Sweet and Salty Easter Brownies

Last week, I posted a low-key Easter recipe; cinnamon roll muffins, that happen to be most appropriate for the Easter brunch table (if you missed it, find the recipe here). This week, I wanted to do something that would SCREAM Easter.

In case you haven’t noticed it yet, I am kind of obsessed with brownies. Little chocolatey squares that taste like cake just make me happy, and I like how creative you can get with them. Since I started my blog over a year ago, I did Halloween brownies (click here) and Christmas brownies (find them here). It only makes sense that I also do Easter brownies, right? I came up with these Sweet & Salty Easter Brownies. The secret? They are filled with salted pretzel pieces and topped with Easter Peanut M&M’s.

I know we are all pretty busy today on this Easter Sunday, and/or just dying to get a taste of these, so let’s jump right into the recipe.

Sweet & Salty Easter Brownies

These thick brownies filled with salted pretzel pieces and topped with peanut M&Ms attain the perfect balance of sweet and salty.

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Ingredients:

• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup butter
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup salted pretzels, broken into pieces
• Easter Peanut M&M’s, to decorate
  

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1. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Grease an 8-inch square pan.
2. Toss together the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar (both brown sugar and granulated sugar).
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla.
5. Add the flour to the wet ingredients, and blend until just combined. Be careful not to over mix.
6. Add the pretzels and blend until they are evenly dispersed through the batter.
7. Pour into the pan and smooth out with a spatula.
8. Sprinkle some Easter Peanut M&M’s on top.
9. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
10. Let cool for a couple of minutes before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.
11. Hide some for the traditional Easter egg hunt. But don’t forget where you hid them.
    

Extra tips:

• I recommend buying really salty pretzels. I find that the ones you buy in bulk don’t have as much salt on them, as opposed to those you buy in a bag. Also, the thinner the pretzels, the better. I like to use the stick pretzels, because they are slightly thinner than the bow ones.
• To break the pretzels into pieces, put them in Ziploc bag, wrap the bag in a hand towel, lay it flat and... hit it! Let all the frustration out!
• When creaming the butter and sugar, make sure it turns into a light beige color and becomes fluffy. That’s how you know it’s ready for the next step.
• When sprinkling the M&M’s, keep in mind that you’ll want to cut the brownies into squares later, and it’ll be easier if you don’t have to cut through the candies. You don’t have to create lines, but I recommend leaving enough space between each M&M’s.
  

This recipe is easy, yet so delicious. If you end up recreating it, don’t forget to use the hashtag #teaandmascara.

Happy Easter, guys! I wish you all an amazing Sunday with your loved ones (and your brownies).

Much love,
-TM-