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Salted Pretzel Praline Cookies – it’s holiday cookies season! Homemade chocolate chip cookies made with praline covered pretzels pieces and pecans. The dough is mixed with chocolate chips and chocolate chunks to create the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Each cookie is slightly crisp on the edges but soft and gooey in the center with just a little salty pretzel crunch, sweet pralines, and milk chocolate throughout.
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As if you couldn’t tell, I’m pretty happy the holiday season is here. I know I go on and on about this every season, but it really is a magical time of year. Thanksgiving is quickly approaching with Christmas to follow, I love it!
I drove past an Anthropologie store just yesterday and I couldn’t help but smile! It’s so fun!
With so much entertaining and gifting moments ahead, I’m focusing on recipes to share. Family, friends, neighbors, the hard-working UPS guy dropping off packages left and right (Santa’s elves), and everyone in between! Nothing gives off welcoming, cozy holiday vibes more than a thoughtfully put-together delicious cookie box. I’ve been planning mine for weeks. And today’s cookies are special enough to include in my 2024 box!
My inspiration for this cookie was simple, the chestnut praline latte that year after year is one of the most popular holiday drinks ordered at Starbucks.
Chestnuts are hard to source, but pretzels can actually be even better. Especially when mixed into yummy big cookies!
Details
Ingredients
- salted butter
- dark brown sugar
- heavy cream
- bourbon (this is optional, but I think it’s a great flavor addition)
- vanilla extract
- mini salted pretzel twist
- raw pecans
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- flour
- baking powder and baking soda
- semi-sweet chocolate chips
- dark chocolate chunks
- flaky sea salt
Special Tools
Nothing new here, an electric mixer (stand mixer or hand mixer), a couple mixing bowls, and a pot to make the praline sauce in!
Steps
Step 1: make the pralines
To be honest, this is just an easier version of caramel or butterscotch sauce. It’s a mix of salted butter, dark brown sugar, heavy cream, bourbon (if you’d like), and vanilla.
Everything but the vanilla simmers on the stove until the sauce bubbles and thickens. Then remove from the heat and mix in the vanilla.
Step 2: bake the pralines
Now arrange the pretzels and pecans on a baking sheet. Pour the sauce over and bake until the praline sauce is baked onto the pretzels.
Let the mix cool, then can give it a rough chop, chop.
Step 3: to make the cookies
For this cookie dough, beat the butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add vanilla, 1 whole egg, and 1 egg yolk.
Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Nothing new or crazy here.
Step 4: the mix-ins
Next, take the praline-covered pretzels, chocolate chips, and chocolate chunks and add them to the dough.
Use a spatula to mix everything gently into the dough. You don’t want to over mix or you’ll risk breaking the praline into fine pieces. Just give this dough a gentle stir.
Step 5: bake
Scoop the cookie dough into 1/4 cup size balls and arrange on a baking sheet. These will be big cookies!
Bake for around 12-15 minutes! Until the edges are just setting.
You can eat these warm or let them cool for later. They’ll be delicious at all temps!
A couple of notes
It’s important to note that these cookies do spread, so be careful when cooking the dough! They’re meant to have slightly crisp edges and perfectly soft, gooey centers, just like in the photos.
If you want a bit of a thicker cookie, simply omit the additional egg yolk and use only 1 egg. This will give you a thicker cookie without as much spreading.
To get the pretzels to really pop, my trick is to add in a few just before the cookies finish baking completely. This way, each cookie has a bit of the pretzel right on top.
I’m excited to include these on my Thanksgiving menu, and in this year’s 2024 Christmas cookie box. They’re perfect for packing up and gifting to friends for the holidays!
Looking for other holiday cookies? Here are my favorites:
Easy Vanilla Bean Christmas Lights Cookies
Easy Hot Chocolate Lace Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Pretzel Praline Cookies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Salted Pretzel Praline Cookies
Ingredients
Praline Pretels
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons heavy creamy
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups mini pretzel twists
- 1/3 cup raw pecans
- flaky salt
Cookies
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. To make the pralines: arrange the pretzels and pecans in an even layer on the baking sheet. 3. Add the butter, brown sugar, and cream to a pot set over medium heat. Let the butter melt. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar has melted and the mixture is bubbling and thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla. Pour the praline sauce over the pretzels/pecans, tossing to coat. Bake for 10 minutes, until the praline sauce is baked onto the pretzels. Sprinkle with salt. Let cool, then roughly chop. 4. To make the cookies. In a bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla until combined. Beat in the egg and egg yolk. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 5. Fold in the pretzels, pecans, chocolate chips, and chunks.6. Roll the dough into 1/4 cup size balls. Place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.7. Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake another 3-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet.8. Eat warm or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
These are absolutely delicious but they spread out really thin and the edges burned. The cookies either came out burnt or were falling apart – no in between sadly. Help! How do I improve the consistency?? (Also, I live at 9,000ft elevation – would that cause them to be so thin and flat?)
