You know you're becoming an adult when you actually have to contribute to family holiday dinners. This isn't high school where you can sleep in until 30 minutes before the meal, or college where you can pull the "But I'm only home for a few days" card. Nope. You're an adult now, and when there's family dinners - you cook. For my first post-college Easter dinner, I was assigned the task of making dessert. I love to cook, but baking? Not so much. The worst thing about baking is that you generally actually have to follow the instructions. I think that's always been the difficult part for me. I like to stick to things made on a stovetop. There's usually more wiggle room to forget an ingredient, double the garlic (always), or give it your own flair. But with baking, you usually have to follow the ingredients and instructions. Well, usually. I came across some awesome looking caramel pretzel brownies on Pinterest, but decided to put my own spin on them.

Being the lazy millenial that I am, of course I didn't want to make the brownie batter from scratch. I tweaked came up with a "semi-homemade" gooey caramel pretzel peanut butter brownie recipe because honestly, ain't nothin wrong with Betty Crocker's brownies. (Pssst, scroll to the bottom of the post if you just want the recipe, not my candid play-by-play.) This recipe begins with a sweet and salty crushed pretzel crust. Take a couple big handfuls of pretzels and toss 'em in a Ziploc bag. Beat/smash with your preferred method of pulverizing. I'm partial to a rolling pin. You'll want to end up with around 2 cups of crushed pretzels. Smush them into a semi-fine consistency. You don't want pretzel flour, but this is going to be a crust, so you'll want it in fairly small pieces.



Mix this with a stick of melted butter, and a quarter cup of sugar. You'll then pop this baby into a 350 degree over for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and starting to set.



While the crust is in the oven, make your brownie batter. Follow Betty's instructions. She knows what she's doing. When your crust comes out of the oven, pour in half of the brownie batter and pop it back into the oven for 20 minutes.



If your life is ridiculous like mine, you'll be interrupted at this point by a stray dog running through your front yard. If this happens, be a pal and go get him and try to find his owners. I spent an hour that afternoon with Oscar, whose owner came looking for him shortly after. Isn't he a cutie?



Now, after returning the dog to his owner, you can safely resume baking. Where were we? Ah, the good stuff: the caramel core. I used almost an entire 11 oz. bag of Kraft caramel squares. I say almost, because I ate 7 of them before I started baking. If you have self-control, use the entire bag. Unwrap and place into a microwave-safe bowl with 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each one, until it's a smooth caramel-like consistency. You'll want to be able to do this.



Take your brownie bottom half out of the oven, and pour this caramel deliciousness on top. Lick the bowl after. Top with the remainder of your brownie batter. If I were you, I'd be thinking "Hey Erica, where's that PB you promised?" Oh I'll feed you baby birds. Take a couple heaping spoonfuls and glob it on top of your brownie batter. Then take a sharp knife and swirl it all around to evenly distribute it. Crush up another handful of pretzels and sprinkle them on top. Bake for another 25-35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the brownies comes out without liquid brownie batter on it, just soft brownie crumbs.



Wait 30 minutes or so to cut into these bad boys. Or wait 5 minutes and get oozy brownie squares, like I did. Enjoy!



Gooey Caramel Pretzel Peanut Butter Brownies

Crust:
2 cups crushed pretzels
1 stick melted butter
1/4 cup sugar

Caramel core:
11 oz. bag of Kraft caramel squares
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Brownie batter:
1 box of brownie mix, prepared as directed

Topping:
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
Crushed pretzels, to garnish

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. Line a 9x9 baking pan with aluminum foil.
3. Place a few handfuls of pretzels into a Ziploc bag, seal, then smash/roll/beat into a semi-fine powder. You'll need about 2 cups total.
4. Mix pretzel crumbs with one stick of melted butter, then stir in 1/4 cup of sugar.
5. Press the crust mixture into the bottom of your pan, then bake for 10-15 minutes until the crust is starting to brown and set.
6. While the crust is baking, prepare your brownie mix according to the directions on the box.
7. Remove crust from the oven, then pour half of the brownie mix over the crust. Return to the over for 20 minutes.
8. While your brownie layer is baking, place your caramel squares and 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 minute intervals, stirring each time, until you have a smooth consistency.
9. Pour caramel mix over your brownie layer, then top with the remaining brownie batter.
10. Drop peanut butter by the spoonful over the top of your brownies, then swirl with a sharp knife.
11. Top with crushed pretzels, if desired.
12. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until you can insert and remove a knife without any batter on the knife. Cool for 20-30 minutes. Enjoy!