Chocolate Pretzel Tarts with Caramel

Here's the full title for this recipe: Chocolate Brownie Tarts with Peanut Butter Pretzel Crust and Peanut Butter Caramel On Top.

A bit of a mouthful, huh?  But tell me it doesn't sound delicious.

This recipe was born when my mom accidentally bought too many pretzels.  I'm not quite sure what she was thinking, but she came home from the grocery store with two huge bags.  I don't want or need that many pretzels, so recipe ideas immediately began flying through my head.

What goes well with pretzels?  Peanut butter, chocolate, peanut butter and chocolate, yogurt, more chocolate... the list goes on and on.  In the end, I decided to combine a whole bunch of delicious pretzel combinations into one amazing recipe.  And hence, these tarts were born.

Please don't be intimidated by this recipe.  Please, please, please.  I promise you, it's really not that hard.  In fact, despite the three different parts to it, there are only ten different ingredients.  That's really not too much.  Aaannd, none of the ingredients are really outlandish or anything.  The weirdest it's gonna get is  special dark cocoa power, and even that can be subbed in for another high quality cocoa of your choice.

So really, no chickening out and convincing yourself this recipe is too much work.  It's not!  It'll all be worth it once you take the first bite....

Chocolate Pretzel Tarts with Caramel
Crust:

• 60 g (about three cups, un-crushed) pretzels
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tbsp peanut butter (or another but butter of your choice)

Brownie Filling:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup special dark cocoa powder (or another good quality cocoa powder)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp vanilla

Caramel:

• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/3 cup milk

To make crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a muffin tin or line with 12 silicone cupcake liners.
2. Place pretzels in the bowl of a food processor.  Process until the pretzels have turned into fine crumbs.  
3. Add milk and nut butter and blend again until completely mixed.
4. Take crust mixture and press into prepared pan.  You should have enough to make 12 "cupcakes"
5. Set aside.

To make filling:

1. Quickly rinse and dry bowl of food processor.
2. Add all ingredients of filling to the bowl of food processor.  Process until completely combined, with the oats completely broken down and the batter smooth.
3. Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter into each prepared crust so that the crust is full.
4. Place pan in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until filling is firm and crust has browned.
5. Remove from oven and let cool.

To make caramel:

1. While tarts cook, make caramel.  In a small saucepan, whisk together honey and peanut butter.  Cook in high until mixture has reduced by about half.
2. Once reduced, remove from heat and add milk.  
3. Turn heat to low and continue to mix until mixture has thickened into a caramel.  Remove from heat and let cool.
4. Once cool, spread onto cooked starts.
5. Store in fridge until serving time.  Recipe makes 1 dozen tarts.

Make.  These.  Now!!