There’s peanut butter in there too!
OK, so can you forgive me for yet another marshmallow recipe?
I’ve gone marshmallow-mad and have to put them in every- every- everything. At this point I’m not even going to apologize for that fact. I just keep doing it so I don’t think you’d take the apology seriously.
Instead, I will tell you why these are so phenomenal. They have the best contrast-y texture; the marshmallows are soft and smooshy and the pretzels are crunchy and the chocolate and peanut butter are the most melty and dreamy combo.
(Yes, I’m an adult who uses the word smooshy. I think I need a food adjective thesaurus. Does that exist? If not, it should.)
And I’m seriously a sucker for salty sweets, which these bars totally are.
Did I mention they’re also no-bake? Yes. No oven required. You don’t need a stovetop either—just a microwave.
As much as I love the kitchen tedium that layer cakes and fancy pastries require, sometimes I just want to make an easy and quick treat. These bars are exactly that, and they require ingredients you probably have in your pantry right now.
Annnnnnd. . .on the subject of marshmallows, I may or may not (but definitely do) have more marshmallow recipes coming at you soon. I’m telling you, get ready for March-mallow Madness next month. Think chocolate stout marshmallows, aka the best-ever St. Patrick’s Day treat. They’re so good I think you might just forgive that terrible play on words.
A few recipe notes: be sure to grease your pan really well (or line it with parchment paper). The bars are extremely reluctant to leave the pan once they’re set. Also, I used mini pretzel twists in mine, but you can use pretzel rods or whatever you have. Crush them enough so that they’re in largish pieces; you’re not looking for pretzel dust, but rather chunks of salty pretzel to contrast with the marshmallows’ texture.
Make these bars. Doooooo it!
The chocolate marshmallow pretzel no-bake bars are a super-easy treat for any time a chocolate craving strikes!
- 2 1/2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 4 cups mini marshmallows
- 3 ounces pretzels crushed*
- Spray a 9- x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Combine chocolate chips and peanut butter. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth.
- Allow chocolate mixture to cool for 5 minutes, then stir in marshmallows and pretzels. Pour into prepared pan, spread out evenly, and tap the pan on the counter several times. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then cut into bars.
*3 ounces came out to be about 1 1/2 cups of pretzels after I crushed them.
Alexis says
Would the recipe work well in a smaller or bigger pan than 9”x9”?
Kelsie says
It will work just fine! This recipe is really forgiving. But if you go smaller the bars will be thicker and if you bigger the bars will be thinner.
Jenna says
What size pan?!
Kelsie says
OMG how did I miss that? A 9-inch square pan sprayed with cooking spray! So sorry–I’m updating the recipe now.