Gingerbread Cookies with Rum-Butter Glaze

Gingerbread Cookies with Rum-butter Glaze are the quintessential holiday cookie. Soft and full of all the warming spices, these cookies bring all the Nutcracker vibes. Plus, a rummy, buttery glaze.

Want to make them pretty? Use cookie stamps.

Cookie Stamps

We all have a drawer in our kitchen crammed with various cookie cutters. They are useful for cutting shapes into rolled-out cookie or pie dough. And don't tell, but I may have used them once or twice with Play-Doh.

Cookie stamps, however, don’t cut out cookies. They imprint them with a design. Stamps of this type date back several centuries in Scandinavia where they are used to imprint cookies for special occasions.

Old-school cookie stamps are carved out of wood or made of clay. The stamp, which is basically bas relief, is pressed into the dough. It leaves behind a pretty design, making the cookies edible works of art.

Today, cookie stamps are wood or clay, but most often I see them made of metal. I bought my American-made ones on Amazon. And the dough into which I press them?

Gingerbread with molasses.

Molasses

Slow as molasses! My dad used to say that phrase from time to time when I was growing up and I’m sure he wasn’t talking about me. He loved the taste of molasses and his favorite was blackstrap.

Molasses comes from sugar cane juice. Boiled once, twice, and three times, the juice concentrates and produces different grades and strengths of molasses. Blackstrap is the result of three go-rounds and is the darkest variety with a strong flavor.

This oozy syrup is an ingredient in candies, cookies, and other baked goods. The flavor adds complexity to the pretty cookies featured here.

Lessons Learned

• Choose your strength of molasses flavor. I like mild molasses. Are you a blackstrap person? You’ll never know until you try it.
• Be sure to chill your dough for several hours or overnight. I found that cold dough was best for making a deep imprint with the cookie stamp. I also chilled the imprinted cookies for 30 minutes prior to baking so the design would not be lost when the cookies bake and puff up.
• Don’t want rum in the glaze? How sad. You can replace it with an equal amount of lemon juice, but that is kind of lame. Use the rum.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh for their soft gingerbread tiles with rum butter glaze recipe.

Gingerbread Cookies with Rum-Butter Glaze

• Author: Betty
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Chill Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 12 minutes
• Total Time: 62 minutes
• Yield: 12 cookies 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Cookies:

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• ⅓ packed cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup mild molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for pressing
• 1 tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Glaze:

• ⅔ cup confectioners' sugar
• ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp butter, melted and warm
• 1 tbsp dark rum (or lemon juice)
• 1 tsp warm water

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Instructions

1. Make the cookies by beating together the softened butter and sugar until fluffy in the bowl of a stand mixer (using the paddle attachment). Add the molasses and egg then beat to fully combine. 
2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and black pepper together to fully incorporate all the dry ingredients. Add about half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix together on low speed. Once it is mixed, add the other half of the flour and mix again until the dough is all one color. 
3. Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight. 
4. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
5. Divide the dough into 12 equal size pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Lightly flour a smooth surface as well as the dough balls. Using a cookie stamp, firmly press straight down on the dough ball until the dough is around ¼-inch thick. Carefully remove the pressed dough from the stamp and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all the dough balls. Leave 2 inches between the stamped cookies on the sheet.
6. At this point, I like to place the tray of stamped cookies in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up the dough again. You can bake them straight away if you want, but remember the cookies will slightly puff up when baked and the design won’t be as crisp. A chilled dough helps the design to stay sharp.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 F/176 C. 
8. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes.
9. Make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Whisk in the melted butter, rum, and water until combined. The glaze will thicken as it sets so you may need to add a little more water to loosen it before brushing.
10. Once the cookies come out of the oven, let them cool for 5 minutes before brushing on the glaze. The cookies should still be warm when the glaze is applied. Cool on a wire rack and try not to eat all of them in one sitting. Makes 12 cookies.

