Last updated on September 6th, 2022
Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites dipped in rich chocolate are the ultimate party snack food! A delicious combination of salty pretzel and sweet, smooth peanut butter. This no-bake recipe will have everyone asking for more! Be careful, and it just might increase your blood sugar level too much!
I think every good dessert table should have a healthy combination of baked goods and no-bake recipes. It’s way too much trying to coordinate when you need to pull your chocolate chip blondies out of the oven if you’re also trying to coordinate baking your Texas sheet cake cookies and making sure you have enough time to frost them.
You need some no-bake recipes in there so you can make some items ahead of time and not be rushing around at the last minute! You can make a batch of low-carb coconut mousse for fruit lovers and a batch of these peanut butter pretzel bites for chocolate lovers!
Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites
The easiest way to make these chocolate peanut butter pretzels is with a stand mixer and a small scoop.
To make sure the peanut butter balls for the center are a pretty uniform size, I use a small cookie scoop. Don’t fill it up the whole way or mound it at all. You’ll find that it’s almost too large then to keep the pretzels together. You only need about 1/2 tablespoon for each center. Using a cookie scoop just makes it go so much faster too!
In your stand mixer bowl, add 1 cup of creamy peanut butter. Crunchy peanut butter would also work well if you prefer some added texture and flavor. 2 tablespoons of softened butter, 3/4 cup light brown sugar, and 3/4 cup powdered sugar. Granulated sugar would work fine as well. Turn it on low until all of the powdered sugar is incorporated. Then turn it up to medium and until it is all blended together and smooth.
Stir in 1 cup of mini chocolate chips. Then use your small cookie scoop to form small balls of the peanut butter mixture. Place them on top of a pretzel, and then press a second pretzel on top of the peanut butter ball to flatten it slightly. Lay your pretzels out on a sheet of wax paper or baking sheet as you make your peanut butter bites.
How to Melt Chocolate with Shortening
In a small bowl, add 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of shortening.
Heat for 20 seconds. Remove and stir again. Repeat this process until it is completely smooth.
Heat for one minute in the microwave and then stir. If there are still chunks of chocolate chips, return to the microwave for another 20 seconds. Remove and stir again. Repeat this process until it is completely smooth.
Then take each peanut butter pretzel bite and dip it in the melted chocolate. I dip it about 1/3 to halfway down and then tap my hands on the rim a few times to remove excess chocolate. You can also gently drag it along the rim as you remove it if you feel like there’s still a lot of chocolate on the bottom.
Then just set on your wax paper to harden and continue with all the rest of your pretzel bites!
Tips for Making Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites
- I’ve never tried these with chunky peanut butter, but I’m sure it would taste great. I would probably leave the mini chocolate chips out of the filling then because you don’t want too much “chunk” in your balls otherwise;, it won’t flatten as well.
- You can easily use margarine in place of the melted butter.
- You do not need to include the mini chocolate chips in the filling. In fact, I usually make it without the mini chocolate chips because I think there’s enough chocolate in the coating (and I’m cheap!).
- For the chocolate coating, I always prefer semi-sweet chocolate but you can also use milk chocolate. You do need the chocolate covering the pretzel, though, to hold it all together. Otherwise, your pretzels tend to fall off, and you just end up with a lot of pieces.
- You can use coconut oil in place of the vegetable shortening when you’re making your chocolate coating. Do NOT use butter or margarine, though. They have water in them, and it makes the chocolate clump up rather than becoming smooth.
- You can use other pretzel shapes if you want! Just make sure you choose a small pretzel that doesn’t have a lot of large openings for the filling to push through.
- Suppose you want to speed along the chocolate-setting process, line cookie sheets with wax paper. That way, once you have a cookie sheet filled, you can pop it in the fridge to help the chocolate set faster. Once it’s set, remove the pretzel bites from the wax paper and store them at room temperature.
Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 2 Tbsp. Butter softened
- 3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 cup Mini Chocolate Chips optional
- 16 oz Pretzels
Chocolate Coating
- 2 cups Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
- 2 Tbsp. Vegetable Shortening
Instructions
- Line your counter with wax paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add peanut butter, softened butter, brown sugar and powdered sugar. Turn mixer on low until powdered sugar is mixed in. Turn up to medium and continue beating until smooth.
- Stir in 1 cup of mini chocolate chips. (optional). Mix well.
- Using a small scoop, scoop about 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter mixture and roll into a ball. Press between two pretzels and set on wax paper. Continue until all of the peanut butter mixture is gone.
- In a small bowl, add semi-sweet chocolate chips and shortening. Microwave for one minute and then stir well. Continue microwaving for 20 seconds at a time, stirring well after each time, until it is completely smooth.
- Dip each pretzel sandwich in the chocolate, tapping it on the edge to remove excess chocolate. Then set back on wax paper and allow the chocolate to harden.
Notes
Nutrition
In conclusion,this peanut butter pretzel recipe is a fun and easy way to make a tasty snack. With only a few ingredients and a little bit of time, you can have a delicious treat that everyone will love. So, next time you’re looking for something to make for a party or just want a tasty snack, give this homemade peanut butter pretzels recipe a try.
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8 Comments
Fiorenza
May 15, 2019 at 9:35 amWhat a fancy idea! I love both sweet and savory together, they are perfect in this mix.
I already foresee a whole bowl of these, emptied in 10 seconds … maybe even less.
Denay
May 16, 2019 at 3:33 amMy movie night guests loved these delicious peanut butter pretzel bites! Such a flavorful treat!
Taryn
May 16, 2019 at 3:58 pmThese are so much better than the store bought ones! Thanks for the recipe.
Jade
May 16, 2019 at 10:19 pmThese are my favorite! They have everything I like pretzels, peanut butter, and chocolate!
Deanna
May 23, 2019 at 3:22 amHave you tried these with just melted chocolate chips without the shortening or would it not be thick enough told hold them together?
admin
May 28, 2019 at 3:37 pmYou need the shortening to thin the chocolate out. If you just melt chocolate chips it will get all clumpy and you won’t be able to dip the pretzel bites. I wish it worked that way!
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