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These warm chocolate chip cookie stuffed soft pretzels are just perfection!
If you ask me, perfection is a love hate word.
I struggle with trying to be as perfect as I can be on a daily basis, which is just stupid since I am far from perfect. Far, far, far from perfect. But day in and day out I wake up every morning and try again. Try again till I just can’t try anymore. Most of the time I am pretty happy with the outcome of my day and things workout fairly decent, but then there are those days.
I have a feeling you know what THOSE days are.
The days when no matter how hard you try to get the outcome you want so badly, it is just not going to happen and for me that can be just a tad devastating. The craziness in me makes me get up and do it all over again, but really when will I learn that perfect it just never going to be possible.
Sure, I might be able to get close, but if I am being totally honest I am pretty sure I will never be one hundred percent happy with the work I produce.
Mom, says it is something that will come with age. I am hoping she is right, but she and I run completely different. So I am not holding my breath on this one.
With pretty much everything I do, I put my whole heart into it. I give it my all.
Some would say this is a good trait and to a point it totally is. Actually, it is the one characteristic about myself that I truly love. If it is something I truly care about. I will not give up until I meet my end goal. I get this from both of my parents, so the gene is pretty well imbedded in me.
I am not complaining in the least.
Like I said, I am happy to be this way. Some of my brothers are the complete opposite, so I can see both sides. I like my side.
What I need to learn though is that not every photo I take, not every word I write, not every dish I make, not every decision I make and not every move I make can be just the way I want it to be. Like my dad says “Tieg, it is just not possible to be happy with every single thing you do.”.
Easier said (err, typed) than done.
This post is me letting go of my perfectionist just a tad.
See, the pretzels themselves are perfection. Seriously, they are and I know that for sure.
The photos however are definitely not some of my favorites.
I know they are not terrible, but I’m just not that excited about them. I did my best, but the pretzels, while extremely amazing in every way, are just not very photogenic.
It happens.
And I am just going to except that.
I tried, but I just could not make them prettier.
Oh well, I am over it. I have decided that some of the best foods are just ugly ones.
I mean, practically everything that comes out of the crockpot is ugly (but delicious): steak, mushrooms (LOVE) and um meatloaf (not my favorite – but my eldest brother loves it). Yeah, ugly foods, but they are all so good.
Can we just talk about how good these are now?
Great. I have been dying to tell you about these for too long. The idea came to me over two weeks ago and I have not stopped thinking about them since. Soft pretzels stuffed with cookies? What could be better?
Originally I was going to make some caramel or chocolate sauce for dipping, but then I tried them and knew that nothing was needed to make these any better than they already are.
And yes, you have to eat them warm.
Ok, you do not have to, but you should. Preferably with a nice cold glass of milk.
As you can see, the cookie dough is going to ooze out a little. Do not freak, it is fine and delicious.
Remember, not everything can be perfect (see, I’m convincing myself). So they will ooze… slightly, but trust me, it is a good thing.
Believe it or not these are actually super simple to make. The pretzel dough is incredibly easy to work with and all you are doing is stuffing in some chocolate chip cookie dough. There is not even any boiling required. I tried, but the pretzels just fell apart, so instead they get dunked into warm water that you are going to add some baking soda to. I was nervous about not boiling the pretzels, but the dipping worked perfectly and I could not have been happier with the taste. Spot on.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, in my house fell head over heels for these.
That never happens, so you know these are good.
WATCH VIDEO HERE:
Warm chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Soft Pretzels.
Servings: 8 LARGE COOKIE STUFFED PRETZELS
Calories Per Serving: 756 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Pretzels
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
- 4 1/2 cups to 5 all-purpose flour
- 1 egg beaten
- course sea salt for sprinkling
Cookies
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- To make the pretzel dough, combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the salt and 4 1/2 cups flour to the mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.
- Coat a large bowl with oil or cooking sprayl, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size. This will take about 1 hour.
- About 10 minutes before you're ready to roll out the pretzel dough make the cookie dough. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs and beat well. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Divide the pretzel dough into 8 equal balls and roll each out into a rectangle (about 11x3 inches). Spread a little cookie dough along the length of each piece. Starting with the opposite side, roll the dough up into a log, enclosing the toppings inside. Pinch the seams together and then very gently roll the dough with your hands to form an even cylinder and fully enclose the filling. It is ok if some of the chocolate chips peak through, but try to avoid any large tears in the dough.
- Take the two ends of each rope and form into a circle that is overlapped by a couple of inches of dough on either side, twist the ends and lay over the opposite side to form a pretzel shape. Press the ends under the pretzel to seal.
