Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
While most people are thinking of healthy meals and exercising, I’ve been thinking of these cookies. I made these cookies a while ago and to take on a weekend trip with friends. They were a bit hit. They combine sweet and salty into every bit. The pretzel sticks in the chocolate chip cookies also give a nice little crunch.
I always use Ghirardelli bittersweet chips in my cookies because I love the size of the chips almost as much as the flavor. They’re a bit bigger but flatter than the standard Nestle chocolate chips. If you see the Ghirardelli chips in your supermarket, I definitely recommend trying them!
Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: ~5 dozen
Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar - I used light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups coarsely crushed pretzel sticks
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined after each. Mix in vanilla. Gradually add dry ingredients into the butter mixture and beat just until incorporated. Add crushed pretzels and mix briefly to combine. Fold in chocolate chips.
Drop dough using a tablespoon cookie scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets and flatten dough balls slightly. Place into the oven and bake cookies until they are lightly golden around the edges, about 9 to 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cookies cool for a couple minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe from Culinary in the Country
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
If Carlos claims this is the best thing you have ever made … I might have to make them tonight!
beantownbaker — February 10th, 2014 @ 9:57 am
Let me know if you do. I was seriously SHOCKED when he said that.
OH. MY. LORD.
Yeah, I can see why these are the best ever!!!! Love Samoas!
I grew up calling them Samoas and didn’t like them when I was selling them, but have since grown to love them. Great twist on a traditional rice krispie treat!
beantownbaker — February 11th, 2014 @ 12:14 pm
I can’t tell if the naming thing is regional or not. I know people who grew up in Indiana like me who call them Samoas. They’ll always be Caramel Delites to me.
they look sooooo good!
Sharing these in my friday link roundup!
Everyone needs to see these!
beantownbaker — February 13th, 2014 @ 8:49 pm
Thanks for sharing them!!
oh jeez. caramel de lites here, too 🙂 these sound killer!
beantownbaker — February 23rd, 2014 @ 12:47 pm
You’re the first person I’ve met who calls them Caramel de Lites too!
I’ve been wondering why they aren’t always called Samoas!
Are the pecans there for the Samoa flavor or just an extra addition?
beantownbaker — March 18th, 2014 @ 8:03 am
They add some texture but you could leave them out if you wanted.
Awesome recipe! Let me provide a little insight to the naming of the cookies (Caramel deLights vs Samoas my wife is a girl scout troop leader). The girl scouts rely on a few bakeries to produce their cookies. Caramel deLights are made by one bakery, while Samoas are made by another.
Just made these – very tasty, but I had a lot of trouble with the caramel layer. It hardened so much, I couldn’t cut the squares. I had to heat them up a bit to cut through the caramel, and then they got rather sticky and did not cut cleanly. Followed directions exactly, not sure what went wrong…
On Sunday nights, my hubby leads a college-age Bible study group and I use the kids/young adults as my guinea pigs for trying new recipes. I made these yesterday and they LOVED them. Thank you for the recipe!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 6:59 pm
So glad these were a hit for you! This has become my most frequently made and requested recipe that I’ve made.
Explained well.