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Keywords: gingerbread cookies with rum-butter glaze

Pandan Crinkle Cookies with Coconut and Lime

What’s green with snow-like caps and tastes like a tropical vacation? Pandan Crinkle Cookies with Coconut and Lime. These are easy to make and addictingly good.

Pandan

If you aren’t familiar with pandan, I’m here to enlighten you. Pandan is a type of tropical plant grown in Southeast Asia. Its leaves are a food flavoring in Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillippines, Singapore, and Sri Lanka.

I spent most of my childhood in the Pacific, living in Guam and Hawaii. Many of my Filipino friends brought pandan-flavored cakes and sweets to fiestas and potlucks. The flavor is subtly sweet and grassy with mild vanilla-y notes.

It’s hard to describe, but it’s lovely.

You can make your own pandan flavoring, of course. I’ve even found packages of pandan leaves in the frozen food section at my local Asian market. But it’s easy to purchase pandan flavoring on Amazon or at most Asian food stores.

Pandan appears in both savory and sweet dishes. Most often it is added to rice and chicken dishes. But I really love it in cookies.

Crinkle Cookies

I had a friend whose mom would bake chocolate crinkle cookies every holiday season. They were so pretty and so delicious. Plus, they looked like they were topped with snow!

Crinkle cookies are so named because they have a crinkly, crackly look. The dough gets rolled in powdered sugar before baking. Through the magic of the oven, the dough puffs and bakes, peeking out from the powdered sugar veneer.

Chocolate crinkle cookies are the OG, of course, but variations like red velvet, lemon, and sprinkle crinkles have become very popular. This recipe combines pandan, coconut, and lime for a unique crinkle cookie. These pandan cookies deserve a spot on your holiday cookie tray, as do these.

Lessons Learned

• Pandan flavoring and extract aren’t always the same across brands. If you are purchasing a natural extract, the green color will be more subtle than the ones with artificial color added. Yes, I went for the artificial coloring because I wanted these babies to be vibrant green, not sage green.
• This is a thick and sticky dough. To help the dough firm up a little, I let it chill in the fridge for 15-ish minutes.
• When you plop the dough into the powdered sugar, it will not be a perfect ball. Once the dough is coated in the sugar, you can gently roll it between your palms to make it round.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Dessert Now Dinner Later for the coconut lime crinkle cookie recipe.

Pandan Crinkle Cookies with Coconut and Lime

• Author: Betty
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Chill Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 12 minutes
• Total Time: 47 minutes

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• ½ cup butter, softened at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 1 tsp lime zest
• ½ cup unsweetened dried coconut flakes
• 1 tsp pandan flavoring
• ½ tsp coconut extract
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup powdered sugar for dredging

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Instructions

1. Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until combined and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat after each addition.
2. Tip in the lime juice, lime zest, coconut flakes, pandan flavoring, coconut extract, and vanilla extract. Mix in with the butter mixture until combined.
3. Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture by the cupful into the butter mixture and beat together on low speed. Once you have added all the flour, mix until everything is incorporated. The dough will be thick and sticky. Place the mixing bowl in the fridge and let it chill for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Turn on the oven to 350 F/176 C. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Pour the powdered sugar into a shallow bowl and set aside.
5. Using a small cookie scoop or ⅛ cup measuring cup (equals around 2 tablespoon of dough), drop a lump of dough into the powdered sugar. Using both hands, lightly roll the dough into the sugar until it is coated and gently roll it into a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Dough balls should be 2 inches apart.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the outer edges of the cookie are set. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely if you can. Makes around 26 cookies.

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Keywords: pandan crinkle cookies with coconut and lime

Chocolate-Pecan Meringues with Cherries

Chewy and chocolatey, these Chocolate-Pecan Meringues with Cherries deserve a spot on your cookie tray this month. The fact that they are gluten-free and dairy-free is one more reason to say yes to making them.

Gluten-free Baking

Gluten-free baked goods can be terrible. These bread, cakes, and cookies seem to go hard on the baking soda and baking powder, hoping for some lift since gluten isn’t there to provide it. The results are often a dry, crumbly mess that only the faithfully gluten-free person will eat.

