Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Krispies Treats

 
Ok, so I know the title is a mouthful, but so are these treats. They are wonderfully complex. They are salty and sweet. Crunchy and chewy. Chocolatey and peanut butter-y (are those words?). Anyway they are really something.
   I have had this recipe pinned for a couple years to try. I was watching an episode of Mad Hungry a while back and she was making these rice krispies treats. She told a story of how her college-aged son called her up and asked her to make something quick and easy for a bake sale they were having, and she just threw a bunch of things together and this is what came out. He evidently raved about them, and they sold out in minutes. I did change the recipe from what was written, because it didn't look like it would hold together very well. The ratio of goo (marshmallow) to mix-ins were off. I read some of the reviews and found that to be the case. Some people mentioned how the treats just fell apart. I changed it and they worked marvelously. :)
  
Here's how they start:

Prepare a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper. Then spray the parchment paper with no-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

 

In a large pan, melt together the peanut butter and butter over medium heat.

While the peanut butter is melting, chop 1 1/2 cups of pretzels. Any shape is fine. Just chop them up so that there will be some pretzel in every bite.

 
When the butter and peanut butter are melted,

add the marshmallows. One 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows.

Over low heat, stir everything together.

When the marshmallows are melted, you can start adding in your mix-ins.

 pretzel pieces.

Rice Krispies cereal and chocolate chips. Turn off the heat and stir everything together with a heat resistant rubber spatula until everything is well combined.

Dump the mixture into the prepared 9x13 dish.

Flatten everything out into an even layer. I find the best tool for this is your hand, but it is very messy, so I recommend only using one hand (so you have a hand free to do things like: answer the phone, console a child or get your hair out of your face).

One everything is pressed together, set it aside to set up. 

After 30 minutes or so you can remove them from the pan and cut them into squares. (This is where the true value of the parchment paper comes into play.)

These treats are definitely not your every-day rice krispies treats. You can see the pretzels and chocolate and little nuts from the peanut butter. 

They are far more interesting.

Have they dethroned my brown butter rice krispies treats? No, but they are a welcomed change from the norm.

Try them for yourselves and see just how amazing they are. :)

Here's the recipe:
adapted from Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Krispies Treats

4 tablespoons butter
16 oz mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
6 cups rice krispies cereal
1 1/2 cups mini pretzels, broken/chopped into small pieces
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with no-stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large pot, melt the butter and peanut butter over medium heat. Once they are melted, turn the heat down to low and add the marshmallows. Stir frequently. When the marshmallows are melted, add the pretzel pieces, cereal and chocolate chips. Turn off the heat and stir to combine. Dump mixture out into the prepared dish and press into an even layer. Cool to room temperature. Remove from pan and cut into squares.