Hot on the heels of posting about Challah Monkey Bread and Brown Sugar Valentines Heart Cookies, I had every intention of sharing with you the recipe for a delicious Baby Kale and Brussels Sprouts salad this week. But somehow, here we are with Pretzel Crusted Turtle Bars.
To be honest, it’s not entirely my fault. I have been noticing quite a few pretzel crusted treats floating around cyberspace recently. Naomi of Baker’s Royale made these to satisfy her pregnancy cravings. Averie of Averiecooks did a top crust of pretzels on her treats.
I started thinking about what I would love to combine with pretzels and the answer came to me instantly…Turtle Bars. If you have never heard of Turtle Bars, let me enlighten you. Imagine a chocolate base topped with a pecan caramel layer, reminiscent of Turtles Candies. Adding a crushed pretzel layer is a really inspired idea.
The thing is, you would imagine that Pretzel Crusted Turtle bars would be pretty damn good. But something kind of astonishing happens when you combine these three layers. Alone, each layer sounds yummy. But the synergy that occurs when these three layers combine is something akin to a culinary explosion. The whole somehow becomes so much more than the sum of its parts.
Essentially what we have here is a crunch sandwich, with the bottom layer providing salty crunch from the pretzels, and the top layer providing sweet crunch, from the pecans and caramel. Sandwiched in between these two awesome layers of crunch is a chewy fudgy chocolate layer. it doesn’t get better than this.
After photographing these, I realized that these bars needed to find a good home, other than mine. I took half to my Yoga class and I do believe I heard a few “oohs” and “aahs” mixed in with the “ommmmm” chanting! The other half disappeared quite quickly at my hairdresser’s.
Click here to print recipe for Pretzel Crusted Turtle Bars.
These sound unbelievable. That whole salty sweet thing gets me every time. Oh to be in your yoga class. 🙁
These are AH-MAY-ZING! I love putting pretzels into dessert for that crunchy, salty contrast to the sweet. I’m in love!
These are some gorgeous bars, Cindy! So many contrasts of flavor and texture! Turtle stuff always looks so good to me but tree nut allergies rule them out. I am going to have to experiment with possible substitutions for the pecans….seems like peanuts would taste good, perhaps not the same but good none the less. 🙂
Thanks Wendy. My daughter said that after she saw them posted, she kept waiting for a parcel to appear in her mailbox. Ooops, I am not quite as good a mom as “The Monday Box.” Now I am going to have to make them for her when she comes home for a visit. Peanuts would still pack a wonderful crunch, and if you used salted honey roasted peanuts, I bet they would be delicious.
Oh my…. these are absolutely drool-worthy. I think I should never make them or I won’t be able to stop eating them!! Why are they called turtle bars?
Thanks Laura. Yes, I would not recommend making them if you had nowhere to take them. They are too dangerous.
They are called turtle bars because they are a riff on the candy treat named Turtles. Essentially they are caramel and pecans coated in chocolate. The flat shape resembles a turtle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DeMet%27s_TURTLES®_Hero.jpg