- Grab a bowl and fill it with warm water and 2 teaspoons baking soda. Dunk each pretzel in water and then place on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet (no more than four pretzels per sheet). Brush the tops with the beaten egg wash and season liberally with sea salt. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until pretzels are very lightly golden and the cookies that have oozed out are golden. I started checking mine after 10 minutes, turned the pan and baked them another 6-8 minutes. You do not want to over cook the pretzels. Eat warm with a cold glass of milk.
I just can’t even handle it, in their own way, these are perfect.
My friend and I made these last weekend based on your recipe. Delicious! We’re new to baking and felt pretty proud of ourselves for pulling it off 🙂 Thank you for the instructions!
AWESOME!! 🙂
I’m not sure if I’m helping or hurting your compulsion to be perfect, but … here goes. The Cookzels look awesome…but this sentence? “And I am just going to except that.” should be “And I am just going to accept that.”
Unless, of course, it was a joke. In that case, super funny! 🙂
I made these big once and they were great but made them small as small cookie pretzel bites last night each one about 1 inch around…they were amazing…even better than the big ones
Thanks for the recipe
I made these over the weekend for my nieces & nephews. I made 16 pretzels so they weren’t as big. Easy to make and very yummy! Thanks for sharing your recipes. I think next time I might try a savory filling instead of a sweet one.
Just made these! Followed recipe except I veganized it (Energy Egg Replacer for eggs, and Earth Balance for butter). Came out pretty good, but the cookie dough was mostly still raw on the inside. Also, we had some cookie dough left over. I think next time I will try to roll the logs thinner and leave more gaps for the cookie dough to overflow. My pretzels were thick, and almost all of the cookie dough stayed inside. Very tasty, though. Totally willing to try again. Bonus – the dough was super easy to work with.
YUM! So happy you loved this! Thanks!
Oh my God I can’t take this. Soft pretzels are my absolute FAVORITE food & to see them combined with chocolate chip cookies? OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow! I want to bite into one of them right now!! 🙂 And in my opinion they look perfect! 😉
Xo Vicki
Thanks so much!
This look ridiculously amazing – is there any way I could make them in advance then freeze/refrigerate them until ready to bake?
Thanks Anna!! I have have never tried making them in advance, but I think freezing/refrigerating them would work fine. Just let the pretzels defrost before cooking. Hope it works out great and you love these!!
I froze them after baking worked great
Oh awesome! Thanks for letting me know!
The only reason I am on here is because of how PERFECT and freaking delectable the pictures of your pretzels are! LC posted a picture of your pretzel on her site, and my mouth instantly started watering!
Haha! Thank you so much, Erika!! Wish I could share one with you!
Update: We’ve made these three times now.
My friend takes some to school and bribes her high school students with them.
We find that making the pretzel cookies into 12 long pretzel sticks works best for us. My pretzel sticks tend to bake more evenly than my twisted pretzels.
*Recommended* We now melt COOKIE BUTTER for dipping the end pieces in. OMG! Cookie butter is a beautiful compliment to the salty starch of the soft pretzel, and the rich of the chocolate chip cookie dough. Perfection!
Oh my gosh, melted cookie butter?!? Genius! So happy you guys love these! Thanks!
My BFF and I made these last night.
In 20 years of friendship, we’ve had very little silence. Our time together is filled with constant chatter and laughter.
However, as we tasted these last night, you could have heard an ant fart in my kitchen. It went so silent. GOOD silent, like “a quiet moment of respect” silence and awe.
These were delicious and perfectly balanced flavors and textures. THANK YOU!!
(We have a joke now that this is our “spirit” or “totem” food. Some people have a spirit animal that calls to them. We now have a spirit food that deeply calls to our souls instead. LOL)
Haha! Know way!! This is awesome, thanks!!
Thank you both!
Is there a substitute for dry active yeast? I have a kind of yeast that is in block form of which I have to freeze it. Can I use that instead?
Hey Irene, I have never heard of that kind of yeast, so I really can’t help. So sorry, but if I were you I would just give it a try and see how it goes.
Let me know and I hope you love these!
Oh what the heck? These are amazing!! I usually don’t bake with yeast, but I will just so I can bust these out.
Thank you!
They were awesome!!! My whole family loved them….we will definitely make these again…and again!! Thanks!!
Ya!! So happy you guys loved them! Thanks!
Oooooops….I think I figured it out….the egg is used for the egg wash you apply right before baking!! YAY!! 🙂
Good! Hope you guys loved these! Be sure to let me know how the go. Enjoy!