chocolate peanut butter pretzel bars

I really don't like to exercise.

Yes, I usually feel good after I exercise, but getting motivated is hard.

But when I have a pan of these babies in the fridge? 

These are motivation to exercise.

I've had this peanut butter bar recipe for years. It's from Jerrie, the mother of my childhood best friend. We made them once and I begged for the recipe.

Almost two years ago, 

I embellished the recipe with pretzels and rolled it into balls.

So good.

But it's time consuming, rolling peanut butter into balls.

Dipping them in chocolate.

I'm not a patient person.

So here's my new and improved,

quick and easy,

instant gratification version.

You're welcome.

*    *    *    *    *

Oh! I almost forgot the pics of my little dude helping smash the pretzels.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

(printable version)

1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
1 ¾ cups brown sugar
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar
½ cup melted butter*
3 cups pretzels
1 cup chocolate chips
¼ cup butter

Combine peanut butter, sugars, and ½ cup melted butter, mixing well.*
Place pretzels in a resealable plastic bag and crush into tiny pieces.
Add crushed pretzels to peanut butter mixture, incorporating thoroughly.
Press peanut butter pretzel mixture into 9x13 dish, lined with parchment paper or greased.
Place in freezer to chill while you prepare the chocolate.
Place chocolate chips and ¼ cup butter into a microwavable bowl.
Microwave one minute; stir.
Microwave until chocolate is completely melted, 30 seconds at a time, stirring between.
Bring dish out of freezer and spread melted chocolate evenly on top of peanut butter layer.
Return to freezer for 1-2 hours until completely chilled and chocolate has hardened.
Use parchment paper to lift chilled deliciousness out of the dish; use a strong, sharp knife to cut into small bars/squares.

*If you use a thicker peanut butter, you may need an extra tablespoon or so of melted butter to hold the ingredients together. The peanut butter mixture should be smooth and cohesive, not crumbly.

Tips:

• They're tough to cut. They'll be easier to cut if you use parchment paper and can lift them out of the pan. They'll also be easier to cut if the pretzels are in really small pieces. Pretzels are hard to cut with a knife.
• You can make these without the pretzels and they're just as delicious. If you do, you can probably reduce the melted butter in the peanut butter mixture by a tablespoon or so, up to 1/4 cup.
• Mine look a little crumbly in the picture. I was hurrying, not measuring well, cutting the recipe in half and trying to minimize the butter because this is my second batch in a week. Lesson learned—don't skimp on the butter.