Ways to Cook With Pretzels

March 09, 2016
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Sara Tane
Pretzels aren't just for the ballpark anymore. Crunchy and salty, this favorite snack is great as a crust, chocolate-coated, with popcorn, or just kept classic with a tangy mustard dip.
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Sesame-Soy Nut and Pretzel Mix

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Catherine Crowell Steele; Prop Styling: Thom Driver
Sesame-Soy Nut and Pretzel Mix Recipe

Full of salty nuts, pretzels, and cereal and doused with a butter- and Worcestershire-based glaze, the classic snack mix racks up sodium quickly (and who honestly stops at the barely 1/2 cup serving suggestion?). Our Asian-inspired mix saves 160mg sodium per serving with plenty of crunch and bold, salty flavor in a more generous 3/4 cup portion.

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Peanut Butter and Pretzel Brownies

Photo: Jonny Valiant; Styling: Kate Parisian
Peanut Butter and Pretzel Brownies Recipe
Paring sweet peanut butter with salty pretzels and chocolate make these sweet and salty treats irresistible.

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Sea Salt Soft Pretzels

Photo: Greg Dupree; Styling: Rachel Burrow and Claire Spollen
Sea Salt Soft Pretzels Recipe

Twisted, buttered, and salted. Ball park soft pretzels can be enjoyed at home for a light snack or a crowd-pleasing party appetizer.

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Pretzel Pie Crust

Photo: Darcy Lenz; Styling: Darcy Lenz
Pretzel Pie Crust Recipe

Five simple ingredients are all you need to create this from-scratch Pretzel Pie Crust. As effortless to create as a graham cracker crust, pretzels bring a new layer of dynamic sweet-salty flavor personality to the typical crumb crust blueprint. This simple crust makes an ideal shell for any number of fillings--but we especially love it for ice cream. Simply fill with your favorite softened ice cream (strawberry and caramel-flavored ice creams are great here), freeze solid, and top with fresh berries or drizzle with syrup for an exceptionally easy, yet wow-worthy, dessert.

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Junk Food Cookie Bars

Time Inc. Video Studio
Junk Food Cookie Bars Recipe

The next time you're at the end of an exceptionally rough week, we'd definitely recommend whipping up a batch of these kitchen sink cookie bars. The perfect decadent balance of salty and sweet, these chewy treats are here to satisfy all junk food cravings. We loaded them up with peanut butter, chocolate chips, pretzels, Oreos, potato chips, and M&M’s, but feel free to experiment with swapping in some of your favorite snacks and flavors. 

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Monster Cookies

Photo: Sara Tane
Monster Cookies Recipe

They’re not called monster cookies because they’re scary… but they are monstrously delicious. In fact. these chunky, chewy  monster cookies might just be the king of all kitchen sink cookies. Featuring peanut butter, oats, crushed pretzels, M&Ms, and chunks of milk chocolate, they hit every necessary cookie note—chewy, crispy, salty, sweet, chocolatey, and buttery.

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Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Breast Tenders with Garlicky Dipping Sauce

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen
Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Breast Tenders with Garlicky Dipping Sauce Recipe
A crunchy coating from a snacktime favorite is sure to win big with the kids--especially when paired with a creamy garlic dip. Honey mustard would be good, too.

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Benne Seed Soft Pretzels

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham
Benne Seed Soft Pretzels Recipe
Use fresh dough to create these simple homemade soft pretzels topped with benne (sesame) seeds.

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Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Nuggets

Photo: Ben Fink; Styling: Stephana Bottom
Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Nuggets Recipe
Form a crust and add extra flavor to chicken nuggets with a coating mixture of pretzels and Parmesan cheese.
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Dark Chocolate Bark with Pretzels and Dried Cranberries

Photo: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Gerri Williams
Dark Chocolate Bark with Pretzels and Dried Cranberries Recipe
Three ingredients are all it takes to make this chocolaty treat of Dark Chocolate Bark with Pretzels and Dried Cranberries.

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Strawberry-Pretzel Icebox Pie

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck
Strawberry-Pretzel Icebox Pie Recipe
This chilled, creamy strawberry icebox pie is the dessert equivalent of a swimming hole--so refreshing you can't help but dive in. Serve with lightly sweetened, sliced strawberries.

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Chocolate Chip-Pretzel Blondies

Photo: Ben Fink; Styling: Stephana Bottom
Chocolate Chip-Pretzel Blondies Recipe
These blondies with chocolate chips and pretzels are the perfect salty and sweet combination.
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Soft Pretzels

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Styling: Gerri Williams
Soft Pretzels Recipe
Enjoy two soft, bready pretzels for under 100 calories. We love these topped with coarse salt but get creative and experiment with different toppings like cinnamon-sugar or Parmesan cheese.

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Bacon-Pretzel-Peanut Butter Caramel Apples

Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Claire Spollen
Bacon-Pretzel-Peanut Butter Caramel Apples Recipe
The addition of bacon bits and pretzels offer a salty and sweet twist on the traditional caramel apple.