So not worth the calories!

However, gluten-free baking has come a long way in the past few years. Now there are more easily sourced flour substitutions like 1-to-1, cup-4-cup, almond, and coconut. Plus, countless gluten-free websites help the average baker put together something that is not only edible but tasty for GF family and friends.

I’ve had my share of gluten-free (and dairy-free) needs with my own peeps for several years. One of the best things to bake for these high-maintenance loved ones? Meringue.

Meringue

Once upon a time, I thought meringue was super fancy. Well, I still kind of think that. But once I actually made it, I discovered it is easy to do.

Let’s call it easy fancy.

Basically, meringue is egg whites whipped with sugar until it is stiff and glossy. It is then baked until the outside is crisp and the inside is soft, chewy, and marshmallow-like. Think: lemon meringue pie and baked Alaska.

If it is baked longer, the entire meringue is uniformly crisp throughout. It shatters when you bite into it. Dacquoise, meringue kisses, and pavlova are all examples.

Meringue is a delicious way to make a naturally gluten-free and dairy-free cookie without having to hunt down any special ingredients. It can be flavored with a variety of things like melted chocolate, dried bits of fruit, zest, and finely chopped nuts.

Lessons Learned

• Don’t overbeat the egg whites! They should form shiny, stiff peaks that remain tall when the beaters are pulled away. If you beat them for too long, they will lose their shine and become dull lumpy clumps, as I sadly discovered.
• It’s important to add the sugar a little bit at a time. Wait for it to become incorporated before adding the next spoonful so the meringue doesn’t become grainy.
• Yes, piping the cookies is an extra step but the finished product looks prettier. The alternative is to plop the batter on the sheet pan with a spoon. It’s ugly but tastes the same. You're an adult, so do what you want.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Parade for the chewy dark chocolate meringue cookie recipe.

Chocolate-Pecan Meringues with Cherries

• Author: Betty
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 30 cookies 1x

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 egg whites
• ½ tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 12 oz dark chocolate (70 percent), melted and cooled
• ½ cup chopped dried cherries
• ½ cup chopped pecans

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F/162 C. Place parchment paper on two rimmed baking sheets and set aside.
2. Beat the egg whites, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt in a stand mixer (or hand mixer) on medium speed until it is foamy and bubbly. Continue to beat on medium speed while gradually adding in the sugar, a few spoonfuls at a time. Once all the sugar is added, beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Do not overbeat.
3. Gently stir in the melted chocolate, chopped nuts, and chopped cherries using a rubber spatula.
4. Place half of the batter into a piping bag or gallon-size Ziploc bag. Snip one corner into a 1-inch hole. Pipe cookies (about 2 inches wide) onto the prepared baking sheets. If you don’t want to mess with piping, you can dollop batter onto the cookie sheets with a spoon. Place a whole pecan in the middle of each cookie.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until the surface looks dry and is set. The insides will continue to set as the cookies cool. Let cool on the sheet pans. Makes around 30 cookies.

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Keywords: chocolate-pecan meringues with cherries

Cranberry Lime Pie

The bright color is a hint of the equally bright flavor of Cranberry Lime Pie. Crushed gingersnaps and pecans make up the warm and nutty crust. The filling: sweet-tart cranberry lime curd.

Curd

What is fruit curd? If you are a teatime person, you are familiar with lemon curd. Spread on scones and sandwiched between cookies, it is indulgent, buttery, and lemony.

Fruit curd is a combination of eggs, sugar, fruit juice, and zest cooked until some of the liquid evaporates and thickened. Sometimes the mixture incorporates butter as well. Once the curd cools, it is a creamy, spreadable paste.

Citrus fruits like grapefruit, lemon, lime, and orange are well-suited for this because their acid and sharp flavor balance the richness of the curd. Lately, I have seen berries made into curds, such as blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry. This recipe uses tart cranberries and limes.

