I’m just going to lay it all of the line for you…
This cookie, well it is the ‘schnitz.
The name says it all. Salted Caramel. Pretzel. Cookie. Those three phrases alone are perfect, put them together, well, let’s just say marriages have been brokered, discounts have been granted, and allowances have been increased due to this recipe.
Without a doubt, this Salted Caramel Pretzel Cookie Recipe is my favorite. It has a few extra steps, but it is so worth it.
Note: You are going to make your own caramel. DON’T FREAK OUT. CARAMEL IS EASY. FEEL EMPOWERED!!! How many other people do you know that make caramel from scratch? No one. That’s right…these cookies are bragging rights, peeps!
Salted Caramel Pretzel Cookie Recipe
Salted Caramel Pretzel Cookie Recipe. The name says it alone. Salted Caramel. Pretzel. Cookie. Those three phrases alone are perfect, put them together, well, let’s just say many a world issue has been solved with this cookie.
Recipe Yields : 30 cookies
Ingredients
1.5 cups broken thin pretzels
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.75 cups all-purpose flour
Directions
1. Place 1/4 cups of pretzels in a ziploc bag and crush with rolling pin or meat mallet until coarse crumbles.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, honey, vanilla, and salt until incorporated. Then add to butter mixture and mix until combined. Turn mixer to low and add pretzel and flour until just combined. Don’t overmix.
4. Put the remaining 1.25 cups of pretzels in ziploc bag and crush. Spread pretzel bits on to baking sheet.
5. Using a cookie scoop drop teaspoon of dough into your hand, roll into a ball, and roll it on to pretzel pieces (making sure to press so the pretzels adhere) and place on to Nordic Ware Baking Sheets lined with Silicone Baking Mats. Each cookie sheet should have approximately 12 cookies.
A cookie scoop, Nordic Ware Baking Sheets (or other commercial baking sheets) and silicone baking mats, is the secret to making perfectly uniform cookies every time. Same size, same browning, same taste. They are an investment, but worth every penny.
6. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes or until firm.
7. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
8. Prior to baking, make a deep indentation in each cookie ball with your thumb.
9. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly golden. Re-indent with the back of a teaspoon if necessary.
10. Let cool for 3 minutes on baking sheets and then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely.
11. Fill each indentation with caramel (from recipe below) and sprinkle with kosher salt.
Caramel Ingredients
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup + 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, loosely packed
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cups of light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
1. In a heavy large saucepan, melt butter over low heat.
2. Add brown sugar, whipping cream, and corn syrup and mix well.
3. Cook over medium-high heat, until boiling. Reduce to medium heat. Clip candy thermometer to side of pan and continue cooking and stirring until 248 degrees. Pull away from heat when caramel reaches 248 degrees. (Around 45 – 60 minutes.)
4. Immediately, take tablespoon-sized amounts of caramel and place into indentation on pretzel cookies. Immediately sprinkle with kosher salt.
Want more of my favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes? Be sure to follow my Christmas Cookie Board on Pinterest.
Follow Kelly Snyder’s board Christmas Cookies on Pinterest.
LOVE this recipe? Make sure to check out all of our tried and true recipes in the Redefined Mom Recipe Index.
My dough was too thin to make the balls…