Half Baked Harvest does it again! Last week, one of my favorite bloggers/chefs/bakers, Tieghan from Half Baked Harvest, posted this recipe for salted caramel pretzel snickerdoodles. Just the name alone sounds amazing, right? Well, I can in fact tell you these are some of the best cookies I’ve ever made and had. They are chewy, crunchy, sweet, salty, gooey – literally everything in one cookie.
I ended up making the recipe twice – once as she wrote it and once gluten free – because I’m going to a friends house tonight for a cookie competition (yes, we do that here in Florida :)) and some of the ladies are gluten free. I want them to feel like they can participate too, so after 3 hours of baking, I made enough for everyone to join in. To make them gluten free, I substituted the all-purpose flour with gluten free flour and the regular pretzels with gluten free pretzels. It was an easy adjustment and I can honestly say you can barely taste the difference between them.
Now, back to that cookie competition… I sure do hope I win! 🙂 Did you make Tieghan’s cookies too? Let me know how you liked them (and what other recipes of hers you like) in the comments below! xx
Salted Caramel Pretzel Snickerdoodles (with a gluten free alternative!)
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (substitute gluten-free flour if GF)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate covered caramels or chocolate chunks
- 1/3 cup cinnamon sugar
- 1 cup mini pretzel twists crushed (substitute gluten-free pretzels if GF)
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Directions
- Add 1 stick butter to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook until the butter begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Stick in the freezer to chill, 10-15 minutes, but no longer.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the remaining 1 stick butter, the cooled browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Add the vanilla, beating until creamy. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in the chocolate caramels.
- Roll the dough into rounded 1 tablespoon size balls and then roll through the cinnamon sugar. Place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Gently push a few crushed pretzel pieces into each dough ball.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 2 times to flatten them down. Return to the oven and bake another 1-3 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to set on the edges, but still doughy in the center. Remove from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 1-2 times to flatten them down again. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Eat warm (highly recommended) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
Season Generously 