CakeSpy Note: OMG! The 46th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming! Since I so deeply loved attending the 45th Bake-Off, I thought I would get you excited early by sharing some of the finalists' recipes. Do I need to tell you that the winner will receive one million dollars? My posting is on hyperdrive since the event is less than a week a day--check back often, because I will be posting three recipes a day until the big event! You can follow them by clicking the bakeoff tag below the post to see which ones have been posted so far. Enjoy!

Salty! Sweet! Your life is now complete. Thanks to Anita Van Gundy of Des Moines, Iowa for sharing this lovely and highly addictive recipe.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

Prep Time: 25 Min Total Time: 2 Hr 35 Min Makes: 24 servings

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups pretzels, coarsely chopped
1 package Pillsbury Ready to Bake refrigerated sugar cookies
2 tablespoons Crisco Baking Sticks Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening
1 can (14 oz) Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Chocolate Flavored Hazelnut Spread
1/4 cup Caramel Syrup

Procedure

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. Let cookie dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften.
Finely chop 1 cup of the pretzels; place in large bowl. Add cookie dough and shortening. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until well mixed. Press dough evenly in pan. Bake 14 to 18 minutes or until crust is light golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in 2 quart heavy saucepan, heat sweetened condensed milk over medium heat 5 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly until hot and mixture is thin. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and chocolate hazelnut spread until well blended. Spread over baked crust. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pretzels. Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until edges are golden brown. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. Drizzle with caramel syrup. Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered.