Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies are loaded with pretzels, caramel bits, and chocolate chips, for a salty-sweet cookie treat.
This post has been in major need of updating, so if you’re coming from Pinterest and the pictures look different, you’re still in the right place! I just updated them. I had only been blogging for one year when this post went live, but these Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies have been a popular one ever since.
Who doesn’t love that salty/sweet combination? I always have my balance of salty and sweet with any meal. I even sneak a salty chip after a sweet breakfast, or a piece of chocolate after a savory lunch or dinner just so I have that equality of flavors in my mouth. But there is just something about putting the sweet and salty two together that makes everyone go crazy.
These Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies are right up there in the salty-sweet category. I love the CHUNKS of pretzels, caramel bits, and chocolate chips. These are no wimpy cookies. They’re thick, chunky, sweet, and salty!
I actually haven’t had these cookies in a while because when you’re always trying new recipes to share, you don’t get to enjoy your old favorites as often, but these are definitely worth making over and over again!
Spruce up the good old chocolate chip cookie with some caramel bits and pretzel pieces. You won’t regret it!
Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup stick pretzels, broken into thirds
- 1/2 cup caramel bits
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a stand mixer, cream butter with sugars. Add vanilla and egg. Incorporate and scrape bowl.
- Combine salt, baking soda, and flour. Gradually add to wet mixture. Mix until combined.
- Fold in broken pretzels, caramel bits, and chocolate chips with a spatula.
- Spoon onto a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 11-12 minutes.
Recipe Notes
*If you double the recipe, you will most likely need extra flour. Anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. The dough shouldn't be too sticky, but don't dry it out. It should be moist, but easily pull away from the beater of your mixer.
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Pictures updated & post re-published 7/9/2017. Post originally published to my blog December 11, 2012.
These look yummy, I’m going to try them. I saw you at the link party and now I’m your newest follower. I would love for you to visit me at memoriesbythemile.com
Merry Christmas.
Wanda Ann
I have been making these all weekend. For every holiday party I’ve been to. They are amazing. Such a great twist on a cookie. This blog is good. Like really good.
Aw, I am so glad you like them! They really are one of my new favorites! Thanks for stopping by!
Could I substitute toffee bits for the caramel bits?
Yes, absolutely!
Does it have to cook on parchment paper..i forgot to grab some
You can just use cooking spray on a tray. They might spread slightly more though.
I made them (& blogged) last night 🙂 http://www.persnicketyplates.com/2012/12/caramel-pretzel-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
Oh No! I should have doubled the recipe…DELICIOUS!
Haha! That is why I make this small batch! I can’t eat them all or I will get fat!
I made these today and they are truly amazing! Used peanut butter chips instead of caramel because it’s what I had. I will totally make them again. Everyone who ate them loved them!
Mmm…peanut butter chips sound good too! Glad you liked them! 🙂
Just made these Gluten Free and they turned out great! I shared the recipe on my GF blog and linked back to you.
http://glutenfreegood.blogspot.com/2013/02/caramel-pretzel-cookies.html
I have to admit, I was skeptical, but I decided to give these a try… and they were FAB.U.LOUS! Thanks so much for sharing! Now I’m going to have to check out more of your blog. 🙂
Kind of a silly question, but what kind of brown sugar do you use when baking these or other cookies? Light or dark?
I use light brown sugar. I rarely use dark. Just preference. You can really use either. Dark just makes it darker in color & a little richer.
oh my amber, these look amazing!
Thanks Aimee! You have to try these, they are a must make b/c they are just so satisfying in every definition! One of my absolute favs!
Made these today. Used butterscotch chips instead of caramel and they smell amazing baking.
I made these yesterday. My cookies turned out a bit hard. I made really large cookies (20 instead of 24)and only cooked them until they were barely brown. Do you think I overcooked them? I can’t think of anything else. The concept is delicious. I like the idea of using peanut butter chips also.
Was your butter too soft? If your butter is melty instead of soft it can effect the texture of the cookie once it is baked. You can also try lowering the temperature of your oven (325*F) and see if that helps.
I used butter-flavored Crisco.. And OH MAN. I’m going to gain 40 lbs from making the too often!!!!! YUMMMMM!!