A nice counterpoint to the luscious filling is the cookie crust.

Gingersnap Pie Crust

Cookie pie crusts are nothing new. They are made from crunchy cookies like graham crackers, Oreos, and shortbread. Crush cookies into crumbs, add butter, and press the mixture into a pan.

To quote Ina Garten, how easy is that?

This crust is made with gingersnaps. The crunchy kind from a box. Plus, pecans!

Lessons Learned

• Need your crust to be nut-free? Use just cookies. Double the amount of gingersnaps.
• If you don’t mind pieces of cranberry and zest in your curd, by all means, skip the fine mesh strainer bit. Straining it makes the curd silky smooth but that might not be your thing.
• The garnishes are optional, of course. They do make the pie extra pretty but a dollop of whipped cream instead would be just as nice.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Epicurious for their cranberry-lime pie recipe.

Cranberry Lime Pie

• Author: Betty
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Chill Time: 2 hours
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 12 slices 1x

Print Recipe

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Crust:

• 4 ounces gingersnap cookies (16 cookies of Nabisco brand)
• 1 cup pecans
• 4 Tbsp butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar

Filling:

• 1 package (12 oz) fresh or thawed cranberries
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided use
• ¼ cup water
• 3 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp lime zest
• ½ cup fresh lime juice
• Pinch of kosher salt
• ¾ cup butter, cut into pieces

Garnish:

• ½ cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar, divided use
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• ½ cup whole pecans
• 1 tsp lime zest

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/176 C. Make the crust by blitzing the cookies in a food processor or blender until they are crumbs. Add the pecans and blitz again until the mixture is fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and brown sugar, then pulse a few times to combine. It should look like wet sand. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch deep dish pie pan. Press the crumbs firmly on the bottom and sides into an even layer. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until firm. If you have a crust emergency and the sides have slid down, just press them back to where they should go. Remove from the oven and let cool.
2. Make the cranberry puree by combining the cranberries, 1 cup sugar, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Then, lower the heat and continue cooking until the cranberries burst. Allow it to cook until most of the juice is gone, about 12 minutes. Let it cool slightly, then pour it into a clean blender or food processor and blitz until it is pureed.
3. Make the filling by pouring the cranberry puree, ½ cup sugar, eggs, egg yolks, lemon zest, lime zest, lime juice, and salt into the top pan of a double boiler. Bring 2 cups of water to simmer in the bottom saucepan. Place the upper pan (you can also use a heatproof bowl if you don’t have a double boiler) over the water. Cook the mixture, stirring with a rubber spatula, for 8 to 10 minutes. Scrape the sides of the pan and stir frequently as the curd starts to thicken. Press the curd through a fine mesh strainer to get rid of the pieces of cranberry and zest to make it smooth. Scrape the underside of the strainer to capture all the curd. Let it cool for 15 minutes.
4. Now, add one piece of the butter and beat it into the mixture with a hand-held or stand mixer. Once the butter is incorporated, add the next piece and do the same. It will take 5-ish minutes to add all the butter, one piece at a time. The curd will be a lighter shade of reddish pink and fluffier. Pour the curd into the crust and smooth the top. Place it in the fridge for 2 hours or until set.
5. Make the garnish. This is optional, but it is pretty. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper under a wire rack and have it nearby. Bring the sugar and water to a simmer over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the cranberries and allow them to cook for 2 minutes, then remove them to the wire rack with a slotted spoon. They should slightly soften but don’t allow them to burst. Now, add the pecans to the saucepan and cook them for 5 minutes, then remove them to the wire rack with a slotted spoon. Allow the berries and nuts to cool and dry for about 1 hour. Pour the remaining ½ cup sugar onto a plate. Add the cranberries and pecans and roll them in the sugar to create a frosted appearance.
6. The naked pie can be kept covered in the fridge for 2 days. Garnish the pie just before serving. Arrange the sugared cranberries and pecans as you wish, then finish it off with 1 teaspoon of lime zest.

