These homemade Take 5 Bars have layers of sweet and salty goodness. Adding peanuts, caramel, and chocolate covered pretzels to a peanut butter blonde brownie recipe is a very delicious idea.
My favorite type of dessert is one loaded with sweet and salty flavors. There is something about that combo that just gets me every single time. And now I'm craving Salted Caramel Brownie Bites...
I think my love for sweet and salty is why I love the Reese's Take 5 candy bars. They have the sweet goodness of milk chocolate and caramel with salty nuts and pretzels in every bite.
It's definitely a candy bar that I cannot buy bigs bags of because I would hide them and then eat every.single.one!
What is a Take 5 candy bar?
The Take 5 Bar has five layers of sweet and salty goodness. It has crunchy pretzels, smooth peanut butter, salty peanuts, and creamy caramel wrapped up in a coating of milk chocolate.
The Hershey Company released this awesome candy bar in December 2004. Recently, they added more peanut butter goodness to the bars and added the words Reese's to the candy bar name.
Blonde Brownies
One of the desserts that I make for group events or bake sales are these M&M Blonde Brownies. Not only are they extremely easy to make, but everyone loves them.
Over the years I have given the blondie dessert different looks and tastes with different ingredients. One of my top favorites are these Marshmallow Reese's Blonde Brownies.
This time I decided to make a batch of Take 5 cookie bars using the peanut butter blonde brownies as the base.
Take 5 Bar ingredients:
- Unsalted Butter - As always using unsalted butter allows you control on how much salt to add. If all you have is salted butter, reduce the amount of salt in the recipe to just a pinch. softened butter
- Peanut Butter - The recipe calls for creamy, but you can also use crunchy peanut butter. Just use less chopped nuts later.
- Brown Sugar - Using all brown sugar keeps these bars soft and delicious with a chewy, caramel flavor
- Eggs - Two large eggs provide moisture to the batter and make the cookie bars chewy.
- Vanilla and Salt - Adds flavor to the butter and ingredients.
- Baking Powder - A little bit gives a little bit of lift to these blonde brownies.
- Flour - Use the spoon and level method when measuring flour, so the bars bake dense and not cakey.
- Mix-Ins - Peanuts, caramel bits, and peanut butter chips add the sweet and salty to the dough.
- Topping - A coating of chocolate chips and pretzels pieces makes these look just like the candy bars.
These homemade blonde brownies have all the flavors of a Take 5 candy bar. They are such an easy bar cookie to make for dessert or for bake sales.
How to make Take 5 Bars:
- Beat the softened butter and brown sugar until creamy. (full recipe at bottom)
- Add the eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla and beat again.
- Stir together the salt, flour, and baking soda and mix in until a soft dough forms.
- Add the peanut butter chips, caramel bits, and chopped peanuts and stir gently.
- Spread in a pan and bake. Let cool completely.
- Top with melted chocolate chips and pretzel pieces.
The sweet and salty combo and different textures make these one of the best blonde brownies I have ever made!
More blonde brownie recipes:
- S'mores Swirled Blondies
- Loaded Blonde Brownies
- Whatchamacallit Blondies
- Tropical Blonde Brownies
- Oreo Butterscotch Blondies
Recipe
Take 5 Bars
These homemade Take 5 Bars have layers of sweet and salty goodness. Adding peanuts, caramel, and chocolate covered pretzels to peanut butter blonde brownies is a very delicious idea.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped peanuts
- ½ cup peanut butter baking chips
- ¾ cup caramel baking bits
- 2 cups chopped pretzels
- 3 cups chocolate chips
- 1 Tablespoon shortening or coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter and beat again.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients until a soft dough forms. Stir in the peanuts, peanut butter chips, and caramel bits by hand.
- Spread the dough in the prepared pan. Bake for 24-25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
- When the bars are completely cool, melt the chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl. Stir every 30 seconds, so it doesn’t burn.
- Lay the chopped pretzels on top of the cooled bars and spread the melted chocolate on top. Let set before cutting into 24 bars.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 356Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 265mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 3gSugar: 26gProtein: 7g
Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.
