Pretzel Chocolate Cookies

This is a cookie that has been baked into a ball and then dipped into melted milk chocolate. Finally, it has been topped with a little flaked sea salt. If you love the combination of salty and sweet, than Pretzel Chocolate Cookies are for you!

PRETZEL CHOCOLATE COOKIES

We always have pretzels in our snack cabinet, which is why Pretzel Chocolate Cookies had to be a part of this year’s series! It used to be that I was the only one that craved salty snacks. Lately, though, I have been witness to both John.e and McKenna digging into my pretzel stash. I most certainly do not mind! That just gives me a reason to buy more.

When I first tested this recipe, it was supposed to be a thumbprint cookie. My intention was to fill the thumbprint indent with melted caramel. Sure, they tasted great, but I wasn’t happy with how they looked. Plus, I already have a few other thumbprint cookies.

I tested another batch and rolled the cookie dough into balls. After baking them, I noticed that they kept a very thick, circular shape. It was a hit for me! But, there was no place to put the caramel. I don’t like baking cookies with caramel in them, because it’s always a sticky mess. So, these were dunked in melted chocolate and topped with flaked sea salt. Yum!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE:

1. Butter – Unless otherwise stated, I always used salted butter in baking. It’s important that your butter is softened and at room temperature.
2. Brown Sugar – You can use dark or light brown sugar. It’s preferred over white sugar in this cookie, because it has a richer flavour.
3. Eggs – You need two large eggs at room temperature. Remove the egg from the fridge 30 minutes before using.
4. Vanilla Extract – This extract certainly adds to the overall taste of the cookie. Plus, it pairs very well with the chocolate coating.
5. Pretzels – Any pretzels will do. Crush the pretzels, but do not crush them so that there’s just pretzel dust. You want the smaller chunks and bits for texture.
6. Flour – I always use all-purpose flour, unless otherwise stated.
7. Baking Soda – This will keep your cookie puffy and round.
8. Milk Chocolate – You can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate if you prefer. We will dunk the cookie balls in the melted chocolate once they are fully cooled.
9. Sea Salt – I used flaked sea salt or fleur de sel. You can use any sea salt, just don’t be tempted to use table salt! If you don’t have sea salt, just skip it completely.

CRUSHING PRETZELS

No matter the shape of the pretzel you buy, you’ll need to crush them for these Pretzel Chocolate Cookies. I sometimes have the pretzel bits and even those need to be crushed! There are a few ways you can crush them.

First, place them in a sturdy bag and beat them with a wooden rolling pin to break them up. You don’t want to crush them completely It’s nice to have smaller bits of pretzel intact in the cookie when you bite into it. The texture makes a world of difference.

Second, you can pulse them in your food processor. I like the rolling pin method, but if you don’t mind washing up the food processor, this way is easier and faster. Again, don’t pulverize them! We are looking for crushed pretzels, not pretzel dust!

FLAKED SEA SALT

To be perfectly honest, Dear Reader, the flaked sea salt that you see sprinkled onto the melted chocolate is completely optional. But, I do encourage you to do it! The saltiness of the pretzel itself is not enough to make that salty-sweet magic that we all love about the combination of chocolate and salt. That’s why I added a bit more.

My everyday salt is sea salt. I use it in and on everything. Iodized salt is not ever permitted in my kitchen. It adds a metallic taste to everything, and I would never use it in any recipe. In addition to sea salt, I keep a small jar of fleur de sel in my pantry. It’s a finishing salt and is great for sprinkling over finished dishes. It’s particularly good sprinkled over chocolate balls and truffles like you see here.

Fleur de sel, which translates from French as Flower of Salt, forms as a thin, delicate crust on the surface of seawater as it evaporates. Fleur de sel has been collected since ancient times and was traditionally used as a purgative and salve. It is now used as a finishing salt to flavour and garnishes food. The name comes from the flower-like patterns of crystals in the salt crust. This is my favourite fleur de sel!

HOW TO MAKE PRETZEL CHOCOLATE COOKIES:

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. Next, prepare a baking sheet by lining it with a silicone liner or with parchment paper and set it aside. We’ll use that in a bit. Now, in a mixing bowl, use a hand-held mixer to beat together the butter and brown sugar. Beat it for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Next, you’ll want to beat in the eggs, and extract until combined.

Once that’s combined, add the flour, baking soda, and crushed pretzels. Beat those on low speed until just mixed through. The dough will be very thick! Shape dough into one-inch balls and place them onto the prepared baking sheet. Be sure to keep balls at least inches apart.

Bake for 12 minutes. Once done, remove from the oven. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes. Remove and transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. Once completely cooled, melt the chocolate and completely submerged the balls one at a time. Remove from chocolate, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or waxed paper. Top each ball with a little sprinkle of sea salt. Allow balls to set until the chocolate is firm!

THE BEST WAY TO COAT COOKIES IN CHOCOLATE!

I used to think that perfectly dipped chocolate cookies were witchcraft! Of course, I’m kidding, but honestly, I could never master it. Either the chocolate was too thick, or not smooth enough. And, I was always left with a pool of chocolate at the bottom of the cookie that would harden. There’s nothing wrong with extra chocolate, but I so badly wanted to make my cookies look better.

I tried that fancy little tool for dipping things into chocolate. It’s like a two-tined fork with really long tines. Apparently, the cookie is supposed to balance on there, while the thin tines allow the excess chocolate to drip off. Lies! There is no fancy tool needed to get perfect chocolate-dipped cookies. All you need is melted chocolate with good consistency and a toothpick. Here’s how I did it.

If you use melting chocolate right out of the bag like candy melts or chocolate chips, for example, you will end up with very thick chocolate. The thicker the chocolate, the longer it will take to harden, which means more time for it to run. Thin your chocolate by adding a teaspoon of coconut oil or butter to the bowl before you start to melt it. This will thin it without any risk of your chocolate seizing or compromising the flavour.

USE A FORK AND A TOOTHPICK TO GET THE PERFECT DIP!

Working with completely cooled Pretzel Chocolate Cookies, place one cookie onto a fork and dunk it into the bowl of chocolate and gently turn it so that the entire cookie is enrobed. Carefully lift the cookie out of the chocolate and slightly tap the fork on the rim of the bowl. The excess chocolate will fall back into the bowl.

With a toothpick, run it very gently under the tines of the fork to wipe away the excess chocolate. Transfer the cookie to the prepared baking tray. Tilt the fork and use the toothpick to gently nudge the cookie off and onto the parchment paper. You should be left with a perfectly dipped chocolate cookie!

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for long periods of time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Pretzel Chocolate Cookies, you certainly can! Once the chocolate has hardened, pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out onto a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. If packaging, wait until the condensation has evaporated. Whenever I work with anything covered in chocolate, I like to use a glove to prevent getting fingerprints on it as much as possible! Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 100 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!