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Strawberry-Pretzel Ice Cream

Photo: Hector Sanchez; Stylist: Buffy Hargett
Strawberry-Pretzel Ice Cream Recipe
Homemade Strawberry-Pretzel Ice Cream results in a sensational salty-sweet flavor, hinting of fresh basil.
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Mixed-Berry Pretzel Tart

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Styling: Stephana Bottom
Mixed-Berry Pretzel Tart Recipe
A crushed pretzel crust offers a salty and crunchy texture that pairs perfectly with the sweet berries.

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Chocolate Chip-Pretzel Cookies

Photo: Lee Harrelson; Styling: Jan Gautro, Laura Zapalowski
Chocolate Chip-Pretzel Cookies Recipe
With the addition of crushed pretzels to the cookie dough, these easy chocolate chip cookies are the perfect balance between salty and sweet. Bake 10 minutes for a soft and chewy cookie or up to 14 minutes for a crisp cookie.

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Hot Pretzels

Photo: Jim Franco
Hot Pretzels Recipe
This recipe starts with a ball of fresh, sticky pizza dough (sometimes called "ready to bake" pizza dough) that comes in a plastic bag and is available in most major supermarkets.
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Caramel-Pretzel Blondies

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Styling: Gerri Williams for James Reps
Caramel-Pretzel Blondies Recipe
Blondies absolutely do have more fun. Who needs chocolate when you have the salty-sweet flavor duo of caramel and pretzels in a delicious bar cookie?

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Strawberry-Pretzel Ice-Cream Pie

Photo: Hector Sanchez; Stylist: Buffy Hargett
Strawberry-Pretzel Ice-Cream Pie Recipe
Salty-sweet describes the homemade ice cream that stars in this luscious Strawberry-Pretzel Ice-Cream Pie.

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Sweet and Spicy Nut Mix

Photo: Johnny Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr
Sweet and Spicy Nut Mix Recipe
This snack mix is a great 5-star addition to the party spread.
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Chocolate-Almond Pretzels

Photo: Oxmoor House
Chocolate-Almond Pretzels Recipe
These chocolate covered pretzels make for a delicious afternoon snack.

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Crisp and Spicy Snack Mix

Becky Luigart-Stayner
Crisp and Spicy Snack Mix Recipe
Take this to snack on before dinner. And if there's any left, toss it on a salad.

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Candy Bar Pie

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Lisa Powell Bailey
Candy Bar Pie Recipe
Take the flavors of your favorite candy bars and transform them into a pie. With a pretzel crust carrying it all, this pie is sure to be a winner.
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Popcorn Balls

Photo: Mary Britton Senseney/Wonderful Machine; Styling: Mary Clayton Carl
Popcorn Balls Recipe
This simple snack recipe offers plenty of crunch and some amazing sweet and salty flavors.

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Peanut butter Haystacks

Photo: Melissa Punch; Styling: Scott Horne/bigleo.com
Peanut butter Haystacks Recipe
These four-ingredient snacks are so simple to make and even easier to eat.

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Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

Photo: Marcus Nilsson; Styling: Robyn Glaser
Chocolate Dipped Pretzels Recipe

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Dipped Pretzels are a  salty, sweet pick-up dessert that's just as ideal for a snack as it is for a party.

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Pretzel Pie

Iain Bagwell
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pretzel Pie Recipe

Remember that strawberry-pretzel salad that showed up at every church supper? We’ve turned it into your new favorite pie with a salty-sweet pretzel crust and added zip from rhubarb. We all love our classic desserts, but sometimes it is fun to change them up a bit and create something new. The frozen strawberries used in the traditional recipe are fine if it is the middle of winter but, since plump, fresh berries available at the Farmers’ Market, we thought they would make a delicious change to this pie.

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Pb-Pretzel-Apple Bars

Caitlin Bensel
Pb-Pretzel-Apple Bars Recipe

Sweet, salty, fruity, and crunchy, these bars truly pack a little bit of everything! Whip up a batch for your next picnic or hike, and stay fueled all day.

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Pretzel Waffles with Peanut Butter Maple Syrup Sauce (a.k.a. Danger Waffles)

Photo by Teresa Sabga
Pretzel Waffles with Peanut Butter Maple Syrup Sauce (a.k.a. Danger Waffles) Recipe
These waffles pose some personal risk but they’re totally worth it
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Marbled Peanut and Pretzel Bark

Photo:Brie Passano; Prop Stylist: Thom Driver; Food Stylist: Tina Stamos
Marbled Peanut and Pretzel Bark Recipe

This stunning treat couldn’t be easier to prepare, but makes for wow-worthy DIY holiday gifts. Feel free to change up the toppings to include your favorite nuts and crunchy treats—like cookie crumbles, cereal, or even potato chips. And to find even more inspired sheet pan recipes, you’ll definitely want to pick up a copy of One Sheet Eats: 100+ Delicious Recipes All Made on a Baking Sheet.

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Mini Peanut Butter-Dark Chocolate Pretzel Cups

Sara Tane
Mini Peanut Butter-Dark Chocolate Pretzel Cups Recipe

Peanut butter, pretzel, and chocolate is an unrivaled trio. The perfect balance of sweet and salty, as well as creamy and crunchy, these adorable, bite-sized desserts are sure to be a crowd pleaser. Easy to make and assemble, these indulgent dessert cups are great for cocktail parties and potlucks. This recipe can also be adapted to be served in a 9x9-inch baking pan.

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