No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars Recipe

My favorite combo after peanut butter and chocolate is pretzels and chocolate.  I love the sweet and salty combo!  

I recently bought an enormous jar of pretzels, so I decided to make some Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars.  They are a cinch to make!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
• 2 c pretzels twists, crushed
• 1 1/2 c confectioners' sugar
• 1 c + 1/4 c smooth peanut butter
• 1 1/2 c milk chocolate chips
• broken pretzels, for topping (optional)

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, pretzel crumbs, confectioners' sugar and 1 c peanut butter. 
• Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of a parchment-lined 9x13 pan.  
• Heat on high for 1 minute the chocolate chips and remaining 1/4 c peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until smooth.
• Spread over peanut butter layer.
• Refrigerate at least 1 hour before cutting into bars.  

You can find the original recipe here on Food Network.

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Dirt Block Fudge

We made another recipe from the Minecrafter's Cookbook - Dirt Block Fudge!

It was a cinch.  Just take 3 cups of chocolate chips and 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, melt in a microwave safe bowl on high for 90 seconds, stir until smooth, add in 1 t vanilla, pour into a parchment-lined 8x8 dish, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Easy!

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Three-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cups

I love peanut butter cups!  They are my weakness. 

Since I'm trying to avoid going out at all in an effort to support social distancing, I decided to make my own.

I've made Peanut Butter Cups before, and that recipe was different in that it used more powdered sugar, and it also asked for butter.  This recipe just calls for 3 T powdered sugar, 1/2 c peanut butter, and 1 c chocolate chips, melted.

In mini muffin cups, scoop 1 T chocolate into bottom of cup.  Scoop 1 t of a combined mixture of the powdered sugar and peanut butter, then top with another 1 T of chocolate.

Refrigerate for an hour.

I did tweak the original recipe a little, by adding a scoop of vanilla protein powder, and adding 2 T of peanut butter to the chocolate chips to make the chocolate easier to spread (and a little extra PB never hurt, right?).

The end result was divine.

And I ate way too many...

You can find the original recipe here on Tasty.

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S'mores Energy Bites

I make a lot of Energy Bites, and have even created different varieties (with graham crackers, Nutella, and even cocoa), but it was my youngest son who decided to make a S'mores variety one day while on fall break, and all I could think was "Why didn't I ever think of that?"

The recipe is a cinch, and you may already have most of the ingredients on hand!

No-Bake S'Mores Energy Bites 

Ingredients:

• 1 c old-fashioned oats 
• 2/3 c sweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 c peanut butter
• 1/2 c crushed graham crackers
• 1/2 c chocolate chips
• 1/2 c mini marshmallows
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 t vanilla extract

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl.
• Refrigerate mixture for at least an hour.
• Roll mixture into 1" balls.

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Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  They are my all-time favorite candy.  Those who know me best would give me Reese's for holidays and other special occasions, or even "just because" - that's how much I love Reese's!

The chocolate and peanut butter combo is simply one of the best combos there is, and I decided to try and make my own peanut butter cups.

It's super easy, and I absolutely loved the PB cups. I didn't have the time or patience to try and make the PB layer "pretty," but they still turned out delicious.

In my opinion, they taste more like the PB cups from Trader Joe's vs Reese's, but they are still really, really good.

Of course, the true test would be with my kids, especially my middle son, who loves Reese's almost as much as I do.

He gave it a thumbs up!

The best part - this recipe is no bake!

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients:

• 1 c creamy peanut butter, divided
• 1/2 c confectioners sugar
• 4 t butter, softened
• 2 c semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Combine 1/2 cup peanut butter, confectioners sugar, and butter until smooth.
• Melt chocolate chips and remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter in microwave on high for 90 seconds. Stir until smooth.
• Drop teaspoonfuls of chocolate mixture into paper-lined miniature muffin cups. 
• Drop a teaspoonful of peanut butter mixture into each cup.
• Top with a teaspoonful of chocolate mixture. 
• Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

You can find the original recipe here on A Taste of Home.

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Nat's Attempt at No-Bake Energy Bites

If you had read my review of the Willow Stream Spa at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui, you'll know what inspired me to attempt to make these no-bake energy bites. The spa had these ono-licious energy bites in the co-ed lounge, and I liked them so much that I wanted to see if I could make them at home. 

Gem has posted numerous recipe variations of no-bake energy bites, all of which looked really good and similar to the energy bites that we had at the Fairmont, so I looked for the basic no-bake energy bites recipe that she posted (which was an adaptation from Gimmie Some Oven), to see if it yielded energy bites similar to the Fairmont's.

The great things about this recipe is that it requires only seven ingredients, many of which I already had on-hand. 

All I had to do was measure out the amount of each ingredient, place it all in a large mixing bowl, and mix it all together.

Then I placed the mixture in the refrigerator for about an hour so that the mixture would harden, making it more suitable for rolling into balls by hand ....

Since I was giving some of these to my friend, I wrapped the bites individually with wax paper and put them in a zip lock bag. 

Although these energy bites were not as peanut buttery as the Fairmont's, they were still delicious and one of my picky eaters really loved them. I'm definitely going to be making these more often, especially since I have a big container of old fashioned oats to use up!

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Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark

I love making bark.  It's super easy to make, and super yummy too!

I make it for all sorts of holidays and I usually use whatever I can find in the pantry - sprinkles, peanut butter, cookie butter, candies, etc.

A recent last-minute get-together resulted in Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark.

I used Sea Salted Caramels I bought in Wyoming and mini bags of pretzels we had on hand.

Simply place a layer of graham crackers on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, spread melted chocolate all over the graham crackers (I used 1 cup chocolate chips melted on high in the microwave for 1 minute), swirl the caramel into the chocolate (I melted 2 large caramel pieces - about 1/4 c worth; 30 seconds on high in the microwave), and sprinkled on pretzel pieces.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before breaking the bark into pieces

I absolutely loved the sweet / salty combo!

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Monster Cookie Energy Bites

I really loved the Monster Cookies I baked not too long ago, and although I wanted to make more, I just didn't have the urge to bake.

Luckily, I found a recipe for Monster Cookie Energy Bites, which made the perfect after school treat.

I love making energy bites.  They are easy, no-bake treats to make, and you can make them in all sorts of varieties, depending on the ingredients you have on hand.

The M&M's in these energy bites turns them into a quick and easy dessert as well!

Monster Cookie Energy Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 c creamy peanut butter
• 2/3 c honey
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 2 c old fashioned oats
• 1/2 c chocolate chips
• 1/2 c mini M&M's

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
• Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Roll into 1-inch balls.
• Can be kept in refrigerator for 3 to 5 days, or freeze for 2 to 3 months.

You can find the original recipe here on Love to Be in the Kitchen.

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No-Bake Valentine's Day Chex Mix

No-bake recipes are the best - they usually involve a low number of ingredients, they normally call for staple ingredients that any recreational baker should have on hand, and once you combine the ingredients, you're done!

I found an easy and delicious no-bake Valentine's Day-themed recipe that's sure to WOW the special someone in your life tomorrow on Valentine's Day on Livingwellmom.com.

What you'll need:
1  family size box of Rice Chex cereal (or about 9-10 cups)
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup of white chocolate chips
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 cup of milk chocolate M&Ms
1/4 cup sprinkles

Melt butter, white chocolate chips and peanut butter in the microwave or stovetop

Pour mixture into bowl of chex mix. Gently stir until evenly coated.

Put half of the chex mix into a zip lock bag. Add powdered sugar, seal bag and gently shake.

Remove chex mix from ziplock, place on lined baking pan and allow to dry.

Add M&Ms and sprinkles to the remaining half of the chex mix

Then combine both batches of chex mix together.  And you're done! 

There are many ways to package up your chex mix to give away as a gift(s).  I decided to use mason jars that I saw at Target. A pack of 10 jars was only $9!

 I used baker's twine to tie a Valentine's Day card to each one.

Happy Valentine's Day!

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Candy-Coated Energy Bites

My kids love Energy Bites.  They'll eat them for breakfast, snack, and even dessert!

With all of the Halloween candy still in the house, I decided to make a batch of Energy Bites coated in crushed up M&M's (for some reason M&M's are often left behind in the candy bowl at our house).

I simply used this Energy Bites recipe, and coated them in M&M's that were pulverized in a food processor.

Easy!

I also made a batch coated in crushed pretzels (another treat my kids end up leaving in the candy bowl).

These Candy-Coated Energy Bites are an easy, quick, and fairly guilt-free way to use up leftover Halloween candy!

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Cookie Dough Pretzel Bites

I love chocolate-covered pretzels, so when I saw a photo online of cookie dough sandwiched in between two pretzels and then dipped in chocolate, I knew I had to make some myself.

I used the eggless cookie dough recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction, and used Butter Snaps instead of Pretzel Twists. The end result was bite-size bits of bliss!

And the best part - no baking required!

Cookie Dough Pretzel Bites (recipe credit Sally's Baking Addiction):

Ingredients

• 1/2 c softened butter
• 1/2 c packed brown sugar
• 1/4 c sugar
• 2 T milk
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 c flour
• 1/8 t salt
• 1/2 c mini chocolate chips
• 1 12 oz bag of Butter Snaps
• Melting chocolate (I used 1 c chocolate chips + 1 T shortening microwaved on high for 1 minute)

Directions

• In a large bowl combine the butter and sugars until creamy.  
• Mix in the milk and vanilla extract.
• Add the flour and salt. 
• Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
• Roll the dough into balls (about 2 teaspoons worth of dough).  
• Sandwich balls between two pretzels and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. 
• Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
• Dip pretzel sandwiches halfway in melted chocolate.
• Refrigerate for another 15 minutes.

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