3.0g protein per bar
Cost: $0.26 per bar