Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies
These gourmet brown butter chocolate chip pretzel cookies combine my easy, no-chill cookie dough, chunks of chocolate, and salted pretzels to create a truly impressive cookie.
Servings: 18
Calories: 325kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate baking bar roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup 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 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 dark brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon 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 all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon 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 semisweet chocolate baking bar, ⅓ cup 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
Storage: Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freezing: Once completely cooled, cookies can be sealed in an airtight container and stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. Cookie dough can also be frozen to bake later.
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.
You can substitute 1 ⅓ cups (227 grams) of chocolate chips for the chopped chocolate baking bar if you prefer.
I used Snyder's brand 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.
Nutrition
Calories: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 220mg | Potassium: 118mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 420IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 2mg
