Reese's Pretzels
July 17, 2018 by Nicole Collins
I'm officially declaring that Reese's is the cure for EVERYTHING!
Having a bad day? Eat a Reese's.
Feeling hangry? Eat a Reese's.
Got a crazy sweet tooth? Eat a Reese's.
Ran out of peanut butter so you can't stick your peanut butter spoon in the jar and walk around licking your DIY peanut butter lollipop? Eat a Reese's.
And yes, I have a peanut butter spoon.
When I was at Hershey Park 2 weekends ago, my friend asked me what my favorite Hershey treat was. There was not a millisecond of hesitation before I blurted “REESES'S!” out of my mouth.
I am a TOTAL peanut butteraholic. Peanut butter is easily one of my favorite things in the whole entire universe. I actually keep a family size jar of peanut butter in my desk at work, and I have to have serious conversations with myself about when enough is enough.
You know the life changing peanut butter sauce that you can get on sundaes from chain ice cream shops? You know what I'm talking about. It doesn't solidify when it hits the cold ice cream. It just stays warm, and buttery, and gooey, and perfect, and ridiculously delicious until you hit the puddle of it at the bottom of the cup.
Well, after lots and lots of long research, I found that amazing peanut butter sauce on Amazon. It only comes in a 5 lb jug, and you bet your sweet bippy I found a way to justify ordering that much peanut butter sauce.
I thought I'd be the sundae queen. But truth be told, I only used it as a sauce maybe twice. Once on a sundae and once on waffles. I ate that entire 5 lbs of peanut butter straight from the jar. Not all at once...that would be ridiculous! But I swear, it was like peanut butter soup. And, I was just as happy as a little clam.
THAT is how much I love peanut butter.
And, I haven't been able to trust myself with another jar of that peanut butter sauce since. But, the time might just be nearing...
Anyway, cover the the best thing on Earth with chocolate, and how could you not have a match made in heaven? Of course, Reese's is the answer for all that ails us!
I'm taking my obsession for Reese's today and combining it with my obsession for salty sweet. Though, I guess Reese's kinda already has the salty sweet thing going on. But, we're just upping the ante today.
Today, we're making Reese's Pretzels!
So, I got the idea for these, because I actually saw a bag of Reese's Pretzels while I was waiting in line at the grocery store one day. Though this tiny bag was way overpriced at nearly $3, I bought them anyway. And, they were kind of a let down. I knew I could do it better (sorry Hershey's), so I did!
Let's talk about the pretzels first. There are LOTS of options when it comes to pretzels. You've got mini pretzels, original pretzels, sourdough pretzels, pretzel sticks, pretzel twists, pretzel nuggets...there's a lot of choices. I chose to go with the original size (the size in between mini and sourdough), but I also used some mini ones too. I thought about doing this with pretzel sticks, and I think I will at holiday time. A bundle of these would make an awesome gift wrapped in some pretty cellophane and ribbon.
For the peanut butter and chocolate, we're using Reese's peanut butter chips and Hershey's milk chocolate, of course. There's just no other way. I am “team store brand” 98% of the time, but this is one of those times where we want the authenticity of the real deal.
Peanut butter chips can be delicate, so I like to melt them over a double boiler. You don't need anything fancy...just a glass bowl that sits on top of a saucepan. I also prefer to use coconut oil when melting chocolate or chocolate like substances, because I find it helps the chips melts smoothly without giving them a greasy feel. I'm ok with melting the milk chocolate chips in the microwave, because they're a tad more forgiving. But, since you've already got the water simmering for the double boiler, you're welcome to use that to melt the chocolate instead.
To make the pretzels, we just need to set up a standard dipping station of wax paper, the pretzels, the peanut butter chips, and a fork. Use a fork to dip the pretzels, tap off the excess, lay them on the wax paper, and get them ready for their special toppings.
Our peanut butter pretzels get topped with some milk chocolate drizzle which is good enough on its own. But, if we're going to make Reese's pretzels, let's make REESE'S PRETZELS! So to do that, we need some Reese's peanut butter cups. We cut them up in to small little pieces, and we use our hands to break them up even more before sprinkling them on top of our pretzels. You have to work quickly enough for the candy pieces to adhere with the peanut butter is still wet, so it's best to work this assembly line a few pretzels at a time. It's a messy job, but someone's got to do it!
You'll thank me later when you get to lick Reese's crumbles off of your fingers!
The hardest part of making these pretzels is exercising self control for a few hours while these dry. Oh, and it's also pretty difficult not to eat every last one of these in one sitting. But, that's it for the hard stuff!
These are such a fun treat for any time of day, month, or year. But, they're especially satisfying when you're peanut butter spoon is sad and empty.
Alright guys! You inadvertently got one of my infamous dirty little secrets today, but I know I'm not a lone peanut butter lover. So, share the love and make these pretzels asap!
Enjoy, and let's eat!
Reese's Pretzels
Serves: 44 pretzels Print
Ingredients:
20 pretzels (I used salted)
24 mini pretzels (I used salted)
1 bag (10 oz) Reese's peanut butter chips
1 cup Hershey's milk chocolate chips
1 tbsp + 1 tsp coconut oil, divided
4 Reese's peanut butter cups, chopped in to small pieces
Directions:
Melt the peanut butter chips: Make a double boiler by bringing an inch of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over low heat. Place a glass bowl on top, making sure the bowl covers the entire mouth of the saucepan without touching the water. Add peanut butter chips and 1 tbsp coconut oil. Stir until peanut butter chips are melted and smooth. Remove from heat.
In a microwave safe bowl, add chocolate chips and 1 tsp coconut oil. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until chocolate is fully melted and smooth. Transfer to a sandwich bag or a small piping bag. Snip off a small corner with scissors to allow you to drizzle the chocolate.
Line a table or large sheet tray with waxed paper. Using a fork, dip pretzels in to the melted peanut butter, tossing to coat both sides, and tap the side of the bowl to run off excess peanut butter. Lay on prepared waxed paper. After about 6 or 7 pretzels have been dipped, drizzle chocolate over the peanut butter pretzels. Use your hands to crumble peanut butter cup pieces over top of pretzels while they're still wet to adhere the candy to the pretzels. Repeat process with remaining pretzels. Allow to dry for about 2 hours before transferring to an airtight container. Store for up to 1 week.
Recipe notes:
*Chopping the peanut butter cups is a messy task. Throw them in the freezer for about 15 mins first to make them a little easier to chop.
*Sprinkling the peanut butter cup pieces is also a very messy task. There's really no way around that one. We need to break the candy up in to small enough pieces that it will stick to the pretzels.
*You don't have to sprinkle candy on all of the pretzels if you don't want to. I left about a third of my pretzels with no candy pieces.
*You can use all regular sized pretzels or all mini pretzels if you want. I think the contrast in sizes is super fun.
*I've tried a few different oils and/or methods when melting chocolate (or chocolate like substances), and I like coconut oil the best. It helps to thin out the chocolate and keep it from seizing without giving it an oily feel. I also like using the double boiler for more sensitive items that I'm melting, and the peanut butter chips fall in that category.
*You could certainly use a second bowl for your double boiler to melt the chocolate. You don't have to use the microwave. I find that milk chocolate tends to melt just fine in the microwave thanks to the higher fat content, so I don't mind using it.
*If you want to get yourself some of that incredible peanut butter sauce (and trust me, you do); here's where to find it.
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