These gourmet brown butter chocolate chip pretzel cookies are easy to make and always impress! The recipe pairs my perfect no-chill chocolate chip cookie dough with chunks of chocolate and salted pretzels to create one thick, chewy, and truly impressive cookie.
If sweet and salty desserts are your thing, get ready to fall head over heels in love with these brown butter chocolate chip pretzel cookies!
Just like my Heath bar cookies and my chewy M&M chocolate chip cookies, this recipe uses the same easy (no stand mixer!) cookie dough base as my tried-and-true no chill chocolate chip cookies, with a few simple tweaks:
- Brown butter, for a toasty, nutty flavor that complements the saltiness of the pretzels.
- Chocolate chunks for extra melty pools of chocolate.
- Pretzels, for a little bit of salty crunch.
- Flaky sea salt, for an extra bit of delicate saltiness and a bakery-quality look.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient list and measurements.
Unsalted Butter - Butter adds fat and flavor to the cookie dough. We'll brown the butter, giving the cookies a toasty, nutty flavor. Don't want to brown the butter? Reduce the amount of butter to 1 cup (226 grams) and simply melt it before adding the sugars and vanilla.
Egg + Yolk - Eggs helps to bind the cookie dough together, and the extra yolk adds extra chewiness to the dough.
Cornstarch - Adding a bit of cornstarch also helps to create a chewier cookie.
Semisweet Chocolate Baking Bar - A chopped chocolate baking bar creates extra melty chunks of chocolate in the cookies. Feel free to use chocolate chips instead if you prefer.
Tiny Pretzels - I used Snyder's itty bitty minis pretzels, since their extra small size works well for topping cookies. You can use any type of thin mini pretzel (or even chopped pieces of larger, thin pretzels) to top the cookies.
Flaky Sea Salt - Sea salt flakes are a beautiful complement to the pretzels and chocolate chunks when sprinkled on top of these cookies. Don't have any on hand? A sprinkle of fine sea salt - which we're already using in the cookie dough - works just fine, too.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for detailed recipe instructions.
Step 1: Brown the butter, then transfer it to a large, heat-safe bowl to cool slightly.
Step 2: Add both sugars and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add eggs and whisk well until the mixture is glossy and a bit lighter in color.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, whisk to combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and fine sea salt.
Step 4: Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir gently until just a few streaks of flour remain.
Step 5: Add chopped chocolate and pretzel bits and stir just until blended.
Step 6: Scoop 1 ½ Tablespoon balls of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Press an extra pretzel onto the top of each cookie dough ball.
Step 7: Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes or until puffy with lightly golden edges. Add an extra chocolate chunk and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt onto each cookie and let cool.
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Recipe
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (254 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (213 grams) dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (99 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (14 grams) vanilla extract
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
- 2 ¼ cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (5 grams) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon (6 grams) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (6 grams) fine sea salt
- 8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet chocolate baking bar roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup (22 grams) tiny pretzels chopped (plus more for pressing on top)
- flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top of cookies
Instructions
- Brown the butter in a light-colored pan, stirring it frequently as it melts and then browns to ensure that it does not burn. Once browned, immediately transfer the butter to a large, heat-safe bowl. Let the browned butter cool for 10 to 20 minutes.1 ¼ cups (254 grams) unsalted butter
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- When the butter has cooled slightly, add both sugars and vanilla and whisk to combine.1 cup (213 grams) dark brown sugar, ½ cup (99 grams) granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon (14 grams) vanilla extract
- Add eggs and whisk well until the mixture is glossy and a bit lighter in color, about 1 minute. Let the mixture stand for a few minutes while you prepare the next ingredients.1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
- In a medium bowl, add flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and fine sea salt and whisk to combine.2 ¼ cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons (5 grams) cornstarch, 1 teaspoon (6 grams) baking soda, 1 teaspoon (6 grams) fine sea salt
- Give the sugar mixture a quick whisk and then add the flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon or a spatula to gently stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture until just a few streaks of flour remain.
- Add chopped chocolate and pretzel bits and stir just until blended. (Tip: Save some of the chopped chocolate to press onto the cookies right after baking.)8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet chocolate baking bar, ⅓ cup (22 grams) tiny pretzels
- Scoop 1 ½ Tablespoon balls of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets. (Tip: Press an extra pretzel onto the top of each cookie dough ball before baking.)
- Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes. The cookies will still appear pale and puffy with lightly golden edges when you remove the tray from the oven. Press an extra piece or two of chopped chocolate onto the top of each cookie and sprinkle the cookies with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Recipe Tips
New to browning butter? Read this article that walks you through step-by-step how to brown butter before you begin.
Don't skip letting the browned butter cool slightly (10 to 20 minutes) before adding the sugars. If the butter is too hot when the sugar is added, the sugar will melt into the butter, and the cookies won't be as soft.
Adding extra chocolate chunks and pretzels to the top of the cookies makes them especially pretty! I've found it works best to press an extra pretzel on top of each cookie dough ball before baking and to press an extra chocolate chunk or two onto the top of each cookie right after baking. And don't miss these other tips for baking pretty cookies!
Storage Instructions
Room Temperature: Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To keep the cookies fresh for longer, add a slice of bread to the container with the cookies.
Freezing: Once completely cooled, cookies can be sealed in an airtight container and stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Dough can also be frozen and baked at a later date. Check out my tips for freezing cookie dough.
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