This easy, no-bake, frozen pie recipe speaks for itself: chocolate caramel peanut butter pretzel pie. Sweet and salty and quite simply, the BEST.
Life. This pie . . . is LIFE.
We’re going to peel this pie like an onion and look at every layer of awesome deliciousness:
- A buttery, salty pretzel pie crust.
- A silky, creamy, peanut butter whip filling, spiked with caramel.
- Drizzles of rich caramel.
- A dreamy chocolate ice cream layer, because CHOCOLATE.
- Extra drizzles of caramel and melted milk chocolate.
- Crushed up crispy, crunchy, salty, milk chocolate-covered pretzels.
- Little sprinkle snowflakes of flaky sea salt.
I mean. COME ON.
While you can always cool off this summer with another raspberry ginger beer ice cream float, sometimes . . . we all need a little chocolate. And peanut butter . . . and caramel . . . and pretzels. Okay. I’ll stop now. But seriously. The only thing standing between you and this slice of your best summer life is a quick trip to the grocery store. 😉
There were so many good things about this pie that it takes more than a one-mississippi just to say the name of it. But I had to give every layer of this pie its due respect, therefore . . . chocolate caramel peanut butter pretzel pie.
Pie Tips
This recipe uses a no-bake pretzel pie crust in order to still get that crispy aspect of the pretzels. I tried this crust a couple different ways. The recipe, as written, is my favorite, which uses 6 tablespoons of butter. The crust is very crumbly — it will fall apart a bit as you scoop it out of the dish and then you just spoon those extra crumbs onto the plate or on top of your piece. I prefer the crust this way, because you still get that crunchy pretzel texture.
I also tried the crust with 8 tablespoons of butter, which will result in a crust that holds together. Still delicious. Not as much crunch. Your call.
I typically use milk chocolate chips for dipping pretzels. Place the chocolate chips in a bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring well between each interval.
For dipping the pretzels, you have two options, based on how soon you will eat the pie. If this pie is going to be eaten within the first few days, I recommend dipping whole mini pretzels into the melted chocolate and setting on parchment paper to set. Don’t worry about dipping the entire pretzel–the variation in color between the light pretzel and dark chocolate makes for a pretty pie topper. (As pictured.)
If you are making this pie well in advance or think it may take a while to eat it all, then I would recommend rough chopping your pretzels, stirring them into the chocolate so they are fully coated, and using a fork to transfer the coated pieces to parchment to set. (If they stick together a little, you can just break them up before you top the pie.) By fully coating them in chocolate, you prevent them from absorbing moisture in the freezer and losing some of the crispiness.
mikaela | wyldflour
9-Inch Pie
Serves 8-12
An easy no-bake frozen chocolate caramel peanut butter pretzel pie.
1 hr, 45 Prep Time
1 hr, 45 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 3 1/2 cups mini twist pretzels (1 1/2 cups pretzel crumbs)
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup natural creamy unsalted peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons caramel sauce, divided
- 8 oz whipped topping, thawed in the refrigerator (e.g., Cool Whip)
- 6 oz milk chocolate chips, divided
- 16 mini twist pretzels
- 5 scoops chocolate ice cream
- 3 tablespoons caramel sauce, divided
- tiny pinch flaky salt (e.g., Maldon)
Instructions
- Caramel sauce - if you are using homemade caramel sauce, I recommend this recipe for easy caramel sauce and you should make that now and set aside to cool while you do the first couple layers!
- Make the Pretzel Crust! Blitz the pretzels in a food processor until they are as fine as you can get them. Add brown sugar, salt, and melted butter and pulse until pretzel crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs into a 9-inch pie dish, using the bottom of a measuring cup to lightly pack the crumbs to the bottom and up the sides to create a crust. Place in the freezer.
- Make the Peanut Butter Filling! Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whisk together cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar on high speed until well mixed, scraping down the sides as needed. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of caramel sauce. Whisk in the whipped topping on medium speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides and the bottom and whisk again on medium until fully mixed. Spread into the frozen pretzel crust and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of caramel sauce. Freeze until set - about 45 mins to 1 hour.
- Prepare the Chocolate-Covered Pretzels. While the filling is freezing, melt 4 oz milk chocolate chips in a small bowl. (About 2/3 cup chips.) Dip 16 or so mini twist pretzels in milk chocolate and set on a parchment-covered plate. Place in the refrigerator to chill and set. Once the chocolate has set and before you spread the ice cream, rough chop the chocolate covered pretzels and set aside.
- Spread the Chocolate Ice Cream! Set the chocolate ice cream out to soften or zap in the microwave for 1-2 minutes on 50% power. Once it is just barely soft enough (not melting!) that you can scoop and spread, place 5 scoops of chocolate ice cream on top of the caramel drizzled peanut butter layer and use a spatula to press/spread the ice cream out into an even layer. Top the pie immediately.
- Top the Pie! Drizzle 2 tablespoons caramel sauce all over the pie. Melt the remaining 2 oz milk chocolate chips (~2-3 Tbsp) and drizzle over the pie. Top the pie with the chopped chocolate covered pretzels and flaky salt. Place in the freezer and chill until set - at least three hours.
- Run a knife under hot water, dry, then slice and serve!
Calories
Fat
Carbs
Protein
Leave a Reply