Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites Stuffed with Caramel

It's here! It's here! Christmas is here!! The most wonderful time of the year is upon us!! We have Christmas tonight with my family, Christmas tomorrow night at Hub's Grandpa's house, Christmas on Christmas with my sister and Christmas at home, followed finally by Christmas with my in-laws next weekend. While dividing up the presents today into which pile goes where, I realized I have a lot of piles. It quickly reminded me how blessed we are and to remember to be truly thankful not just this time of year, but everyday.

What comes after Christmas?!?! Returns New Years!! Yay for New Years parties! This year we're heading up north to see some of my favorite people/best friends in the world! Since I don't have to host this year, my schedule is a tad more open. Score! So to fill my time I decided to come up with a perfect treat to bring to my girlfriend's New Year's Eve party:

Trust me when I say these things are amazing! I just hope my friend's party guests love them as much as I do. Check it out, it's a pajama New Years party! Meaning we get to sit around in our sweats all night long and stuff our faces with champagne and these! My best friend is actually my roommate from college. We met in the first month of our freshman year and have been as thick as thieves ever since. We only live about two hours from each other and talk and text and facetime regularly. One of the things that makes this lady so amazing, besides her love for animals, her huge giving heart and her insanely addictive laugh, is every time we see each other it's as if no time has passed at all. I love her so much and can't wait to ring in the new year with her! Love you Barton!

So the process to make these is very easy! Only problem I have is I only have one mini muffin pan so to make a lot is a little time consuming. Other than that, these are a no-bake delight! First thing to do is melt some butter and mix it in with not-so-finely chopped pretzels and put some in the bottom of the tray to create a "crust".

Then mix together peanut butter, a couple kinds of sugar, some vanilla and a little bit more butter together and roll the dough into balls. Then place the peanut butter balls on top of the pretzels and make a hole in the middle with your finger.

Pour in some caramel:

And top with melted chocolate. Tap the tray on the table a few times to get out all the air bubbles.

Pop in the freezer for about 30 minutes and Ta-Da! Awesomeness!

Ingredients:
Pretzels, broken into smaller pieces
2 T butter, melted
1/2 Cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 Cup powdered sugar
1/3 Cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp butter
1 Cup milk chocolate chips
Caramel sauce

Directions:
Break the pretzels apart in a small bag until each one is about a 1/2 inch in size. There's no right or wrong way to do this part, I just found bigger pieces were easier to work with. Here's what mine looked like:

Once they are broken up, mix them with the melted butter and add to the bottom of the pan. Mix together the peanut butter, powdered sugar, brown sugar, butter and vanilla together in a bowl (I used a small bowl and a big spoon). Roll the "dough" into small balls that fit into the muffin tin. Poke a small hole in the middle and fill with caramel sauce.

Push the sides of the peanut butter bowl up and slightly away from the edge of the pan. This will help the chocolate fall down the sides a bit. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 second increments until the chocolate is easy to pour. Add to the top of the peanut butter and place the tray in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until completely hardened. Run a knife along the side of the cup to loosen the chocolate. They should come up easily. Hope you enjoy!

Merry Christmas to you all! I will see you again later this week!
*I ended up not bringing these to the party, but some other great snacks instead.
Thanks for stopping by!

**I linked up to the dedicated house, between naps on the porch, amaze me monday, rain on a tin roof, carrie this house, huckleberry love, craft o maniac, a pinch of joy, serenity now, 504 main, simple living and eating, the jenny evolution, miz helens country cottage, fireflies and jellybeans, coastal charm, hope studios, the winthrop chronicles, naptime creations, future expat, cedar hill farmhouse