Peanut butter and honey is a natural pairing with these sweet and delicious pretzel crust butterscotch bars. Just the right amount of sweet and savory.
I just recently discovered something with all my food experimenting. You can make make a crust from pretty much anything. All you need is crumbs, something to bind it together (usually butter), and something sweet (optional). One of my new favorites is pretzel crust. Yes it’s as glorious as it sounds.
This Peanut Butter Honey Pretzel Butterscotch Bars recipe features pretzels, hence the name. You can also make crust from graham crackers, chocolate cookies, Nilla wafers, savory crackers, and all types of nuts; including macadamia nuts, pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts. See what I mean? So go ahead a be creative; the next recipe you try feel free to substitute the crust with your ingredient of choice.
However for these Pretzel Butterscotch Bars, let’s stick with pretzels for the first time. You’ll thank me later. Peanut butter and honey is a natural pairing that I can’t get enough of; with just the right amount of sweet and savory. Then combine with butterscotch and pretzel for another pairing of sweet and savory. Now you have all kinds of wonderful goodness. This recipe is fun to make and easy to take on the go. A very tempting combination for these addicting dessert bars. By the way, another adding peanut butter dessert is our Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Mini Cheesecake Cupcakes.
Cooking Tips: How to make a crust out of any crumbs
You can usually replace the crumb base in any recipe with the ingredient of your choice (read above for options). The ratio should be about 1 ½ cups of crumbs to 3–5 tablespoons melted butter.
Food Photography Tips
Each and every recipe on Plating Pixels has food photography and food styling tips. I hope home-cooks and food bloggers can learn valuable information from these.
I shot this in natural light at 1/80 sec, f/ 2.8, ISO 1600 with a . This butterscotch bars recipe has beautiful texture. The pretzel bits creates artistic contrast and shadows. If you make a recipe with similar features but sure to get in close and capture that. I recently developed a Super Fiber Breakfast Cereal Bars recipe, which you can only find in my 30 Minutes to Healthy Eating Ecookbook. The oats and cereal creates a similar effect, giving it an almost abstract pattern. Be sure to use a lens that lets you get in close and capture the detail.
Products used in this recipe:
3-Piece Mixing Bowl Set, Blue/Green/Yellow
OXO SoftWorks Can Opener
T-fal Nonstick Cookware Set, 10-Piece
Pyrex Baking Dish
Leave a comment below and star rating if you made this recipe or want to share your thoughts.
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Peanut Butter Honey Pretzel Butterscotch Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 cups finely crushed whole-wheat pretzel sticks
- 1 11-ounce package butterscotch baking chips
- 1/4 cup evaporated fat-free milk
- 1/2 cup coarsely crushed whole-wheat pretzel sticks
Instructions
- Completely line a 13x9 baking dish with foil and lightly grease. In a large bowl combine peanut butter, powdered sugar, honey and melted butter. Stir in 2 cups pretzel crumbs. Press mixture evenly into bottom of prepared dish to create a dense layer.
- Heat butterscotch chips and evaporated milk in a medium sauce pan over low heat until melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. Pour and evenly over peanut butter layer. While still warm, sprinkle with 1/2 cup pretzel pieces and gently press in.
- Cover and chill for at least 2 hours to set. Cut into bars with sharp knife. Store extras in air-tight container in fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Note: This recipe require an additional 2 hours chilling time.
These look absolutely amazing! I’m totally loving that you share food photography tips as well…I’ll be taking notes.
Those look delicious! I like how you list the details about the photo. It’s really helpful for a newbie like me 🙂
Thanks Angie! I find lots of practice (with some studying and reading) is the best way to learn.
Oh my goodness that looks so delicious! And I love how you include photography tips in the post!
Thanks Fran and glad you found the tips useful!
This might be my new favorite recipe! Pretzel as a crust?! Yes! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Aww thank you Ashleigh! That’s a bold statement and I’m flattered. You’re welcome!
Yummy! This looks so good!
Thanks Kimberly!
Well this is something totally new to me. I have never ever heard of a recipe close to this, but you had me at Peanut Butter and Pretzel 🙂
With so many recipes out there it’s nice to here you found this unique. Glad you like it. Thanks Lynda!
First of all, that looks delicious. Second, I LOVE that you included food photography tips! Very cool!
Thanks and thanks Angie! Glad you liked the recipe and the post!
OMG!! These look amazing!! I totally need to try these! Drooling over here!!
Haha thanks Leanne! That’s what I like to hear as a response to a recipe. You totally should!
Oh wow! These look like heaven on a plate!! Yum yum yum!
Thanks T Austin! Very well said!
Looks delicious! Love the combination of sweet and salty, and adding the butterscotch gives it a different flavor then the normal peanut butter flavor. Thanks for the photo tips!
Thanks and you’re welcome Linda! The flavor combo is wonderful. The butterscotch chips add a bit of fudgy texture too!
I cannot wait to try these! =D
Thanks Mary and I hope you do!
This is my kind of dessert. It reminds me of peanut brittle, another treat I enjoy. Pinning now!
Thanks for pinning Tirralan! It is a bit like that but much more soft. Plus you don’t get the pieces stuck in your teeth.
Oh looks delicious!
Thanks Gio!
Looks delish!! i always love the sweet and salty combo – nothing better to pair with savory pretzels than pb and honey 🙂
Thanks Natalie. I agree, sweet and salty is one of my favorite combos. Especially if it includes peanut butter