Love the iconic combination of pretzels and chocolate? These Easy Pretzel Brownies with Crunchy Crust are for you!
A buttery, salty, crunchy bottom pretzel crust is layered with brownie batter baked to fudgy perfection all topped off with whole pretzels! The ultimate trifecta in texture and salty + chocolatey flavor.
I love a layered brownie (see also: Peanut Butter Buckeye Brownies!), and the 3-ingredient pretzel crust in this recipe is such an easy and effective way to elevate your brownies.
In this recipe, you’ll learn how to quickly whip up your pretzel crust and bake it all at once with the brownie batter in the same pan. I’ll also provide my go-to homemade brownie recipe to make these completely from scratch.
However, if you’d like to use a boxed brownie mix with the homemade pretzel crust, you absolutely can! As a busy mom on-the-go myself, I will never turn my nose up at a shortcut that makes things easier in the kitchen.
Pretzel Brownies Ingredients
Everything you need for the pretzel layer:
- Pretzels.
- Unsalted butter.
- Light brown sugar. Dark works, too, but I prefer light here.
Here’s everything you need for the brownie layer:
- Unsalted butter. Salted butter can be subbed in, just leave out the added salt.
- Oil. Vegetable, canola, coconut oil (in liquid form), or grapeseed.
- Sugar. Granulated white sugar works best.
- Eggs.
- Vanilla extract.
- Cocoa powder. I use unsweetened, dark cocoa powder.
- All-purpose flour.
- Salt.
- Mini pretzel twists. Optional to decorate the top.
Pretzel Brownies Tips and Tricks
Always Line Your Pan
The easiest way to line your baking pan for brownies is with parchment paper and a pair of scissors. Cut a piece of parchment paper about 2 inches longer than your pan on all sides.
Place your baking pan in the center of the parchment paper and use scissors to cut out and remove all four corners as pictured below.
Then, you can easily place the parchment paper in your pan, lining the bottom and all four sides. The flaps also make it so your brownies are easy to remove from the pan, working as makeshift handles to swiftly lift the brownies out.
Alternatively, you can grease the pan with butter, oil, or nonstick spray if you prefer.
How to Make a Simple Pretzel Crust
Add the pretzels to a food processor or blender and blend on high until they are mostly broken down. Some bigger clumps are okay.
Melt your butter (I just do so in 30-second intervals in the microwave, stirring in between) and add the melted butter and light brown sugar to the food processor with the pretzel.
Process again on high until the pretzels break down even further and are well-combined with the butter and sugar.
Transfer the pretzel mixture to your prepared pan and use your hands to press it down in an even layer. You really want to pack it as tightly as you can. This will keep it together when baked and will also make spreading the brownie batter on top much easier.
Make Your Brownie Batter Next
I love baking from scratch and usually whip up this simple one bowl brownie batter, but if you would rather use your favorite boxed brownie mix you absolutely can!
To make the brownie batter from scratch, start by creaming the butter, oil, and sugar together with a hand mixer on high. You will only have success with this step if your butter is softened.
I typically remove the butter from the refrigerator a few hours before and allow it to come to room temperature naturally. Of course, when that chocolate craving hits, we don’t always have time for this!
Pro tip: For help speeding up the butter softening process, check out this article: How to Quickly and Easily Soften Butter.
Once the butter, oil, and sugar are creamed together, add the egg and vanilla extract. Use the hand mixer again to combine.
Then, add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt, and voila! Easy, peasy brownie batter! Use a spatula to spread it over the pretzel crust, working carefully to make two distinct layers.
Decorate the Top with More Pretzels
This step is totally optional but recommended for a little extra crunch! Plus, it just looks great!
If you’d like to, you can top the brownies with some extra mini pretzel twists. I will advise, slicing into the pretzels is much harder than slicing into the baked brownies, and can cause them to get a little squished.
What this means is that you want the placement of the pretzels to be thought out. Think about where you want to slice your brownies and place the pretzels so that you can slice around them.
Bake on the top rack at 350°F for 35-40 minutes until firm. Allow them to cool completely to set before removing them from the pan and slicing.
How to Properly Store Brownies with Pretzels
Keep your one-bowl brownies fresh by storing them in an airtight container. At room temperature, these fudgy chocolate squares will stay prefect for 3-4 days.
And in the refrigerator, these homemade brownies will last up to a week!
If you want to extend the life of your brownies to 4 months, you can freeze them in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Just allow them to thaw at room temperature before biting into them.
Easy Pretzel Brownies with Crunchy Crust
Equipment
- Blender * or *
Ingredients
Pretzel Crust
- ½ cup unsalted butter (melted)
- 5 ounces mini pretzel twists (5 ounces = ~3 cups whole mini pretzels)
- ¼ cup light brown sugar (tightly packed)
Brownie Layer
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 tablespoon oil (canola, vegetable, grapeseed, or coconut in liquid form)
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used dark)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup mini pretzel twists for decorating top (optional)
Instructions
Pretzel Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8×8 or 9X9-inch pan with parchment paper.
- Add the pretzels to a food processor or blender and blend on high to crush.5 ounces mini pretzel twists
- To the food processor or blender with the crushed pretzels, add the melted butter and brown sugar. Process again on high until well-combined. Some larger bits of pretzel are okay.
- Add butter to microwave-safe dish and microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted.½ cup unsalted butter
- Pour the pretzel mixture into your prepared pan. Use clean hands to press down on the mixture, compacting it as much as possible. Set aside while you make your brownie batter.
Brownie Layer
- In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on high to combine the softened butter, oil, and sugar for 2-3 minutes to cream together.½ cup unsalted butter, 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon oil
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract and use the hand mixer on low until combined.2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Mix in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and combine until smooth. Your batter should be light and airy.½ cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Transfer the brownie batter to your pan and, working carefully, use a spatula to spread it out in an even layer over the pretzel crust. Option to add more pretzels on top to decorate.*
- Bake for 35-40 minutes on the top rack of the oven, until the middle doesn't wobble when shaken. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan and slicing into 9 or 16 brownies!
Pro Tips
- *When placing the pretzels on top of your brownie batter to decorate, keep in mind where you will want to slice the brownies when you are placing them. Once baked, the pretzels take much more force to slice through than the brownies. It’s much easier to slice around them!
- When the brownies first come out of the oven, they may seem slightly underdone. This is intentional as they will continue to cook until they cool. However, if you are one of those people who prefers the corner pieces and not the ooey-gooey middle bits, leave them in the oven for 5 extra minutes in order to get a crispier treat.
- I like my brownies chunkier, so I use an 8×8-inch pan. If you want thinner brownies, you can easily use a 9×13-inch pan. No need to alter the cooking time or anything. I’ve made them in this size pan before and they are equally delicious.