Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies

I made up this Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookie recipe on the spur of the moment and fell in love! They’re loaded with peanut butter, pretzels, and yummy semi-sweet chocolate chips. Talk about a flavor explosion! There’s something about that salty and sweet combination that makes me swoon!

Peanut Butter, Pretzels, and Chocolate: A Match Made in Heaven!

These loaded pretzel cookies are the bomb, y’all!

Chocolate and pretzels just go together, don’t they? Don’t believe it? Check out how many of your favorite chocolates come with a sea salt option. And think about those chocolate covered pretzels you love so much at Christmas time. Yum!

I know what you’re thinking!

Does chocolate taste good with salt?

The answer is a resounding “Yes!” Salt does two things when you merge it with chocolate: It brings out the sweetness of the chocolate but it also lowers the impact of any bitterness. And, like coffee (which is also terrific with chocolate) it enhances the flavor.

What kind of chocolate should I use? That, my friend, is up to you! I went with semi-sweet. And I have this thing for mini chocolate chips, so I used those. Honestly, though? I think this cookie would be great with big chunks of chocolate, too! (Yum!)

I think you’ll agree with me when I say that you’re going to love this cookie!

Let’s take a look at what goes into these cookies so you can see what a winning combination this is going to be! Chances are pretty good you have most of these ingredients in your pantry already.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookie Ingredients

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• butter, room temperature
• shortening
• brown sugar
• granulated sugar
• peanut butter
• eggs
• vanilla
• all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• chocolate chips
• pretzels, chopped/smashed 

Because this Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookie is packed full of ingredients, it tends to be a little more dense. You’ll remember that I shared another “heavier” cookie when I put up my Chunky Oatmeal Craisin recipe.

As I shared in my Snickerdoodle recipe post, the addition of shortening to a recipe causes it to lighten up, so that’s what I opted to do here.

DIRECTIONS:

These peanut butter pretzel chocolate chip cookies come together very quickly and are easy to make! Let’s break it down:

Mix shortening, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and whip until incorporated.

Add flour and baking soda. You might need to adjust the amount of flour based on your texture preference.

Now it’s time to add the pretzels and chocolate chips.

Is that a beautiful sight, or what? The combination of the sweet and salty makes me want to swoon!

Time to Scoop the Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Scoop with cookie scoop and flatten into palms then press one side into more crushed pretzels. Put on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, spaced apart.

Bake on parchment lined cookie sheet at 350 for 12 minutes. Yields approximately 4 dozen cookies, depending on the size of your scoop.

Cool and serve! (Yummy with a big glass of milk.)

Variations:

• Use 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup caramel chips.
• Instead of chocolate chips, add M&Ms!
• Replace the pretzels with crushed potato chips.
• Throw in some coconut for added crunch.
• Instead of coconut, add half a cup of oats.
• Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder to the dough.
• Add chopped pecans for additional crunch.
• If you really want to soften these up, replace half of the granulated sugar with powdered sugar.
• Instead of flattening these with your palms, chill the dough in the refrigerator and use it as a cut-out cookie. (Add 3 cups of flour and skip the additional pretzels on the outside.)
• Use this recipe on a pizza tray, making a giant cookie! Drizzle with melted chocolate and serve.

If You Like Peanut Butter Treats:

Consider my Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies! They’re soft, fluffy, and practically perfect in every way!

And if you really want to amp up the test, try my Peanut Butter Nutella Sandwich Cookies.

There’s a yummy looking Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie recipe over at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage. Check it out!

Follow this link for a comprehensive post listing more of my fall cookies and bars, perfect for autumn!

Thanks for stopping by!

If you bake these cookies, let me know in the comments below!

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.