Pretzel Brownies

Brownies are quite possibly the perfect handheld, game day, after-dinner treat. Featuring superhero ingredients like rich dark chocolate, crunchy peanut butter and crispy pretzels, they’re a guaranteed sweet and salty homegating hit! Your family and friends will absolutely love this recipe.

INstructions:

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 350 ˚F. Liberally grease a 9-inch baking pan with butter.
   2. Fill a saucepan with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Set a heatproof bowl overtop of the saucepan and add the chopped chocolate and butter. Let the chocolate and butter melt together, stirring every few minutes, until smooth and glossy. Stir in the peanut butter and remove from the heat. Give the mixture another stir and set aside.
   3. Combine the two sugars in a bowl and crack in the eggs. Whisk the eggs into the sugar until smooth and frothy, 2 to 3 minutes, then whisk in the maple and vanilla. While whisking constantly, slowly stream the chocolate peanut mixture into the egg mixture until smooth.
   4. In a second bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir until smooth. Pour the brownie mix into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
   5. Transfer the pan to the oven, set a timer and bake for 15 minutes. At the 15-minute mark, remove the pan from the oven and arrange the pretzels on top of the brownies. Place the pan back into the oven and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
   6. Cool the brownies in the pan for about 30 minutes (or as long as you can stand it), then slice into small brownies and serve.

Crank up your cooking tip:

Add the pretzels to the top of the brownies halfway through the cooking process to help stop them from shrinking.