Graham Cracker Pretzel Salted Toffee

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I don't have a lot to say other than "MAKE THIS!!  And make A LOT!" because it will be gone before it even sets up all the way, I guarantee it.  I am a die-hard toffee fan, second only to my love of chocolate truffles, and this stuff has blown my idea of toffee out of the water.  It is the perfect blend of sweet, caramel goodness, and salty blissful savoriness.  Really, match made in heaven.  I really ate probably a tenth of the tray before the chocolate even solidified.  I must get this out of the house, lest I gain ten pounds because I ate it all by tomorrow.  I know the pictures are not great, but I was afraid if I waited until tomorrow, there may be nothing left to take a picture of.

I know it may seem a little weird, the graham crackers and all, but I promise, on my crock pot and my hand mixer, that you will love it.  I implore you to pin this, make this, and share this with those you love...it will make the world a brighter place.  Ok, maybe it won't, but you will have a smile on your face!

GRAHAM CRACKER PRETZEL SALTED TOFFEE
(Adapted from Six Sister's Stuff's Saltine Cracker English Toffee)

Ingredients:

• 15 graham cracker sheets
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1-1/2 cups crushed pretzels

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Lay the graham cracker sheets side by side in the pan, it should end up being five across and three rows long.
4. In a saucepan, melt the butter, salt, and brown sugar over medium heat. Bring it to a boil and let it boil for three minutes without stirring. After three minutes, remove from heat, add the vanilla and stir in quickly, then pour the hot brown sugar mixture evenly over the graham crackers.  Use the spoon to spread it out a bit if needed.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes, until bubbly.
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle with the chocolate chips.  Let them melt for a few minutes and then use a knife or spatula to carefully spread the chocolate out evenly over the toffee.
7. Sprinkle with the crushed pretzels and press them in to the chocolate slightly.
8. Let it cool completely on the counter or in the fridge.  When set, break the toffee into two-bite pieces and enjoy!
9. Store in an air tight container for 1-2 weeks or in the freezer for a few months (HA!  Like there will be any left to store....).

Heavenly Cookie Bars

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I have been dying for some sweet, salty, chewy, and very chocolatey cookies lately, but have frankly been too lazy, and too busy (bad combo) to do anything about it.  One of my favorite bloggers, Sweet Pea's Kitchen, happen to post a  recipe for Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.  It was exactly what I was looking for.  All the yummy of cookies, without slaving over an oven repeatedly putting in and taking out sheets of cookies.  It mixes up quick, didn't even need a mixer, just a whisk (BIG bonus!!) and bakes up in no time.  The only modification I made was that instead of all chocolate chips, I added chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and then pretzel pieces, and then some whole pretzels on top just for presentation points. 

They truly are heavenly.  Sweet, salty, chocolaty, crunchy, chewy, seriously, just heavenly.

Heavenly Cookie Bars
(Adapted slightly from Sweet Pea's Kitchen's Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars)

Makes 1- 9x13 pan, cut into 24 or 32 slices

Ingredients:

2 ⅛ cups all-purpose flour (10 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
1 cup light brown sugar (7 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
3 oz. mini pretzels, half broken into small pieces, half kept whole for the top

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.  Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, with ends extending up the sides (will be for easy removal later).
2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together with a whisk, the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until combined.
4. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well.
5. Using a spoon or spatula, mix in dry ingredients into the egg and butter mixture until just combined.
6. Mix in the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and broken pretzel pieces and mix well.
7. Scoop into the prepared pan, using a spatula to press it down evenly into the pan.  Place the whole pretzels on top in a decorative pattern (I used 24 evenly spaced ones, so when they are cut, there would be 24 servings, each with a pretzel on top) and press down slightly.
8. Bake for 27-32 minutes, until the top is light brown, slightly firm to the touch and the edges start to pull away from the sides.
9. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack to room temperature.  Using the parchment paper, lift the bars out, cut into 2-inch squares and serve.

Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Pretzel Cookies

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Sweet, salty, chewy, crunchy, chocolatey, savory, butterscotchy, and just plain addictive.  That is how I will describe what is probably my most favorite version of chocolate chip cookies.  I know you may think that adding pretzels to chocolate chip cookies may seem way too weird to try, but think about it for a second--salted caramel is all the rage right now, think of it like that.  The pretzels add a pleasant burst of saltiness and a suprising little crunch every so often.  It is heavenly.  Try them.  Try them please!  They will change your thoughts on chocolate chip cookies forever.

These are dangerous to have in my house, I love them so much.  The freeze beautifully, so I am putting my batch in the freezer to 1) slow down my consumption (out of sight out of mind) and 2) keep them fresh for a long time.

IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO PIN IT :)

CHOCOLATE CHIP BUTTERSCOTCH PRETZEL COOKIES

Makes between 40-46 cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of butter (1 cup), softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
• 6 oz. butterscotch chips
• 1.5 oz mini pretzels or thin pretzel sticks, broken into bite sized pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter and cream together with a hand mixer until well combined.
3. Add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
4. Add flour, salt, and baking soda and mix well.
5. Pour in chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and pretzel pieces and combine by hand or with mixer.
6. Using a #40 cookie scoop (1 1/2 Tbs.), drop onto prepared pan, about 12 cookies, 2 inches apart.
7. Bake for 9-11 minutes until they start to brown on the edges.  They will still look a bit light in the center, but will darken and firm up when they cool.