These super indulgent, no-bake bars have both chocolate and butterscotch chips, peanut butter, and pretzels. What's not to love about all those things? Salted Pretzel Scotcheroos are the perfect sweet and salty bar with a crunch! They have a chocolate butterscotch top and a peanut butter pretzel layer on the bottom. You really can't go wrong with that flavor combination! The flake salt sprinkled on top as a finishing touch helps to bring out all of the different flavors throughout the bar. They are so quick and simple that anyone can whip these up in a flash!
These Salted Pretzel Scotcheroos are a twist on two old recipes I found in my mom's recipe collection. Scotcheroos and Special K bars both typically have the chocolate, butterscotch and peanut butter. Both also usually have cereal in the bottom layer. I eliminated the cereal and added pretzels to this recipe instead, adding a little salty element to this sweet treat!
I made three pans of these as I was testing out the recipe and there is not one person in my house who was mad about that! Luckily, these bars are easily frozen. Now we have some tucked away in the freezer for when we need a sweet treat in the future.
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Ingredients Needed
- Sugar
- Honey
- Peanut butter - I like to use crunchy peanut butter to make these, but there is no reason creamy wouldn't work just as well. Whatever you have in your cupboard will be great!
- Pretzels - I've made these with both pretzel rods and pretzel twists. The shape of the pretzel does not matter.
- Chocolate chips - I prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips for this.
- Butterscotch chips
- Flake salt - This is my go-to flake salt for all the things!
How to Make Salted Pretzel Scotcheroos
Prepare an 8x8-inch square cake pan by spraying it with cooking spray.
Place your pretzels in a medium bowl. Using your hands, break them up into pieces without pulverizing them. (I initially used a bowl to break them apart and then had pretzel dust, so don't do that!) Set your bowl of pretzels aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and honey and heat on medium heat until boiling. Let the mixture boil for one minute and then remove from the heat. Add the peanut butter and stir until the peanut butter melts in and is completely combined. Pour the sugar mixture over the pretzels. Stir to combine. Transfer pretzel mixture to the prepared cake pan and spread to an even layer. I used the bottom of a ⅓ cup measuring cup to press down the mixture and make it as even as possible.
In a glass bowl, combine the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Place the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power. Remove the bowl and stir. Continue to do this until the mixture is mostly melted with just a few clumps. Stir the mixture and then let it sit for one minute and then stir again. There may be a few butterscotch chunks that are refusing to melt completely, but that's ok. (I've never been mad about a butterscotch chunk in my scotcheroo.) Pour the chocolate mixture over the pretzel mixture. Using a spoon or spatula, spread the chocolate to an even layer, making sure to get it all the way to the corners and edges to fill in any gaps. The final step is to sprinkle generously with the flake salt. Let your Salted Pretzel Scotcheroos sit until they have cooled completely. Once cooled, cut into squares and enjoy!
FAQ
- How can I store these if I don't eat them all at once? These are best served at room temperature if you want everyone to keep all their teeth in tact. You can keep them covered on the counter for several days. I like to keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week. They can also be stored in the freezer for future snacks too! If you do keep them in the fridge or freezer, I recommend letting them sit on the counter until they are at room temperature because they will be very hard to bite into if they are still cold.
- Can I use a pan other than an 8x8-inch cake pan? Yes! I've also made these in a 15x10-inch baking dish and it worked out great. The height of your scotcheroos will be determined by the size of your pan.
- Do I have to use the flake salt? No. You do not have to sprinkle the salt on the top of these Salted Pretzel Scotcheroos. It would be totally okay to just make Pretzel Scotcheroos and forget the salt. If you don't have flake salt, I wouldn't recommend anything else. Regular table salt will be too fine and will be too salty and coarse ground salt could be a bit much. Get yourself some flake salt and use it for all kinds of things!
Recipe
Salted Pretzel Scotcheroos
Ingredients
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup chunky peanut butter
- 3 cups pretzels
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- Flake salt
Instructions
- Spray an 8x8-inch square cake pan with cooking spray.
- Place pretzels in medium bowl. Break pretzels into small pieces using your hands.
- In a medium saucepan, add the honey and sugar. Stir to combine. Heat on medium heat until boiling. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Add peanut butter to honey mixture. Stir until melted and completely combined. Pour peanut butter mixture over pretzels. Stir to combine.
- Transfer pretzel mixture to prepared cake pan and spread to an even layer. Set aside.
- In a glass microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate and butterscotch chips. Place in the microwave and heat at 50% power for 30 seconds. Remove and stir. Repeat until mixture is almost completely melted. Let stand for one minute and stir again.
- Pour chocolate mixture over pretzel layer. Spread chocolate mixture to an even layer and sprinkle generously with flake salt. Let cool completely before cutting into 2-inch squares.
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