Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

• butter↗175g g

  softened, plus extra for greasing

• light brown sugar↗200g g
• golden crystallized sugar↗100g g
• vanilla extract↗1 tbsp tbsp
• large eggs↗2

  beaten

• plain flour↗250g g
• baking soda↗1 tsp tsp
• full-fat milk↗2 tbsp tbsp
• dark chocolate↗150g g

  chopped

• coarse peanut butter↗100g g
• small salty crackers (pretzels)50g g
• sea salt↗½ tsp tsp

  coarse grains

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C/160 °C with fan/gas 4. Grease and line a 20 cm square baking tin with parchment paper. In a bowl combine butter, sugars and vanilla extract and beat with an electric whisk until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour, baking soda and 1/4 tsp salt, mixing until the mixture becomes a dough, then pour in the milk and 100 g of dark chocolate pieces.

2. 2

   Pour half of the batter into the tin, spread peanut butter over it with spoons to cover the surface, then top with the remaining batter. Press everything together with your fingers, not worrying about a perfect look. Arrange the salty crackers (pretzels) on top and bake for 50 min until the cake is set and crisp on the surface. Let cool in the tin to room temperature before cutting.

3. 3

   Melt the remaining chocolate in a bowl over a small saucepan of gently simmering water or in short bursts in the microwave. Remove the bars from the tin and drizzle them with chocolate, then sprinkle with sea salt. Let set, then cut into portions. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.