Hi Julie,
Thanks so much for trying these cookies and sharing your feedback, I’m so sorry to hear you had some issues! Next time, I would recommend chilling your dough once it is scooped into the balls in step 6.
I hope this helps! Happy Holidays!
The most delicious cookie I have ever made! Worth the extra effort of making the praline. Thank you!
Hey MJ,
Love to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and your comment!
Happy Holidays!🎄
Dough tastes good but the pretzels almost taste burnt at the end of cooking. Would err on taking them out earlier (around the 8m mark) even though they are still undercooked.
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Andrea! Sorry to hear about the pretzels! Have a great Sunday!
These are amazing! Can the dough be frozen in ready-to-cook balls to make in smaller batches at a later time?
Hey Alex,
Wonderful! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was enjoyed! Totally, that will work nicely for you!🎄
I LOVE these!! I made a double batch and they turned out amazing.
Hey Lindsey,
Fantastic! Thanks for making this recipe, I’m so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday!
Would not recommend increasing the recipe!!!
Increased recipe to 30 servings for my work potluck for thanksgiving and these turned out awful! They spread so bad. They also took so long to make. Would not repeat this recipe.
Hi Sav,
Very sorry to hear this. I would have recommended just making two batches for best results. I hope you will try them again!
For the pretzels you add at the end of baking: To get the pretzels to really pop, my trick is to add in a few just before the cookies finish baking completely. This way, each cookie has a bit of the pretzel right on top.
Do you use the praline pretzels or just regular pretzels?
Hi Hillary,
I like to use a praline pretzel on top:) Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Happy Holidays!
How much bourbon do you add?
Hi Sarah,
If you want to add some bourbon, I just add a splash.
I hope you love these cookies!
They were amazing!!!!!
Thanks so much, Sarah!
Can you freeze these? 🤔 they are absolutely delicious, and I would like to make them well in advance of the holidays if possible 😃
Thanks so much, Torill! Yes, you can definitely freeze these:) Thanks for making them!
These cookies are absolutely amazing! I used milk instead of heavy cream because that’s what I had. Used just the egg and not the yolk, used dark chocolate wafers and regular sized pretzels. Can’t imagine them being any better! Thanks Tiguan!
Thanks so much, Amy! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! xx
Could I use Walnuts instead of Pecans? ..just what I’ve got in
Hey Emma,
Sure, that would work nicely for you. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you make it again! xT
Ces biscuits ont l’air absolument délicieux ! C’est incroyable combien d’ingrédients savoureux vous avez réussi à combiner. Je suis sûr qu’ils apporteraient une touche spéciale à n’importe quelle boîte de biscuits de Noël. Est-il possible de remplacer le bourbon par un autre ingrédient dans la sauce pour ceux qui préfèrent l’éviter ? Merci pour ces belles idées, j’ai hâte d’essayer ! La période des fêtes est véritablement magique, parfaite pour tester de nouvelles recettes un jour de pluie. 🌧
Hi Amelie,
Merci beaucoup ! Vous n’avez pas besoin d’utiliser de bourbon dans cette recette. J’espère que vous aimerez ces cookies, n’hésitez pas à me faire savoir si vous les essayez !
I made these cookies several times over the holidays and they were a hit! One of my favorite recipes yet. Thank you Tieghan!
Thanks so much, Sasha! Love to hear you have been enjoying these cookies, I appreciate you making them so often! Happy New Year! xxT
Delicious! They came out so good!
My only suggestion is to watch them because mine did brown rather quick near the end. The pretzel on top was really good!
Hi Saima,
Fantastic!! Thanks for trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it turned out well! Happy New Year! xx
Holy CRAP. These are officially my favorite cookies I’ve EVER had. It’s the perfect salty-sweet, chewy chocolatey goodness I’ve ever baked. This trumps all other cookie recipes I’ve done by FAR. They remind me a lot of the Kitchen Sink cookies you get at Panera, but better. I don’t like pecans do I left those out and just did pretzels. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly as written. I saved some pretzels whole and chocolate chunks and added those on the cookies when turning the pan at 8 minutes, came out perfect. I hit with a little flakey salt at the end too. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Lol thank you so much, Maggie! Happy New Year!!🎆 Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! XxT
These are delicious! I used only 1 egg as an option for a thicker cookie and these spread like crazy, literally could only fit 4 to a pan. What did I do wrong?? This blend of salty and sweet is literally everythinnnngggg!
Thank you so much!
Hi Amy! The additional egg yolk will help the cookies have a well formed dough, so that could be what happened! xT