Dessert Recipes with Broken Pretzels

Don't fret when you open the pretzel bag and all of those lovely twisted shapes are in pieces. Make these unique dessert recipes instead!



Pretzel-Shortbread Bars
Broken pretzels are worked into the dough: Finely ground crumbs go into the flour mixture, and bigger pieces stud the inside and top layer of the bars.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Yield Makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients
Vegetable oil cooking spray
3 1/4 cups salted miniature twist pretzels
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 4 14-by-13 1/2-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment.

Pulse 1 3/4 cups pretzels in a food processor until powdery. Transfer 1/2 cup to a bowl; discard any remaining pretzel powder. Stir in flour and baking powder. Transfer remaining 1 1/2 cups pretzels to food processor, and pulse a few times until coarsely chopped.

Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and beat in egg yolk, then pretzel-flour mixture, until combined. Mix in 1/2 cup chopped pretzels.

Press dough evenly into pan. Top dough with 1/4 cup chopped pretzels, pressing slightly; discard any remaining pretzels.

Bake shortbread until pale brown and firm in the center, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let shortbread cool for 1 hour. Remove shortbread from pan, and cut into 1/2-inch-wide rectangles using a serrated knife.

Plus: Don't Toss These Leftovers



Peanut-Butter Pretzel Candy
Turn leftover farm-stand pretzels into simple candies. Peanut butter helps the crumbled pretzels stick together, and melted chocolate is the finishing touch.

Ingredients
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room-temperature
1 cup crushed pretzels
5 ounces milk chocolate, melted

Directions
Stir together peanut butter, sugar, and butter. Stir in crushed pretzels. Form into 1-inch balls. Freeze for 30 minutes. Dip in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until set.

Plus: More Easy Candy Recipes



Individual Apple Crumbles
Create individual apple crumbles using pretzels from the market. Top halved apples with a mixture that includes crushed pretzels.

Yield Serves 6

Ingredients
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons crushed pretzels
3 apples, halved and cored

Directions
Blend butter and flour with brown sugar. Stir in pretzels. Scatter over apple halves. Bake at 375 degrees until apples are soft and topping is crisp, 35 to 40 minutes.

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Easy Chocolate Fudge Pretzels

Yield Makes 36

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips (16 ounces)
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
2 1/2 cups roughly chopped miniature pretzels

Directions
Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.

Place butter, chocolate chips, condensed milk, vanilla, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pot of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until chocolate just melts and mixture is combined and warm but not hot, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 2 cups pretzels. Transfer mixture to pan and smooth top; press 1/2 cup pretzels on top. Refrigerate until set, 2 hours (or up to overnight, wrapped). Using parchment, lift fudge from pan and cut into 36 squares.

Variations
Swap It: Use trail mix, your favorite chopped candy, or crushed cookies in place of pretzels.

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