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Keywords: cranberry lime pie

Buttermilk Pie with Booze

It’s not the prettiest thing, but it is sweet and will make you smile. I’m not referring to your friend’s newest grandbaby. We’re talking pie: Buttermilk Pie with Booze.

The appeal of this pie is its simplicity. Yes, it’s ugly but it is delicious. Certain individuals will appreciate it.

This is the pie for friends who:

• Drink their coffee black.
• Order cheese pizza.
• Peruse all the ice cream flavors, then get vanilla—every time.

Jamocha Almond Fudge people, keep moving along. This is not the pie for you.

What’s Buttermilk

I was amazed to learn recently that buttermilk is a fermented drink.

In years past, it was made from the leftover milk that remained after one churned their butter. This milk was allowed to ferment, developing natural probiotics and a tangy flavor. My dad used to drink this when he was growing up in his tiny hometown in Oklahoma.

Most of the buttermilk sold today in the U.S. is cultured buttermilk. This means that a lactic acid bacteria culture is added to pasteurized, homogenized milk. The live cultures ferment the milk to produce commercially-made buttermilk.

Buttermilk is thicker than whole milk and has a slightly acidic tang, similar to yogurt. It is used as an ingredient in biscuits, muffins, pancakes, and quick bread. The lactic acid in the milk activates baking soda, giving these doughs a lift and a tender crumb.

The star of this pie is the buttermilk. I know you are skeptical, but I encourage you to make it once before passing judgment. You will be surprised at how good it is.

Plus, there’s booze.

Booze

Booze, hooch, the sauce, nightcap. They are all the same: nicknames for alcohol. Usually, these are referring to distilled spirits but can be applied to alcohol in general.

When you add booze to something that is going to be baked, cooked on a stovetop, grilled, or sauteed, some of the alcohol burns off and evaporates in the heat. Some, not all. After an hour of cooking, about 25 percent of the alcohol still remains in a dish.

If this concerns you because the alcohol doesn’t completely burn off (or because 75 percent of it does), read on.

For a recipe that calls for two tablespoons of hooch like this one does, the finished pie will have about one and a half teaspoons of remaining alcohol. I won’t calculate what each slice contains, but I think it is safe to say you won’t get buzzed by eating a slice of this pie. Or even the whole pie.

The spirit I chose to add was the whiskey I had on hand (Buffalo Trace if you are curious). But you can use whatever hard stuff you have and taste you enjoy. If you don’t like or want to use alcohol, you can just omit it.

Lessons Learned

• Don’t want to make your own pie dough? Use a purchased pie crust instead. But homemade is worth the extra 15 minutes to pull together, I promise.
• You will want to use real buttermilk for this recipe since it is a key ingredient. In other baked goods, you can get away with a buttermilk substitute (milk plus lemon juice), but that won’t work here.
• Use a regular 9-inch pie pan, not a deep dish one. I made the mistake of making it in a deep dish pan on the first try and the filling was too skimpy.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Simply Recipes for the perfect pie crust recipe (I used the butter and shortening version) and Well Plated by Erin for the buttermilk pie filling recipe.

Buttermilk Pie with Booze

• Author: Betty
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 55 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
• Yield: 8 slices 1x

Print Recipe

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Dough:

• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup butter, diced
• ¼ cup shortening
• 4 Tbsp cold water

Filling:

• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 Tbsp flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp whiskey or booze of your choice
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg

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Instructions

1. Make the pie dough by dumping the flour, sugar, salt, butter, and shortening in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut or rub in the fats until it is pea-sized and distributed evenly.
2. Add the water and mix the dough until it comes together. If the dough is too soft, wrap it tightly and set it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up before rolling it out. Otherwise, lightly flour a flat surface and roll out the dough to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Transfer the dough to the pan and flute the edges if desired. Place the pan in the fridge while you make the filling.
3. Preheat the oven to 325 F/162 C. Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven.
4. Make the filling by lightly beating the eggs by hand with a whisk or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Whisk in the sugar, flour, and salt. Next, add the butter, buttermilk, whiskey, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and nutmeg. Stir everything together until it is incorporated and smooth.
5. Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Place the pan in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 55 minutes. The center should be set and the top forming a crackly crust. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing. Serve with whipped cream, if desired. Your black coffee friends will most likely want to eat it plain.

