Three Cheers for an Easy Dessert: Layered Patriotic Pretzel Bars

Patriotic Pretzel Bars are sweet and salty treat and easy dessert to celebrate the Fourth of July!

Happy July!

Patriotic Pretzel Bars are an easy dessert with sweet and salty layers

to celebrate the red, white and blue!

Who doesn’t like an easy dessert?

These Patriotic Pretzel Bars are a variation of Magic Cookie Bars,

(also known as 7 Layer Cookie Bars or Hello Dollies),

and come together in 10 minutes, with 30 minutes of baking time.

They cut best with 2 hours of cooling or chilling time.

I picked up some red, white and blue M&Ms and Olympic Oreos that are a

Limited Edition, with red, white and blue creme layers.

Salted peanuts help balance the sweet candy and sweetened condensed milk

in these bars, but feel free to use the nuts of your choice.

Instead of a traditional graham cracker crust,

pretzel crumbs provide a salty crust and layer.

You can adjust these bars easily to your taste!

Add a few crushed pretzels to the layer to up the salt factor if you like.

Place half your candy, chocolate chips, nuts and cookies on top of the pretzel crust.

Drizzle with sweetened condensed milk, pouring as evenly as possible.

Don’t worry if it doesn’t cover all your ingredients completely.

Top the sweetened condensed milk with your remaining ingredients.

Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly brown.

 For easy removal and cutting of bars, line your pan with parchment paper.

When bars are cool, use parchment to remove them from the pan and cut into bars.

These bars are sweet and rich!

You can easily get 24 bars, cutting them into smaller pieces than I did to photograph them.

Optional: Sprinkle more M&M’s on top of bars after they come out of oven,

pressing down slightly so to they adhere to the warm bars.

Print Recipe

Layered Patriotic Pretzel Bars

Patriotic Pretzel Bars are an easy dessert, filled with gooey and crunchy sweet and salty layers, to celebrate the Fourth of July!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

cooling time: 2 hours2 hrs

Total Time2 hrs 40 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 4th of July, 7 layer bars, magic cookie bars, Oreos, patriotic, peanuts, pretzel bars, red white and blue, sweetened condensed milk

Servings: 24 bars

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pretzel crumbs about 3 cups of pretzels
• 1/2 cup salted butter melted
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 8 Oreos broken into small pieces
• 1 cup M&Ms plus more for sprinkling on top
• 1 cup salted peanuts roughly chopped
• 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
• Place pretzels in food processor fitted with steel blade. Process until the pretzels are fine crumbs. Pour in melted butter and pulse to combine.
• Press pretzel crumb mixture evenly into prepared pan.
• Sprinkle half of chocolate chips, M&M’s, peanuts and Oreos pieces over the top of the cookie layer.
• Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top, covering as evenly as possible. Don’t worry if not covered completely.
• Layer with the remaining chips, nuts, M&M's and Oreos.
• Press down on layers with back of spatula to help submerge.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until lightly brown. Allow bars to cool in pan completely. Optional, after cooling bars for 30 minutes, place pan in fridge to speed up cooling and allow to set.
• When completely cool, use parchment paper to remove from pan and cut into bars.

Notes

• Speed up cooling process by placing bars in refrigerator and for easier cutting.
• We like these bars chilled especially in the heat of summer, but they’re good at room temperature and will keep covered on the counter for up to 4 days…if they last that long. :)
• If you don’t have a food processor, crush pretzels with a rolling pin in a plastic zip top bag.
• Substitute nuts of choice for peanuts.
• Optional: Add some broken pretzel pieces to the layered mix if desired.
• Optional: Sprinkle more M&M’s on top of bars after they come out of oven, pressing down so they adhere and melt into warm bars.

We like these bars chilled especially in the heat of summer,

but they’re good at room temperature and will keep covered on the counter for up to 4 days. . .

if they last that long!

Find more red, white and blue food fun and a round-up of

25+ Patriotic and Party treats for your Star-Spangled Celebration, HERE.

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 Metamorphosis Monday