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If you love salty-sweet desserts, these blondies are for you! These Salted Caramel Blondies are packed with sweet caramel bits, chocolate chips, and – as an added surprise – salty pretzel pieces.
We’ve been blessed with really great weather here in Ohio for the past couple of weeks, which has been an awesome start to summer break and enabled us to hang out at the pool almost every day.
However, in recent days we’ve been seeing a ton of rain which has kept us indoors watching funny YouTube videos, crafting and of course – baking up some delicious treats like these sweet and salty Salted Caramel Blondies with yummy bites of pretzels!
THE PERFECT SALTY-SWEET BLONDIE BARS
When I shared my Chocolate Chip Blondie recipe with you last week, I told you that I had some variations of it up my sleeve that I couldn’t wait to share.
As soon as I tried the classic chocolate chip version, I wondered what it would be like with some added salty crunch. I took one look at the bag of pretzels in my pantry and knew I had to give it a try.
But what’s salty without some extra sweet?
I’m always looking for ways to add some caramel into my favorite desserts. My Salted Caramel Brownies and Caramel Apple Crisp are proof of that.
So I grabbed that bag of pretzels and a bag of caramel chips and whipped up another batch of blondies. These still had plenty of chocolate chips but with added caramel chips and pretzel pieces.
These might just be the best blondies I’ve ever eaten, ok?
Maybe I’ll come up with a version I like even better soon but for now, these are my all-time winner. They hit all of my sweet and salty dessert wishes, with some added crunch from the pretzel pieces.
You guys are gonna love these.
WHAT ARE BLONDIES?
Need a reminder on what blondies are?
Blondies are bar desserts, just like brownies. But instead of being flavored with chocolate, they are flavored with vanilla. They also contain brown sugar, which helps make them chewy.
And just like brownies, blondies can be flavored in all sorts of ways! In addition to these Salted Caramel Blondies with Pretzels and the classic Chocolate Chip Blondies, I’ve also tried Pumpkin Blondies, Snickerdoodle Blondies, and Maple Walnut Blondies.
If you love bar desserts like I do, you’ll be a big fan of blondies.
HOW TO MAKE SALTED CARAMEL BLONDIES WITH PRETZEL PIECES
To make this recipe, we’ll start by mixing together the batter base. You can use an electric mixer for this, but I like to just use a bowl and a whisk!
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set that aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, whisking until well combined. I like to whisk these until the mixture has lightened in color slightly.
Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined, then stir in the mix-ins.
We aren’t going to skimp on the mix-ins here. We’re going to add:
- ⅔ cup Kraft Caramel Bits
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ⅔ cup mini pretzel twists, broken into coarse pieces
I mean, if you’re going to make a Salted Caramel Blondie, you should really go for it, right?
Spread the batter into a greased and lined 9×9-inch baking pan and bake the blondies for 35-38 minutes. You want the center to just be set when you pull them from the oven – you don’t want to overbake these.
If you want to really play up the salty side of these blondies, sprinkle the tops with a bit of flakey sea salt as soon as you pull them from the oven. Let them cool completely in the pan before cutting. This will let the center continue to set up so they’re perfect once you cut them.
I dare you to not want to eat this whole pan yourself. I had to give most of mine away to friends so I wouldn’t hoard them all myself. That’s just how good these are.
Salted Caramel Blondies with Pretzels
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 ¾ cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup Kraft Caramel Bits
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ⅔ cup mini pretzel twists broken into coarse pieces – I used 20 Rold Gold Tiny Twists
- flakey sea salt optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with foil or parchment and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until well combined. Gradually add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in caramel bits, chocolate chips, and pretzel pieces.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 to 38 minutes. If desired, top immediately with a little flakey sea salt. Remove pan to wire rack and cool completely before cutting.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Seems AMAZING… so sad we don’t have Caramel bits in Belgium :'(
Marie-
You can probably use any type of small chewy caramels. :)
-Jamie
@Jamie, oh what a nice idea, I’m gonna try that! thanks a lot :)
I hope you enjoy them as much as we did, Marie! Thank you so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
Amazing! These will definitely be on my “to-try” list! Until then, I will be dreaming of these! :P
Do you think they would freeze well? Thanks
Sarah-
I have not attempted to freeze this recipe, so I am unsure as to how it will perform, my initial guess is that they’d do just fine. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
Have made these twice already – huge hit! Next time I’m gong to spread melted chocolate on the top instead of the chips.
Love your blog – every recipe I’ve ever tried has been fantastic! Thank you!
Renee-
I’m so glad you liked these blondies. I appreciate you stopping by.
-Jamie
I tried these this morning. The toothpick came out clean after 25 minutes at 350, but they were a gooey, undercooked soup when I took them out of the pan after cooling. Help!
You might have to cook them a bit longer due to differences in oven temperatures and allow them to cool before slicing. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
I’m always on the lookout for the perfect blond brownie…my mom makes a simpler one she calls “Congo Squares” and we had them almost every week when we were kids…so i forwarded this to one of my 5 sisters. They’ve been a big hit at 3 cookouts & a work party so far. Thanks for the recipe!!
Holy cow, these are AMAZING! This is the second time I’ve tried one of your recipes (the first was the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies). Both have been a home run. Bravo! These will be going into heavy rotation.
Teresa-
Woo-Hoo! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback.
-Jamie
Salted caramel improves everything. Love these blondies.
I love everything about these. Can’t wait to try them. Caramel and chocolate is basically heaven.
Thanks so much, Renee – I totally agree Caramel and Chocolate = Heaven!
These are perfection! My favorite flavors wrapped up in a bar!
Alyssa-
Thanks so much! I totally agree with you! Have a great day and thank you for following MBA!
-Jamie