Last, but definitely not least – I’ve saved these homemade Take 5 Bars for you. They’re sweet, salty, crunchy and smooth all in one. I’ve never made ‘candy bars’ before and I legit felt like Willy Wonka with all of these dessert recipes. It was so much fun! Ok so what is a Take 5 Bar you ask? Pretzels, Peanuts, Peanut Butter, Caramel, and Chocolate – HOLY WHAT. The combo speaks for itself dude.
SO LIKE HOW DO YOU MAKE IT?
I’m so glad you asked! It’s SO EASY. Find yourself an 8×8 baking dish like this one and line it with parchment paper. Throw down a layer of pretzels, make sure they’re all touching. I used the mini twists. If you’re super OCD buy the square pretzels. THEN you’re going to either have a natural peanut butter on hand or heat yours up a little bit in the microwave so it’s liquid and pour that over top of your pretzels. Put it in the freezer for 30 minutes- 1 hour.
CARAMEL
In the mean time – We’re making caramel again y’all. This is my go-to super easy caramel and you’ve never tasted anything better. It’s basically fool proof and I go way more in depth here. Basically, this is the best and easiest caramel you will ever make and you’ll want to put it on everything just like me. After this has cooled a little bit and it’s not bubbling lava – you’re going to pour it over your frozen pretzel, peanut butter, peanut situation and then throw it back in the freezer. If you have the time, freeze these over night. You really want to be able to get a clean cut when you make them into bars. If you don’t have enough time freeze them for two hours, but do as long as you can!
CHOCOLATE
Alright, our bars are looking a little naked at this point but still super delicious. They’re only missing one thing – the chocolate coating! I decided to go with what I knew on these dessert recipes and my experience with the Boston Cream Sandwich Cookies *eye roll*. It’s literally just chocolate and coconut oil. Coconut oil is solid in it’s cooled state so this does the same thing when it’s mixed with chocolate. It doesn’t taste like coconut at all if you’re worried about that. Anyway – you’re going to cut your frozen mix into bars. Using a fork, you’re going to dip the bars *quickly* into the melted chocolate mixture, make sure they’re completely covered and then set them on parchment paper. At this point you can either put them back in the freezer or keep them in the fridge for a little bit longer.
I feel like these will keep for a pretty long time. Maybe a couple of weeks in the fridge and a month in the freezer. They also do just fine at room temp if you want to have them out on a plate or in a glass if it’s not too hot.
If you missed last weeks dessert recipes, take a look at these Caramel Popcorn Rice Krispie Treats – they’re super easy to make and very quick! Also, if you’re impatient you can just eat them straight out of the bowl! Whatever you choose to do, have fun! Put your own spin on things, experiment, there are no rules! Honestly though, making candy bars at home was a first for me and I felt like a real chocolatier. It was so much fun. There are so many different variations you can put in a candy bar – might even be something fun to do with friends over, ya know?!
Homemade Take 5 Bars
Ingredients
- 1-2 Cups Mini Pretzel Twists
- 1/2 Cup Peanuts
- 1 Cup Peanut Butter
- 2 Tbs Butter
- 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
- Salt
Chocolate Coating
- 1 Cup Chocolate Chips
- 2 Tbs Coconut Oil
Instructions
- Lay pretzels in a flat layer on the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish that has been lined with parchment paper.
- If peanut butter is not pour-able, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds and pour over pretzels. Place in freezer for 15-20 minutes.
- In the meantime make the caramel – place brown sugar, butter and a pinch of salt in a saucepan on medium heat until everything is melted and slightly darker in color. Let cool slightly.
- Pour caramel over pretzel/peanut butter later and sprinkle peanuts on top. Freeze 45 min-overnight.
- Add chocolate chips and coconut oil to a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments until melted.
- Cut ‘bars’ into 1 inch strips and then in half to make 2 bars. Quickly dip them in the melted chocolate/coconut oil and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the fridge or freezer until chocolate has hardened.