Hi Amber–I just blogged about these yummy cookies. Thanks for sharing such great recipes. I would love for you to come and take a peek.
http://cgharris.blogspot.com/2013/08/chocolate-chip-cookies-with-pretzles.html
I made these today and I have to say they are delicious! (and that’s kind of a rare thing for me to say about a chocolate chip cookie recipe- I almost never love new ones). They are so tasty. I got a lot of compliments when I brought them to a potluck.
Thanks for sharing! It’s going in my permanent recipe book to use again and again.
Thank you so much for your comment JulieAnn!!! Not only am I thrilled that you love them, but to hear they made it into your permanent recipe book makes my heart so happy! This is why I blog! I love to hear success stories, because nothing is better than knowing people are trying & loving your recipes 🙂
I want to try these, they look delicious. What are caramel bits?
You can see the bag of them in the picture with my recipe. They are made by Kraft & can be found in the aisle next to the chocolate chips. They are little round balls of caramel. They don’t melt like crazy, which is good, so you still get that chewy caramel throughout the cookie.
Hi! These sound delicious! Do they freeze well? I’m trying to get ready for my son’s graduation party! 🙂
I haven’t tried freezing them yet, but I don’t see why not. Maybe take them out of the oven a minute early just to be safe.
Thanks Amber! One more question, do you think I could use butterscotch chips instead of the Carmel bits? I couldn’t find them.
For sure! Any chip you can think of can go into these kinds of bars. Sorry you couldn’t find the caramel bits! I wonder if they only have them on the shelves during Christmas in your area? I can typically find the every time I go to Walmart. Well, good luck and enjoy!
I made these tonight and they came out awesome! I couldn’t find caramel bits, so I bought regular Kraft caramels and quartered them. Then, I rounded them a little with my finger tips. Thanks Amber!!
Yay! Way to go for cutting up the caramels & rounding them! I probably would have left them square if I couldn’t find the bits. But I am glad everything worked out & you liked them!!!
You answered my question, I have caramels on hand and didn’t want to buy bits if I didn’t have to, thanks Lori, and I probably won’t round them either, doubt my kiddos will care!
My mom and I made these. We followed the directions exactly. I have to say they were a big disappointment. They were very dry.
I am so sorry you had a bad experience with this recipe Brandie! There are two things that I could think of where you may have gone wrong. When baking, it’s an unwritten rule to pre-stir the flour before measuring. If you were to take one cup of flour straight out of your bag or container & weigh it, & then stir up the remaining flour in your bag or container (incorporating air into the flour) & measure a new cup of that same flour, it would weigh less than it did when you measured the first cup straight from the container. The reason for this is that the flour settles when it is stored. So if you did not stir your flour up, which I didn’t suggest in the directions of this particular recipe, then you may have had a more dry, dense product than what I was able to achieve. The second area that might have caused the cookies to dry out is if they were over-baked. Again, I am sorry for your bad experience. I hope this may have helped you determine what went wrong & you can maybe give them a try again sometime.
I’m new to baking and did not know this about flour. So glad I read through all the comments to find this gem of knowledge! Thanks!!
Yes! So important! Glad it could help!
I actually came to ask if they were supposed to be such a thick and dry batter. Mine is probably because I didn’t stir the flour. Do you have any suggestions on how to “fix” it?
If I want to use Xylitol or Pure Stevia, do you have any suggestions on how I should adjust the recipe? Also, have you used other flours, by chance?
Hi! You know, I have never baked with xylitol. Stevia should work just fine. I found this conversion chart: http://www.stevia.net/conversion.html. I haven’t used any other flours either.
I’m going to be making these today. I LOVE the caramel bits. I found them a couple of weeks ago, for the specific use of putting them in my apple pie, and/or apple crisp recipes. I forgot i had pinned this recipe months ago. So glad to have ‘re-found’ it, so i’ll have another use for the bits. 🙂
Just made them last night. Quadrupled the recipe and it made a ton but it was super easy and they came out great!
That’s a lot of cookies! Haha. Glad you liked them!
Thanks for a great cookie! I am including them in my cookie basket gifts, bet THESE are THE cookie everyone begs for more of!
I am having such a hard time finding Caramel Bits. Where do I find them.
