Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzel-Topped Brownies

Salty? Sweet? Enjoy both with these decadent chocolate brownies that get swirled with a luscious peanut butter filling. Top them off with crunchy salty pretzels and you have a winning combination!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzel-Topped Brownies
((Printable Recipe))

Brownie Batter Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup dark cocoa powder (like Hershey's Special Dark)
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Peanut Butter Filling Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
a large handful of broken pretzels
coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 11x7-inch baking dish

2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the cocoa powder, flour, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, and baking powder with a whisk.

3. Melt the butter and add to a large mixing bowl. Add the chocolate chips and stir with a whisk until they begin to melt. Add the sugar and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the dry ingredients.

4. Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Set aside.

5. For the peanut butter topping, mix the 4 tablespoons melted butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla together. Spoon this over the top of the brownies. Drag a knife back and forth through the mixture to swirl it all together.

6. Break a large handful of pretzels over the top of the brownie/peanut butter mixture, pressing them down gently into the batter. Sprinkle lightly with a little additional sea salt.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove them form the oven when the center is still slightly underdone and allow them to cool completely on a cooling rack.



*You will also find my recipe for these brownies featured over at Recipe Lion.