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Keywords: buttermilk pie with booze

Chocolate Tart with PB Pretzel Crust

You only need five ingredients to make Chocolate Tart with PB Pretzel Crust. It’s a sweet and salty combination that is perfect for the dairy-free peeps in your life. It’s easily adapted to be gluten-free, reduced sugar, and vegan, too!

Why do sweet and salty taste good together?

Sweet and Salty

We all have that friend who dips their french fries into a milkshake, scatters crushed pretzels over ice cream, and salts each slice of watermelon. I used to think these people were gross. Now, I realize they are geniuses.

Salt makes sweet things taste better.

Because salt is a flavor booster, it helps us identify and enjoy the different flavors in foods. Our taste buds contain many cells that send signals to our brain, which then registers what we are ingesting. Certain sweet taste cells will only fire up when sodium is present.

This explains why so many cookie and cake recipes call for a pinch of salt or employ salted butter. These recipes know what’s up. When we get both sweet and salty in one bite, we are hooked.

Salt rounds out the flavor in chocolate ganache.

Dairy Free Chocolate Ganache

Ganache is a fancy word for chocolate and heavy cream mixed together. Normally, the cream is warmed and poured over chopped chocolate and stirred until glossy. The mixture can be used for pouring over cakes and desserts, or making truffles and candies.

Because I have several dairy-free people in my life, I like to make my chocolate ganache with full-fat coconut milk. I find that heating the milk in the microwave and adding the chocolate works just as well as the stove-top method. The ganache comes out silky smooth and delicious.

Stevia-sweetened dark chocolate chips, like the Lily Brand, are my personal favorite. They are not too sweet. I think the reduced sugar content is a welcome relief in a dense rich tart like this one.

Lessons Learned

• To make this gluten-free, you know what to do. Find GF peanut butter pretzels.
• Want this to be vegan? Replace the butter with vegan butter or solid coconut oil and use vegan chocolate chips. Is there such a thing as vegan peanut butter pretzels? Vegans will know.
• Let this tart sit outside the fridge for 30-ish minutes before slicing and serving. It will be pretty firm straight from the refrigerator.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to The FeedFeed for the chocolate and peanut butter pretzel tart recipe.

Chocolate Tart with PB Pretzel Crust

• Author: Betty
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Chill Time: 45 minutes (freezer) or 4 hours (fridge)
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 12 slices 1x

Print Recipe

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 3 cups peanut butter pretzels
• 6 Tbsp butter, softened
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup full fat coconut milk
• 2 cups dark chocolate chips
• ½ tsp salt
• Garnishes such as fruit, chopped peanuts, flaky sea salt

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Instructions

1. Make the crust by pouring the pretzels into a food processor or blender and blitzing until you have fine crumbs. Add the softened butter and pulse again until it just comes together. Pour the mixture into an 8-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the crumbs on the bottom and sides of the pan into an even layer. 
2. Spread the peanut butter on the bottom of the crust. If your peanut butter is thick, you can loosen it with a tablespoon of honey or oil. Place the pan in the freezer.
3. Make the ganache by heating the milk in a large microwave-safe bowl for one minute on high power or until the milk is hot. Pour in the chocolate chips, add the salt, and let sit for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture to melt the chocolate. Keep stirring to combine the chocolate and milk together until they are smooth and shiny.
4. Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the ganache mixture into the crust. Allow the ganache to set by placing it in the freezer for 45 minutes or in the fridge for 4 hours. 
5. Garnish with something fun and pretty like small pieces of fresh fruit, chopped peanuts, or flaky sea salt. Slice into thin pieces (it is rich!) and serve. 

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Keywords: chocolate tart with PB pretzel crust