Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hello friends! These pretzel chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy with just the right balance of sweet and salty. I based them on my jumbo chocolate chip cookies, scaled them down, and folded in chopped pretzels and butterscotch chips for extra texture and depth. They bake up thick, stay tender in the center, and are hard to stop eating once you start.
The last month has been a blur of baking, with cookie boxes and holiday treats taking over my kitchen. I made these separately for a family gathering, and they ended up being one of my favorites. I can’t get enough of the sweet-and-salty combination here, and they disappeared fast from the table!
Why you’ll love this cookies…
I mean, it’s the salty-sweet! They have this perfect balance without leaning too far in either direction. The dough stays soft even after cooling, the edges don’t get brittle, and the pretzels keep their texture instead of disappearing into the cookie. They’re easy to portion, freeze well, and bake up consistently, which is exactly what I want from a cookie recipe I’ll make more than once.
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Main Ingredients
Pretzels: They are on top and IN the dough. I chop them fairly small so they distribute evenly throughout. They add crunch and salt without overwhelming the cookie or making it too brittle.
Chocolate chips: Semi-sweet chocolate keeps the cookies balanced, especially with the salt from the pretzels. I like a classic chocolate flavor here rather than something overly sweet.
Butterscotch chips: These are optional, but I love what the flavor they add. The caramel notes pair really well with the pretzels and make the cookies feel a little more special.
Brown Sugar: This is what keeps the cookies chewy and soft in the center. I rely on it heavily for texture.
Butter: I use butter for flavor and structure. It helps the cookies spread just enough while still baking up thick and tender.
Making the Cookie Dough
The full recipe card is below, but here’s how I approach it when I’m baking these at home. It’s really quite simple.
Step 1: Mixing
As mentioned before, I’m using my jumbo cookie dough base here, mixing just until everything is combined and smooth. Overmixing here can make the cookies dense, so I stop as soon as the dough comes together. Once the base is ready, I fold in the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and chopped pretzels gently so the pretzels don’t break down too much.
Step 2: Shaping
For shaping, I portion the dough smaller than my jumbo cookies — about 1.25 ounces each. I like rolling them briefly between my palms to get a round shape, which helps them bake evenly and stay thick. Before baking, I press a pretzel gently into the top of each cookie so it sticks without sinking too far.
Step 3: Chilling & Baking
I always bake these cookies cold. Chilling or freezing the dough helps control spread and keeps the centers soft. They go straight into a fully preheated oven, and I pull them while they still look slightly underbaked. They’ll finish setting as they cool, which is how you get that chewy interior.
Variations
You can pretty much add anything you want to these cookies without changing the structure. Some swaps include white chocolate or caramel chips, or skip them entirely and use more chocolate chips! Peanut butter chips or toffee bits also work nicely with the pretzel base.
Tips for the best texture:
- Bake the cookies cold — chilled dough spreads less and bakes thicker.
- Pull them from the oven when they look just set, not fully done.
- Roll the dough briefly before baking to help the cookies keep a round shape.
- Press the pretzel on top after shaping so it stays visible once baked.
Storage & Make-Ahead
Once baked, these cookies keep well in an airtight container for several days. The dough also freezes beautifully. After shaping, I like to freeze the cookie dough portions until solid, then transfer them to a freezer bag. You can bake them straight from frozen — just add a minute or two to the bake time.
FAQs
Can I skip the butterscotch chips?
Yes. You can leave them out entirely or replace them with white chocolate, caramel chips, or extra chocolate chips.
Why do you chill or freeze the cookie dough?
Cold dough helps the cookies keep their shape and prevents them from spreading too much in the oven, which keeps them thick and chewy.
How do I keep the cookies soft and chewy?
Pull them from the oven when they look just set and lightly golden. They’ll continue to firm up as they cool, but stay soft in the center.
More cookie recipes you might enjoy:
If you like this sweet-and-salty combination, you might also enjoy my Dulce de Leche Snickerdoodles, S’mores Cookies. For something a little different, my Cookie Dough Cheesecake and Cookie Dough Macarons use similar flavors in a more dessert-forward way.
If you make these pretzel chocolate chip cookies, tag me on Instagram — I genuinely love seeing how they turn out in your kitchens.
Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature 141 grams, 5 oz
- 3/4 cup brown sugar 150 grams, 5.29 oz
- 1/4 cup white sugar 50 grams, 1.76 oz
- 1 egg
- 1 yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 10 oz, 283 grams
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 scant cup chopped pretzels 63 grams
- 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
Instructions
- Add butter to the bowl of an electric mixer. Cream for 1 minute.
- Add brown sugar and white sugar. Cream for another 2 minutes until light in color and fluffy.
- Add egg and yolk to the mixer.
- Cream until incorporated. Add vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
- Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl. Mix with a spatula or on the lowest setting to incorporate the flour.
- Finally, add the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and pretzels, and stir to combine.
- Use a cookie scoop to form cookie dough balls. I made 1.25 oz cookies and obtained about 30 cookies. The baked cookies had about 3 inches in diameter.
- You can roll them between your hands to obtain a smooth ball.
- Top each cookie with a mini pretzel twist, and press it down to make the pretzel stick on the cookie.
- Place cookies on a baking sheet and put it in the freezer or fridge.
- Put them in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking. Or put them in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking.
- If you don’t want to bake all cookies at once, place them in the freezer, once they are solid, after about 2 hours, transfer them to a zip loc bag, and keep it in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- You can also keep the cookies in the fridge for a couple of days before baking, make sure to cover them.
To bake
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 Fº.
- You don’t need to thaw any frozen cookies before baking. Bake them straight from the fridge or freezer.
- Arrange cookies on a baking tray, about 3 inches apart. Bake cookies for 18-20 minutes. The outside of the cookie should be light golden. As a rule of thumb, remove the cookies a couple of minutes before they actually look baked. If cookies look baked in the oven, they will be dry and over baked as they cool down.
- Let the cookies cool down for at least 10 minutes.
Storage
- Store any baked cookies for up to 3 days in an air-tight container at room temperature.
Que perfeição ficaram esses biscoitos, que vontade de comer um agora mesmo!!!!!!