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Salty Caramel Peanut Bars

Love these Salty Caramel Peanut Bars. These easy cookie bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

Let’s talk about life for a second, kay?

I had a great weekend.  A SUPER weekend, actually.

There were sports games, there was baking, there was movie watching (American Hustle…omg have you seen it? lovity love!), there was a date night with amazing friends, there was wine and there was shopping.

And there was House of Cards.

Do you watch? We love it.

It’s not as manic for me as Breaking Bad was, or our season 1&2  Homeland obsession (season 3 was ok up until the OMGending), but we do enjoy the horrible people that Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright play on tv.

Even my dog Polly…whenever Kevin Spacey comes on the television she starts barking.

She is NOT a fan of Francis Underwood. It’s bizarre!

Anyhow, I topped off the weekend by making a giant pan of these Salty Caramel Peanut Bars.

See, my husband claims he doesn’t like chocolate (so annoying), but he does like peanutty stuff…so I knew these would be a big hit for him.

Salty-Sweet-Peanuts-Pretzels…all in one place.

Yep, I’m a good wife.

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

These bars have a few steps, but that’s only because they have layers. They’re super duper easy. Trust me.

In the crust you have (amongst other things) brown sugar, butter and crushed up pretzels…

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

Press the base into a pan lined with foil…

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

And bake it until it’s lightly golden.

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

While that’s baking get you some Marshmallow Creme.  You’ll need 7 ounces, but I happen to buy economy sizes of the stuff, so I had to weigh mine. The normal jars are 7 ounces…it’s *about a cup and a half.

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

Mix that with some peanut butter and heat it slightly so it mixes together smoothly…and voila! Nougat!

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

Spread that peanut nougat on top of the crust…

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

And then grab 1 cup of salted peanuts…

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

And sprinkle those all over the top.

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

Next melt some caramels with a little milk…

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

And pour that all over.

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

Let it cool completely (or overnight)…and you can even sprinkle some sea salt on top of the caramel for a little extra extra…

Then cut it into squares.

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

It’s chewy, caramelly, salty/sweet, peanut perfection.

Salty Caramel Peanut Bars ~ These easy bars have a brown sugar pretzel crust layered with peanut butter nougat and topped with salty peanuts and caramel!

If you like these bars you’ll also love my Homemade Payday Bars or my Salted Nut Roll Bites!

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Salty Caramel Peanut Bars

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Description

makes 35 bars


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2/3 cup crushed pretzels
  • 7 oz Marshmallow Creme or Fluff
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts
  • 14 oz unwrapped caramels
  • 3 Tbsp milk
  • flaked sea salt for topping

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. Line a 9×13 pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
  3. In mixing bowl beat butter and brown sugar together until evenly mixed. Add in egg yolks and vanilla and continue mixing until incorporated. Scraping sides as needed.
  4. Turn mixer to low and add in baking soda, flour and pretzels and beat until combined.
  5. Press the dough into prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden.
  6. Meanwhile, combine marshmallow creme and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat on full power for 45 seconds, stirring to combine. If needed continue heating in 15 second increments until smooth. Stir in powdered sugar.
  7. When crust is done, spread marshmallow mixture carefully on top. Then sprinkle evenly with peanuts. Set aside.
  8. Combine caramels and milk in a medium saucepan over medium low heat and heat until caramels are melted, stirring frequently.
  9. Pour melted caramel over the top of the peanuts.
  10. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Easily lift foil out of pan and cut.

Notes

slightly adapted from BHG Baking

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32 comments on “Salty Caramel Peanut Bars”

  1. These are by far the best bars I ever made. And ate… I love the nougat, soft and firm and the caramel on top with just a little salty bite in between. Love from Holland en I am very much looking forward to your book.

    Tieneke

  2. Have you ever made these and drizzled (OK-spread a layer of) chocolate over the top? There is not much of anything that can’t use some chocolate

  3. What is marshmallow fluff? is it marshmallows melted in the microwave? if so how many do I need please, my grandchildren want to make this recipe,
    kind regards,
    Gina

  4. These are fabulous! I threw on some choco chips as suggested by Chris. It was great flavor addition but made the topping very gooey so they didn’t set up until the next day. My husband absolutely loved them and claimed they were healthful due to the peanuts and whole wheat pretzels. Yes, quite a stretch but he had to tell himself something to make up for snarfing them down in a few days! Next time, I think I will let them set up after the caramel topping and then drizzle melted chocolate over the top – or just maybe dip the entire cookies. Great treat!!

  5. Melissa @ Treats With a Twist

    OMG I love House of Cards!!! I just finished Season 2 yesterday!!! When you get there, you’ll just die! I wrote about my binge watching of it yesterday. Good stuff.
    I’d die over these. Give me ALL THE PEANUTTY stuff. Yeah, I’d dip that in chocolate too.

  6. Fantastica ricetta questa potrebbe la preferita di mia figlia fanatica di burro arachidi! Ma ho difficoltà con le quantità indicate in tazze da convertire in grammi. Mi puoi aiutare? Saluti e complimenti

  7. Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures

    These are amazing! Yum! I need to get into Breaking Bad, I’ve heard so many good things about it.

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