(original photo from 2011)
*The post for Take 5 Bars was first published September 27, 2011, and the photos were redone June 2015. Post and photos were updated and republished January 12, 2021.
Michael Ann
I think it is FABulous that you are going outside your comfort zone to do this race. Really! THAT is the kind of thing that you will feel so good about and remember for always. Good for you!!! Can't wait to see photos!And this recipe, well, this is a for sure must try for me!!
Kara @ Mine for the Making
You are such a good sport to join your hubby and step out of your comfort zone 🙂 I cannot wait to see the pictures of your cute self all dirty and muddy LOL
So funny that you made take 5 bars....these are my FAVORITE candy bars and I cannot find them anywhere! My bestie and I were just talking about how we need to find a recipe so we can make them. Cue in Jocelyn and her fabulous baking skills 🙂
kayla
These bars sound really yummy!!
And I just want to say Good Luck to you in the Tough Mudder...it sounds like the Warrior Dash, both of which I know I wouldn't survive!! It sounds like a really fun adrenaline rush packed event...you'll have fun!
nancycreative
Those bars look super-yummy!
Stacy@thealmostwholepackage
YUM!
Handy Man, Crafty Woman
Ok, what I want to know is how do you make and eat scrumptiously delicious looking goodies like that and your whole family looks GREAT! Thank you for linking to Wicked Awesome Wednesday!
Kirsten @ Mushki Loves
These are my hubby's favorite candy bar! I am so pinning these...printing out the recipe...and making them! Thank you for sharing! Good Luck with the running and mud! Ooh.. I'm also having a week long linky party and would love it if you wanted to link these up! Hope to see you there! Kirsten
cookies and cups
Love these bars and my husband did a Tough Mudder last year. While you wouldn't have caught me dead out there, I know you will do GREAT!!!
Heather Is...
I'm with you on the prefer-to-stay-clean thing! And I'm so glad you posted this recipe! It's my family's favorite candy bar! I've attempted to make Take 5 cookies in the past, but have never been able to get it quite right. I think I'll have to make up some of these instead. 🙂
carissa
go you!!! this will be so fun and motivating. then, after burning all those calories you'll have a really good excuse to eat a yummy dessert creation of yours! the take 5 bars sound superb!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust
A friend of mine asked if I wanted to do a similar run next month and I just laughed at her. I'm such a baby, I don't think I could handle finishing a run all dirty! These bars look so good, and a great reward after training for the run. 🙂
Mindy
mmm.. i think i would PAY to come and see you be a tough mudder in person!! i am the girl who would have been recruiting the other wives though.. 😉
Brandi
Oh my goodness, I can not believe you signed up for this. My coworker talks about this race all the time. They have something similar to it around here and her and her hubby are signing up for it. You are my hero if you go through with it. Good luck! You have to take pics!!!
Carolina HeartStrings
Great post. Take 5 bars are my son's fav candy bar. He would love these. They look terrific. Come over and visit us. We have a really yummy stuffed pork chop recipe to share.
Michele {The Scrap Shoppe}
Oh my word, that is too funny! Just think of the mud as something to keep you warm. LoL! Sounds like another yummy recipe!
Goldie
These will be on the list for christmas!
4Sisters
Way to step out of your comfort zone...I'm pretty sure I could never go that far - 12 miles is quite the distance 🙂 These look absolutely delicious and worth the "training"!
Becca @ Crumbs and Chaos
The Miller Five
Go Jocelyn! That is funny, but completely awesome at the same time. I was invited to do one of these earlier in the year, but I just wasn't ready yet. Maybe this spring. Good luck to you! You will post pictures right? 🙂
Aimee
While I control my laughter and figure out how to address the funny part, can I first say Take 5 candy bars are in my top favorites. And now you made these? Yum.
Second, ummm, yeah, I can't control my laughter!!!! Good luck?? 🙂
Adrienne
These look amazing. I must say - our family is off of sugar, but I can typically make subs for any recipe. This would be a toughy, but it looks so good I just might have to give it a try! Yum! visiting from Rook No. 17