Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Cookies
A chocolate-chocolate chip cookie with caramel inside and a pretzel on top? Yes, please! These beauties are the creation of Rebecca Firth, a writer, recipe developer and food blogger. Our Test Kitchen cooks love how the dark chocolate and pretzel create the ideal sweet and salty combo. Pop them inside cookie tins for holiday treats, tuck into lunch boxes—or eat straight off the cooling rack, with a glass of cold milk in hand.
Ingredients
- 8 Tbs. (1 stick) (4 oz./125 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) sunflower seed oil or other neutral oil
- 1 cup (8 oz./250 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (7 oz./225 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 oz./235 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (5 oz./155 g) bread flour
- 3/4 cup (2 1/4 oz./65 g) unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups (9 oz./280 g) semisweet or dark chocolate chips
- 12 caramel candy squares, such as Kraft, cut in half
- 24 mini pretzel twists
- Flaky sea salt for sprinkling
Directions
Position a rack in the upper third of an oven and preheat to 375°F (190°C). Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter, oil, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until well blended and no butter chunks are visible, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, making sure they’re completely blended before adding the next. Add the vanilla and beat until blended, about 1 minute.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and, with the mixer on low speed, mix until just barely blended. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Using 2 Tbs. dough for each cookie, roll the dough into a ball. Press 1 caramel half in the center, making sure it is completely covered with dough. Place a pretzel on top of the dough, slightly pressing down so it adheres. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm) apart.
Bake until the cookies are set and just firm around the edges, 10 to 11 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and lightly sprinkle with a few flakes of sea salt. Let cool for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool completely. Makes about 24 cookies.
Recipe by Rebecca Firth, creator of the blog Displaced Housewife