Really? I get mine at Walmart next to the chocolate chips. Should be able to get them at Target too.
These cookies look really good! I will definitely have to try them sometime!
O M Goodness! These look amazing. Love the combination of salt & sweet. Will absolutely double or triple the recipe. I know these will be a great hit! Thanks so much for reminder to stir flours. Sometimes I do forget this!
Your recipes are always awesome!
I tried making these today….very messy. The caramel oozed out so much so that they left big holes in the cookie. Should I have made them bigger and made sure the caramel was completely surrounded by dough? I really wanted to like these but it was so messy.
Oh Lili! I am so sorry you had a bad experience! Did you use caramel bits or caramel squares cut into smaller pieces? The bits hold up better than the squares, but they do melt, especially when they are on the edges. I am wondering if your cookie dough was a little soft (since it’s summer) and that’s why there ended up being holes in the cookies. Sometimes in the summer I add a little extra flour and do a test cookie (cook only one first) to make sure it doesn’t spread too much. Again, I’m sorry about the mess. Maybe you can try and melt some caramels and drizzle them on top of the cookies instead of adding the caramel bits to the dough? Not all of my cookies look fabulous when I make these (because of those bits that end up on the edges) but the majority of them are fine, so I’m not quite sure what the problem is, but the flavor combo is wonderful. I hope you can find a solution to make it work. Thanks for your sharing your experience!
Thank you Amber! I quartered caramel squares. I will try to look for those bits though. I also like that idea about drizzling the caramel over the cookie. The cookies did taste good though.
How long would you cook this if you wanted to make them in a 9×13 pan? I need to bake these quickly and dumping them in a pan all at once is a fast way to make lots of cookies.
Sure. I would do 20 to 25 mintutes.
Should I double the recipe?
Yes. 🙂
I made these multiple times last fall & winter — new favorite cookie — everyone loved them everywhere I took them! Forgot about them for awhile, but now that it’s fall again, I’m making them today. Thanks! (Definitely bake on parchment paper or Silpat mat — caramel bits stick to the bare pan.)
Oh! That’s so great! Glad you like them so much, and thanks for adding your recommendation for using parchment or silpat!
Making these for my cookie exchange..can’t wait…13 dozen I have to make lol
Awesome! Try not to let the caramel bits touch the pan (they will melt) and you should be golden! We love this cookie!
Thank you for the tip…I hope they make it to the exchange lol!!
Fabulous cookies Amber 🙂
I love the combination of chocolate and pretzels
Pinning
Thanks Winnie! I’m a sweet and salty fan, so these are right up my alley!
Hi Amber….
I just have to say I am so glad I had the intuition to make a double batch of these cookies the first time I tried them.
My daughter just relocated to Chicago and to brighten her Christmas season I asked what type of cookie her and her new husband would like mailed… She sent this recipe! I hope there are some left to mail to her… My ships and just walked in the do and devoured three in a row!
Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.. Definitely a keeper and year long cookie to make.
That was supposed to read that my husband just walked in the door and devoured three…..lol.
I am not a good proofreader!
Haha, no worries! So glad you all are enjoying the cookies! Thank your daughter for sending over the recipe for me 😉
Is there a no egg version? My grandson is allergic to eggs!!
I would try this recipe and add the pretzels and caramel bits: http://www.spiceupthecurry.com/eggless-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Cowboy cookies were my favorite cookie, until now. Thank you, Amber, for the recipe. My grandkids love them and so do I. These will certainly be in my regular cookie-making rotation.
That’s wonderful news! Thanks for your review Connie!
Oh my goodness these sound incredible. I really should be studying for finals today, but baking (and eating) is a stress-reliever so this is happening. Running to the store right now.
This made me laugh out loud! I hope you got some studying in while you munched on the cookies! 😉
Amber, would love to make this cookie but because of diet I need to substitute vege or canola oil for butter. What would you recommend as a conversion? Thank you.
Hi Valerie,
I haven’t tried it, but as a general rule you’ll want to do 3/4 of the amount called for in the recipe since oil is full fat, whereas butter is maybe 80% fat. So I would do 6 Tbsp oil in place of the 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp) butter. Let me know how it turns out!