Caramel Pretzel Blondies
Craving the classic taste of homemade cookies without all the dough scooping and staggered baking (tray in the oven, tray out of the oven, tray back in the oven, tray back out…)? Twin Cities food blogger Greens & Chocolate shares her Caramel Pretzel Blondies recipe so you can enjoy all that cookie goodness — without all the work.
If there is ever a dessert with a sweet and salty combination, you can count me in. I mean really, I’m not one to pass up any kind of dessert, but I’m especially a sucker for that duo.
Filled with crunchy, salty pretzels and drizzled with salted caramel, these Caramel Pretzel Blondies are for my fellow salty-sweet lovers.
But first – are you familiar with blondies? Blondies could be described as brownies without the chocolate or as cookies in bar form without all the dough scooping and multiple baking sheets in and out of the oven. I’m all for cookies, but as a mom with a newborn and two little boys, I’m also a big fan of recipes that don’t need a bunch of hands-on work right now!
My ideal blondie has chewy edges and soft, yet sturdy, inner pieces, and these blondies check both of those boxes. This recipe is also a true winner because it only requires one bowl to whip up and an electric mixer if you’re feeling lazy and don’t want to stir by hand. It starts with melted butter, which makes it much easier to stir by hand than if you have to cream the butter and sugar. Regardless, one bowl is all you need.
So you’ll start by mixing together melted butter and brown sugar. To that, you add the eggs and vanilla, and then you add the dry ingredients and pretzels. The batter is spread into a baking dish, drizzled with caramel sauce and baked until golden brown. The smell coming from the oven is almost too much to handle!
Caramel Pretzels Blondies are perfect for a summer BBQ dessert (perhaps topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream) or an afternoon treat.
Makes 12 blondies
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pretzels
½ cup caramel sauce, warmed
Directions:
- Heat the oven to 350 F.
- Grease a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the melted butter and brown sugar until well combined, about 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.
- Add the vanilla extract, mixing until combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt, mixing with a spatula until combined.
- Fold in the chopped pretzels.
- Spread the blondie dough into the greased pan.
- Drizzle the warm caramel over the dough and swirl with a knife.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and no longer jiggly in the middle.
- Cool completely.
- Cut into squares.
Enjoy!